SHORT-TERM CONSULTANCY SERVICES REQUIRED

Technical Support to Sindh School Education and Literacy Department for System Strengthening and Capacity Building in Inclusive and Resilient Education

SCOPE OF WORK

About CRS

CRS, an international humanitarian and development agency is dedicated to saving, protecting, and transforming lives in over 114 countries around the globe. CRS provides assistance without discrimination on race, religion, or nationality. CRS has been working in Pakistan since 1954 to promote human development by responding to major emergencies. CRS implemented emergency response, early recovery and development programming including education in Pakistan, reaching more than one million people during 2005-2022. CRS Pakistan programs are focused on: 1) Agriculture and Livelihoods 2) Education and Skills Development 3) Emergency Response and Recovery – Integrated Multi Sectors Approach and 4) Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Building.

Purpose

CRS in partnership with five local and international partners is implementing the USAID-funded Education Resilience Activity (ERA), which works to improve Pakistan’s education ecosystem and enhance inclusive, sustained access to quality education for marginalized children, particularly girls and children with disabilities. ERA is working with the provincial education departments in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to support policy implementation, community engagement, public and private partnerships for inclusive and resilient education. As a key program component, ERA is providing technical support to the School Education and Literacy Department (SELD), Government of Sindh to review existing policies, plans, systems and structures to strengthen the Department’s capacity to implement policies related to equitable, inclusive and resilient education.

SELD has taken several initiatives to improve the access, equity and quality of education in the province. Following enactment of Article 25 (A) to the Constitution of Pakistan, the Government of Sindh promulgated the Sindh Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2013. Another impetus was given to education in Sindh when the Parliament of Pakistan adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) as the national development agenda for the country in 2016. Sindh demonstrated a strong commitment to pursue SDG-4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. School Education Sector Plan and Roadmap for Sindh (2019-2024) has a clear emphasis on equitable and inclusive education. The sector plan envisages mainstreaming of inclusive education through teacher training, teaching and learning material development, and awareness raising. Notwithstanding, great initiatives, schools in Sindh need to be adequately equipped with teaching-learning materials and teachers need training and continuous professional development for teaching students with diverse learning needs.

ERA is inviting services of highly qualified and experienced consultants to provide technical support to SELD in capacity assessment to identify barriers, capacity and mandate gaps and develop effective implementation frameworks for scaling the implementation of inclusive education policies and plans in Sindh. Consultancy services would be required for up to four months and daily rates will commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the consultant(s).

Objectives

The ERA technical support to SELD will be in the form of expert consultant(s) who is expected to review policies, plans, strategies and programs, including capacity building plans focused on equitable and inclusive education. Based on the assessment, the consultant(s) will develop implementation frameworks. The technical support will cover the following broad areas:

Policy and Planning: review and analysis of existing policies, plans, strategies and programs. The review can include document review, consultations and engagement with education stakeholders.

Capacity Assessment: this will include relevant officials of SELD, faculty of teacher education institutions, material development experts and district and taluka education officials.

Teaching and Learning Materials: review and enrichment of teacher training, student learning, and parental engagement materials.

Education Management Information System: review of the Sindh Education Management Information System (SEMIS) to assess its functionality, data collection tools and data use to strengthen inclusive education in schools.

Activities and Deliverables

1. Review existing policies and sector plans to identify barriers to implementation of equitable and inclusive education in Sindh.
2. Conduct capacity assessment of SELD officials, faculty of teacher education institutions, material development experts and district and taluka education officials to implement inclusive education policy.
3. Develop Implementation Frameworks for Sindh to implement equitable and inclusive education policies.
4. Develop capacity building plans for education officials to implement inclusive education policy and implementation frameworks.

1. Conduct assessment and analysis of the Directorate of Curriculum, Assessment and Research, Curriculum Wing and other bodies in terms of capacity for developing relevant and quality teaching-learning materials. This will include mapping of their organizational structures, review of their scopes of work, and identifying linkages among them to improve collaboration and reduce duplication.
2. Conduct assessment of the Sindh Teacher Education Development Authority, Provincial Institute of Teacher Education, and Teacher Training Institutions in terms of capacity for pre- and in-service teacher training. This will include mapping of their organizational structures, review of their scopes of work, and identifying linkages among them to improve collaboration and reduce duplication.

7. Review the existing school safety plans and develop Action Plans jointly owned by the Disaster Management Authorities and education departments to implement Inclusive, Risk-Resilient School Safety Plans in schools.
8. Review SEMIS in Sindh to assess its functionality, data collection tools and data use to strengthen inclusive education in government schools.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum master’s degree in education, public policy, development or relevant discipline from an accredited, recognized university. Higher qualification will be preferred.
  • Minimum of ten years’ experience in working on system strengthening, capacity development and public policy in the public education system. Experience in inclusive and resilient education will be an advantage.
  • In-depth knowledge and understanding of the education landscape and public education system in Sindh.
  • Excellent research, writing, and communication skills in English are essential. Written and oral proficiency in Urdu and Sindhi desirable.
  • Demonstrated ability to engage and work with multiple sections of the provincial education department and stakeholders. Effective communication and coordination among key stakeholders is a key requirement. 

Travel - Must be willing and able to travel to districts in the province. The base of work for this assignment will be the Sindh School Education and Literacy Department in Karachi with travel to districts as and when required.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Very good strategic, analytical, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills, with the capacity to see the big picture and the ability to make sound judgments and decisions.
• Very good relations management abilities.
• Ability to relate to people at all levels internally and externally.
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented, and results-oriented.

Key Working Relationships

Internal: Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party, and Technical Advisors

External: School Education and Literacy Department, Government of Sindh

Duration: 4-Months