RFI-72011518R00011.pdf

USAID/Kyrgyz Republic RFI-72011518R00011 Improved Basic Education in the Kyrgyz Republic

Attachment I. Statement of Objectives

SECTION C: STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

C1. INTRODUCTION

This Statement of Objectives (SOO) for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission in the Kyrgyz Republic (henceforth referred to as USAID/KR or the Mission), provides the top-level objectives of this acquisition, and is provided in the Request for Proposal (RFP) in lieu of a Government-written statement of work (SOW) or performance work statement (PWS). The PWS submitted by offerors must outline cost-effective solutions and innovative approaches to meet the outlined objectives. From the PWS, USAID will assess the bidder’s understanding of all aspects of the effort to be performed. Section L of the RFP contains the specific proposal instructions to bidders.

C2. PURPOSE

The purpose of the Improved Basic Education in the Kyrgyz Republic activity (henceforth called IBE-KR) is to improve early grade learning outcomes in the Kyrgyz Republic for 300,000 students in grades one through four, giving children a better foundation for educational achievement. While USAID/KR has the overall responsibility for planning, programming, budgeting, monitoring and evaluating the program, the contractor will provide administrative, technical and program support to the Mission in the planning, management, implementation, and evaluation of the outcomes of the IBE-KR activity.

This SOO allows offerors to propose and price a solution that achieves the outlined objectives and contributes to measurable improvements in key basic education learning outcomes, particularly in reading and mathematics.

C3. SCOPE

USAID requires services that will make sustainable improvements in the ability of the Government of the KR (GOKR) education system to deliver quality education services by building the leadership, management, and technical capacity of Kyrgyz institutions and communities. The end result will be improved instructional quality for early grade students;

improved formal and non-formal learning environments, and a strengthened education system.

Interventions will target both school- and community-level education institutions, and will include activities that improve reading, numeracy, and math.

Changes in the GOKR policies and programs, uncertainty surrounding emergent education priorities, and fine-tuning of USAID development interests mean the contractor must be able to rapidly incorporate changes to reflect the United States Government (USG) and GOKR education programming priorities and policies. In addition, state of the art technical interventions and innovations will evolve during the life of contract performance and the contractor must continuously seek ways to incorporate feasible, innovative, and evidence-based approaches in support of this program’s purpose and objectives.

C4. BACKGROUND

Mission Strategy

USAID’s goal in the Kyrgyz Republic, as outlined in its Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) for 2014-2018, is to support the Kyrgyz Republic as a democratic, well-governed, and prosperous country. IBE-KR supports this goal, through Development Objective 2: Improved service delivery and policies for all citizens, and specifically to IR 2.2: Increased utilization of public services (health and education) for all citizens. By supporting increased access to quality education for children in primary grades, we establish the foundation for educational achievement and contribute to sustained economic growth and participatory democracy.

GOKR Education Strategy and Education System Status

The current Education Development Strategy of the KR 2012-2020 prioritizes development and introduction of the new competency-based curriculum and teaching and learning materials. In parallel, education systems policy reforms implemented includes updating teacher professional standards, increases in teacher salaries, and changes in the system of teacher professional development. The Ministry of Education and Science (MOES) of the Kyrgyz Republic is in the process of developing its next Education Development Strategy for the years beyond 2020, known as EDS 2020+. This new strategy feeds into the National Development Vision 2040,the Taza Koom Initiative, the “Unity, Trust, Creation” Program on Socioeconomic Development (2019-2023), and the 3-year National Development Programme of the Government (2018- 2020).

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the provision of quality basic education service delivery in the Kyrgyz Republic suffered. Now that a generation has passed since the Kyrgyz Republic gained its sovereignty in 1991, the negative effects of inadequate resource mobilization, outdated materials, a lack of mother tongue materials, dilapidated infrastructure, financial retrenchment, and limited professional capacity, and school management are surfacing in poor functional literacy rates among youth. More attention has been paid to expanding the curriculum than ensuring that students can read AND understand grade level text by the end of the primary cycle. This overly complex and congested curriculum does not allow students time to master the basics of literacy and numeracy and has led to low performance levels in subjects across the learning spectrum. Lately, the public stance that the strong Soviet-style education system was still functioning has been replaced with a sense of realism. The Ministry of Education and Science (MOES) has also recognized that it must place a priority on improving learning outcomes.

Learning Outcomes

For children to be successful in school they need to acquire strong literacy skills. USAID-supported Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) results in 2017 demonstrated an improvement in performance for schools that received USAID interventions: 44% of all sampled grade 2 pupils and 47% of all sampled grade 4 pupils attained grade-level proficiency in oral reading fluency, an increase of 10 and 13 percentage points, respectively. The level of non-readers was almost non-existent. For reading comprehension, the program had the biggest impact on Grade 2 urban pupils’ whose scores increased by 15.3 percentage points because of the USAID programming (USAID Quality Reading Project Kyrgyz Republic: Final EGRA and Impact Report 2014-2017). However, while the trends in reading fluency proficiency are improving, overall attainment levels remain low. At the endline, the proportion of students reading at the standard of proficiency (fluency and comprehension) required remains below 50% for both grade levels. National data also support this: Results of the 2017 National Sample Based Assessment (NSBA) show that only 25.5% of grade 4 students have basic reading skills and 59.8% of students are below minimum basic level. More illuminating is the gap which exists across all grades between oral fluency and comprehension. For example, oral reading fluency mean scores for students in grade 2 approached or exceeded the established grade-level benchmark of 40 correct words per minute yet only could only answer 34.11% of the comprehension questions correctly (Time to Read midline EGRA Results Report 2018).

Considered more broadly, learning outcomes measured in international and national sample based assessments in Kyrgyz Republic point to very low achievement and performance in all grades tested (2, 4, 8) and at age 15. In math, 60.3% of children are at below basic level at grade 4 (CEATM, NSBA). The results of PISA 2009 (the last year that the Kyrgyz Republic participated in the PISA) revealed that 83% of students did not reach the baseline level of achievement in reading at age 15. In science, 82% did not reach the baseline level and 53% did not even reach the lowest level of measured performance.1 This raises concerns over the ability of these 15-year-old students to “be capable of the basic tasks that will enable them to participate effectively and productively in life situations.”2 These results were confirmed by the large scale National Assessment in Grade 9 and 11 conducted in Kyrgyzstan in 2015 and 2016.

Based on the available data, it is clear that the basic education system is not producing the required outcomes in early grade reading (in particular comprehension) and math which will continue to jeopardize the ability of children to continue learning successfully in other subjects at secondary school education.

USAID Interventions: In line with USAID’s education strategy, activities in the Kyrgyz Republic have historically focused on early grade reading in Russian and Kyrgyz language schools, at the request of the Ministry of Education and Science (MOES). Programming implemented by USAID Quality Reading Program and the USAID Time to Read Program has reached all public schools that provide teaching instruction in these languages to improve reading. USAID employed an evidence-based approach grounded in establishing reading curriculum standards, strengthening teachers’ reading instructional practices, providing reading materials, incorporating community activities to enhance the culture of reading, and strengthening government capacity in primary grade reading education. By focusing on reading as a foundational skill, USAID supports education as an engine for economic growth that promotes long-term social stability.

1 UNICEF (2009). Equity in Learning? A Comparative Analysis of PISA 2009 Results in CEECIS. Geneva: UNICEF.

2 Ibid.

C5. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The place of performance for these efforts will be the Kyrgyz Republic. The program will be implemented in no less than 75% of public schools nationwide, as well as provide technical assistance to national and sub-national units of the Ministry of Education and Sciences and the Ministry of Culture, Information, and Tourism.

C6. PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES, GOALS AND OUTCOMES

6.1 Overall Objectives and Targets

Within the target schools, the contractor must achieve the following results, by the end of activity implementation:

● Improved learning outcomes in reading and math (grades 1-4) that are evidence-based and likely to be effectively and sustainably implemented within the KR context, with a special emphasis on bridging oral reading fluency to comprehension in reading.

The overall performance objectives to reach this goal include:

● Improved instructional quality in reading and math;

● Improved formal and non-formal learning environments;

● A strengthened education system.

The offeror is required to prepare a PWS to address these USG’s performance objectives with cost-effective and innovative solutions.

6.1.1 Objective 1: Improved instructional quality in reading, numeracy, and math.

The quality of an education system is dependent on the quality of instruction. Quality instruction is the backbone of an education system and this is where the education system of Kyrgyz Republic faces its biggest challenge. For a whole range of economic, political and socio-cultural factors, the system of teacher development and teacher management remains a weak link in Kyrgyz education system at all levels, which results in poor learning outcomes for students.

Poor performance of students is linked to the lack of the necessary educational competencies, as well as overloaded curricula. There is a direct connection between more effective pedagogical approaches and improved student outcomes. USAID basic education activities have demonstrated that teachers and educators who embrace the most effective teaching practices are more likely to impact the student experience positively, and lead to improved learning outcomes and success. Pedagogical approaches, student-teacher interactions, the use of assessments, and the use of technology in teaching, lead to improved students achievement, student motivation, and other outcomes of schooling. A lack of mentoring and support systems for teachers keep educators from learning improved approaches to teaching and continuing to apply these approaches in the classroom.

6.1.2 Objective 2: Improved formal and non-formal learning environments.

The overall learning environments for children in classrooms, libraries, communities, and at homes play a critical role in educational attainment. To be effective, teachers need vital educational inputs, most notably teaching and learning materials (TLM). Availability of relevant teaching and learning materials, such as textbooks, supplementary reading materials, and e-resources, is a key input at school education level. The 2017 NSBA school survey showed that nationally, schools have 80.1 percent of the supply of textbooks needed. However, the availability of textbooks is not equitable. Some schools reported a 100% supply of textbooks, whereas minority language schools have only 30 percent of the textbooks needed3. There is no analysis whether the content of the textbooks is suitable and of high quality. Access to and availability of quality TLM and age-appropriate texts is another key factor which impacts the learning outcomes. Schools lack a selection of children’s books in appropriate languages and libraries are usually small and outdated. Under the USAID Quality Reading Program, 74 percent of classrooms did not have any non-textbook reading materials. Books in Kyrgyz, Tajik, and Uzbek languages are generally not available in the country.

The reading habits of family members also have significant effects on student test scores.

Connecting schools, parents, and the community maximizes available resources to promote learning of all students. When schools actively involve parents and engage community resources they are able to respond more effectively to the learning and other education- related needs of students. Research shows that parents’ and community involvement in their education promote better social skills, higher self-esteem, positively impacts academic achievement and better relations with parents.

6.1.3 Objective 3: A strengthened education system.

A well-functioning education system is one that fulfils well its functional necessities.

Inefficiencies in the education system undermines the ability of the MOES to deliver services and efficiently use its funding. Outdated policies and a lack of technical expertise in human resource management and forecasting, monitoring and evaluation, and management at all levels of the system prevent the full scale adoption of priority interventions in basic education.

The MOES outreach to schools is limited and school administration at oblast and rayon levels are weak. This is particularly damaging to remote schools, and there is a need to transform regional education offices into genuine drivers of school support and supervision. The processes that enhance competencies, motivation, accountability and management at administrative levels are equally important to provide robust basic literacy delivery services.

Reports on Kyrgyz education system have repeatedly pointed out the pre-service education required attention and reform. Emphasis on content knowledge during pre-service training, rather than pedagogical methods and foundational education, has left new teachers ill-equipped for their positions.

3 NSBA report. CEATM 2017

C7. OPERATING CONSTRAINTS

Constraint 1: Programmatic Approaches

Build Upon USAID Reading Interventions

USAID’s work to improve early grade reading have produced in-service training materials, modern methodology, increased availability of reading materials including leveled reading tool.

The leveled reading tool, known as WordCalc, will be further refined and used to develop, revise and edit stories for early grade readers. The activity will build upon the foundation established under QRP and Time to Read, and use the materials in its efforts to strengthen reading instruction and improve learning outcomes for primary school children. Furthermore, the offerors should prioritize technical interventions to improve reading comprehension, since a gap exists between oral reading fluency and reading comprehension.

Numeracy and Mathematics Instruction

Improvement of student learning outcomes in numeracy and math requires innovative teaching and student oriented environment, modernized curriculum standards, support to school/classroom changes and engagement and accountability of school community. It is envisioned that in the first two years of implementation, the activity will pilot numeracy and basic math activities, including assessment and evaluation methodology. Following this, the activity should scale up these interventions after its approach has shown to be successful.

Inclusive Education

This activity will support inclusive education to support access to education to ethnic minorities and disabled children. Ethnic minorities (over 15% of the population) experience significantly lower education attendance and performance than Kyrgyz and Russian speaking students, and having a disability is the predominant reason keeping children out of school in the country. Initial work in this area is being implemented jointly by USAID through UNICEF. Lessons learned from the Improved Assessment and Inclusive Education grant will be used as a base to develop inclusive education interventions in this new activity.

Learning materials

The availability of learning materials in classrooms is essential to improving the learning environment and achieving improved learning outcomes. This activity will develop, procure and distribute teaching and learning materials to promote reading and math skills. This activity to be built upon the results achieved under the previous activities.

Geographic Scope

The geographic scope of IBE-KR will be throughout the country, with no less than 75% public schools as part of its interventions. USAID EGRA results demonstrated significant differences in test scores between urban and rural schools. Strategies that support the learning needs of rural schools versus urban schools are to be addressed, especially given the large percentage of Kyrgyz language rural schools in the country (1423 –Kyrgyz language, 561 –Kyrgyz/Russian language, 216 –Russian language, 33 –Uzbek language and 3 – Tajik language schools).

The offeror will be expected to tailor approaches based upon the regional context and urban/rural differences.

Capacity Development Approaches

IBE-KR is expected to improve the sustainability of education systems and service delivery by reinforcing the national system. Building on current and past investments, the IBE-KR activity will include interventions that build the capacity of the MOES and its affiliates and community-based structures and institutions. The activity will play a facilitative, rather than directive role, reinforcing the necessary technical and managerial capacities of regional education departments and institutions to better manage systems. This means, for example, that the programs will emphasize “learning by doing” and coaching approaches to capacity development, rather than merely training. Instead of introducing new partner-designed tools, programs will be expected to work with local actors to develop or adapt tools and approaches to improve education service delivery and management capacity development.

Community Engagement

A key element of IBE-KR is to strengthen community engagement in education service delivery.

This can include, but is not limited to the following: :

● Community engagement and oversight for improved quality of services;

● Working with and strengthening local organizations, such as libraries, Parent Resource

Centers, non-profit and for-profit organizations, schools, parent committees, civil society organizations;

● Interpersonal and community-level activities to promote reading and learning.

Any related activity should be based on a demonstrated understanding of behavior enabling interventions required to address identified barriers and motivators. Capacity development at each level must be explicitly defined, measurable and able to be evaluated.

Countering Violent Extremism (CVE)

Access to quality education contributes to the effort to address the issues of marginalization, inequality, unemployment, etc., or in other words, some of the “root causes” of violent extremism. Curricula and pedagogy affect radicalization and recruitment into violent extremism.

From primary school, children should be introduced to logic, critical thinking, problem solving, and negotiation skills. Examining issues in a value neutral manner, respecting others viewpoints, compromise, listening etc., are all skills learned at a young age. Empowering students to think critically, teaching them to challenge ideas, construct rational thoughts and engage in meaningful debate will be critical for them as they grow up. Out-of-school activities could provide students opportunities to develop critical thinking, leadership and social skills.

CVE programming must go beyond the school and involve families, communities. Engaging communities in their children’s education and building trust between schools and communities must be a clear objective of CVE programs.

Gender Equity

Gender differentials in education attainment exist to a large extent in the Kyrgyz Republic. Girls in the Kyrgyz Republic dropout of school at a lower rate than boys, and boys show lower academic performance from as early as second grade. EGRA results from 2018 showed that girls scored higher than boys on most subtasks across grades and languages and these results are consistent with previous EGRAs conducted in the Kyrgyz Republic. On Oral Reading Fluency (ORF), for example, girls read nearly 42 correct words per minute on average, while boys read just below 35 correct words per minute. At grade 4, girls read more than ten correct words per minute faster than boys, and on average, girls answered 69.9 percent of the reading comprehension questions correctly compared to 57.6 percent for boys. The only subtask on which boys scored significantly higher than girls was the listening comprehension.

Offerors must include in their technical interventions how they will address gender inequities in their activities, including to support the revision of school texts and curricula to remove gender stereotypes; ensure that teacher training programs funded by USAID include content on how teachers reinforce gender stereotyping in the classroom; support the development of education materials and reading materials to remove gender stereotypes; and work with parents, school administration and community leaders to change attitudes about the value of education and diverse educational and career choices for boys and girls. The contractor will conduct an in-depth gender study as part of their year one work plan, to provide further information and analysis on gender issues in early grade education. The contractor will then use the study’s conclusions to develop interventions to adequately address gender disparities.

Collaboration, Learning, and Adapting

USAID/KR is dedicated to advancing the broader Agency organizational learning and development policy effort called Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA), whereby the causal pathways to desired outcomes are continuously assessed so that activities can be adjusted as necessary to implement the most effective course of action. In collaboration with the MOES, IBE-KR will conduct baseline, midline and endline Early Grade Reading Assessments in reading with nationwide coverage. An initial development and pilot of early grade numeracy and math assessment is envisioned, with further scale-up in the latter years of the activity. Any research activities must adhere to GOKR and USG laws, regulations, guidelines and procedures for ethical research. IBE-KR will use program-learning dissemination as a key aspect of the program. The Mission’s IBE-KR management team will work to ensure sufficient effort is invested to monitor and evaluate activities; collect, analyze and synthesize data; and to publish the data in open as appropriate. IBE-KR will actively engage in communities-of-practice relevant to its activities. The contractor to cooperate with bilateral and multilateral donors both to share programmatic approaches and collaborate where possible and to share data from evaluations, research, assessments, and surveys. Similarly, the contractor will influence existing channels for communications and possibly the private sector to enhance the effectiveness of knowledge and information sharing. The programmatic and evaluation reports will be published on the Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC) and shared through the Development Data Library.

External mid-term performance evaluation will be conducted by a third party, in line with USAID’s evaluation policy. The contractor must design and implement monitoring and evaluation activities necessary to track progress and resolve performance problems in a timely manner

Coordination with other Education Activities

In the first year of implementation, this activity will overlap with the last years of two existing USAID education activities: USAID Time to Read and the Improved Assessment and Inclusive Education activity. Work plans, events, and interventions (especially trainings) must be coordinated with these activities, ensuring that there is no duplication of activities. IBE-KR must also coordinate with the USDA McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program, implemented in country by Mercy Corps, which implements school feeding programs and out of school literacy activities. Furthermore, IBE-KR will proactively coordinate activities with other education-focused initiatives, primarily funded by UNICEF, Asian Development Bank, the Aga Khan Foundation, the European Union, Soros Foundation, and the World Bank.

Constraint 2: Budgetary

The program will be expected to provide adequate budget, narrative, and results information to meet the planning and reporting demands of the Operating Plan annual budget process. These planning details will include proposed budgets by element, sub-element, as well as expected performance targets.

Constraint 3: Operational

Legal and Policy Framework: The contractor must operate in line with GOKR, USAID/KR, and USG policies, procedures, and priorities. These include, but are not limited to, the GOKR National Development Strategy, the National Education Strategy, the USAID/KR CDCS, the U.S. Government Strategy on International Basic Education 2019-2023, the USAID Education Policy, and the READ Act. The contractor must be familiar with these strategies and formulate approaches and interventions accordingly. The contractor must collaborate closely with the GOKR and other national and international education and development stakeholders to implement a sound program, which is contextually and politically appropriate and viable. The program must work under a Memorandum of Understanding between the GOKR and USAID.

Outreach and Communication: The contractor will be expected to develop and implement high quality outreach and communication strategies and activities that can meet international marketing, brand building, advertising, and content creation standards. The focus of the communication will be the results, impacts, and achievements of the project. The messaging and overall narrative of all communication and outreach efforts will focus on the people (or beneficiaries) of the project to highlight the transformative nature of the proposed developmental approach and activities. A pool of talented creators will be proposed for regular writing, photography, graphic design, videography, filmmaking, and other visual composition tasks and include a selection of reputable and industry leading professionals with robust portfolios. The contractor will propose content distribution options, including communication tools or products, to ensure that the acquired content reaches a wide audience and achieves the communication objectives it serves. The targeted audience will include all segments of the Kyrgyz public as well as selected segments of the American public. The contractor will propose a social media strategy with specific reach and engagement targets along with publication plans or approaches to achieve them. It is also expected that a high-quality, high-impact national campaign will be held to inform the Kyrgyz public about the project’s main achievement and results while supporting USAID brand building and brand recognition in the country.

[END of SECTION C]

Attachment II. How to Submit a Response

All comments must be submitted electronically to AlmatyAASolicitations@usaid.gov under the title: RFI-72011518R00011: Improved Basic Education in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Responses to this RFI will be accepted through the date and time on the cover letter. You will receive only an electronic confirmation acknowledging receipt of your response, but will not receive individualized feedback or suggestions. No basis for claims against the U.S.

Government shall arise as a result of a response to this request for information or from the U.S.

Government’s use of such information. Specific questions about this RFI should be directed only to the email addresses identified above. This office will not respond to any telephone or other inquiries regarding this notice.

The submitted information must not exceed 2 pages, including annexes/attachments.

The submitted response should include the following information:

Reference Number: RFI-72011518R0001: Improved Basic Education in the Kyrgyz Republic Date:

Affiliation/ Organization:

Business Address:

Representative Name / Email:

A short narrative that includes:

The questions or specific areas requiring clarity in the SOO; and Recommendations for considerations/improvements, referencing a place/section in the SOO.

Please note USAID is not seeking technical or cost applications at this time. Do not submit any application in response to this RFI. Only the information requested above will be considered.

Issuance of this notice does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the U.S.

Government, nor does it commit the Government to pay for any costs incurred in the preparation of comments.

Provision:

FAR 52.215-3 Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct 1997)

(a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

(b) Although “proposal” and “offeror” are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal.

(c) This solicitation is issued for the purpose of seeking input from interested Offerors on the draft Statement of Objectives, Improved Basic Education in the Kyrgyz Republic.

(End of provision)