Terms of Reference for the development of Gender Mainstreaming and Inclusive Policy in Education

Terms of Reference for the development of Gender Mainstreaming and Inclusive Policy in Education

Project Name:

Adolescent Girls Education in Somalia (AGES)

Location(s) of the action:

Banadir, Jubaland and South-West State of Somalia

Organization:

CARE International, Somalia

Duration

15 days

Start date

September 2021

1. Background

The DFID-funded ‘Leave No Girls’ Behind (LNGB)-Adolescent Girls’ Education in Somalia (AGES)’ is an innovative project which aims to promote education access through tailored, sustainable solutions in order to develop literacy, numeracy, and key life skills for the most marginalized adolescent girls in South Central Somalia. It is a consortium comprising CARE (lead agency) ADRA, GREDO (National NGO), WARDI (National NGO), and UCES (education network), responsible for project implementation, and FORCIER Consulting (research and technology partner). LNGB-AGES will target the hardest to reach out of school girls, specifically, girls engaged in child labor, married and divorced girls, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and girls from minority clans, excluded groups, and pastoralist families. The project aims to improve access to education, learning outcomes, and retention of 42,000 girls from some of the poorest, most vulnerable and conflict-affected regions of Jubaland, Banadir/Mogadishu, and South West Administration, and to improve the overall quality of education by building local capacity of the 42,000 project target girls.

Given the context and the barriers girls in the targeted areas face, the program takes a multidimensional approach while focusing efforts on these key barriers and the most marginalized girls. At an individual and household level, the program is sponsoring Village Savings and Loans (VSL) groups, providing bursaries to 562 girls with disabilities, provides them with life skills and other training through Girls Empowerment Forums (GEFs), mentor boys through parallel Boys Empowerment Forums, and sensitize mothers to pro-education norms, especially around disability. At a community level, religious leaders have been mobilized for education and trained on Islamic principles that emphasize gender equality and girls’ education, deliver pro-education messaging through radio and social media.

Specifically, the project aims to support the MOE through policy development and strengthening of the quality assurance standards and processes. In view of the above, AGES consortium partners intend to support the MOE in review and revision of quality assurance processes within the ministries of Education in view of inclusiveness and equity standard

AGES marginalization and GESI barriers

AGES beneficiaries are among the most marginalized girls in Somalia. In the Somali context, clan membership and dialect is spoken are significant markers of marginalization in particular in the south and 52.2 percent of AGES beneficiaries belong to either a marginalized agricultural clan (Digital-Mirifle), a minority group (“Bantu”), or occupational minority. Over one-quarter of girls speak Af-Maay, putting them at a disadvantage in a school system built around Af-Mahatiri instructional materials. A number of girls face personal sources of marginalization – 7.0 percent have been married, and 5.1 percent are young mothers. While disability prevalence rates are not extremely high overall, a considerable number of girls – 11.4 percent experience anxiety or depression daily or weekly, and over one-quarter of sampled girls experience anxious feelings or extreme sadness monthly.

The most compelling aspect of beneficiaries’ marginalization is possibly the low value placed on it by their families and the limited experience their families have of formal education. The vast majority (78.6 percent) of girls live in households where neither their household heads nor their caregivers, have attended the formal school of any kind. In terms of prioritization of schooling, 40.1 percent of caregivers believe household chores are an acceptable reason to keep their daughters out of school, and a majority of girls dedicate a few hours or more per day to household chores. Combined with household financial limitations, the prevalence of school fees, the views of caregivers – most of whom say they do not have enough money to pay for schooling, and that this is a legitimate reason to keep their daughter out of school – the low value placed on girls’ education is a significant problem.

Notably, economic and household aspects of marginalization overlap with clan-based marginalization. For instance, marginalized clans or groups are more likely to experience hunger, and girls in minority groups spend more time on chores than their counterparts in less marginalized clans.

AGES Gender and Social Inclusion Strategy

In the setting in which AGES operates, clan and ethnic identity have grown even more important as determinants of rights and access to protection and resources. Minority clans and historically marginalized groups such as the ‘’Somali Bantu’’ don’t only lack access to basic services but are often exposed to other socio-economic challenges. The poorest households are also highly vulnerable to natural disasters. The exclusion of marginalized and hard-to-reach children from accessing quality education is both by default and by design. Across the globe, education equity has been a challenge and continuously emphasized in all international commitments.

From a Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) perspective, the program targets the most marginalized girls with a strong emphasis on girls with disabilities (GWDs). The program has so far successfully identified 37,000 out of school and ultra-marginalized girls and enrolled them in the three different learning pathways: Accelerated Basic Education (ABE) pathway, Formal Education Pathway, and the Non-Formal Education through the intentional targeting pillar, however, to sum up, the following three pillars were combined/designed by the project into one inclusive strategy by concentrating on the establishment of conductive and inclusive systems including viable structures for the ultra-marginalized girls while underscoring the essentiality of real-time data to maintain, strengthen and improve the strategy.

. AGES Gender Equality and Social Inclusion strategy

Overall Objective of the assignment

· To develop gender mainstreaming and social inclusion policy that is responsive to the needs of marginalized schoolgirls to augment education quality assurance policies.

Specific objectives of the workshop

· Support the MOEHE in developing gender mainstreaming and social inclusion policy, system, and procedure to address the existing gaps with an inclusive disability-specific quality assurance standards lens.

· To improve the existing systems and policy documents to include a focus on inclusion of ultra-marginalized groups including Girls with d Disabilities Gwen’s.

· To develop a monitoring plan to support in follow-up on the implementation of policies.

5. Consultant’s Role and Scope of Work

a) The consultant will work with MOECHE to develop gender mainstreaming and social inclusion policy, system and procedure to address the gaps on quality assurance that are inclusive and responsive to the needs of marginalized out of schoolgirls

b) Do a presentation to the MOECHE and stakeholders on the outcome of the preliminary review for further input

c) Work closely with MOECHE and support the validation of quality assurance policy, systems, and procedure for operationalization.

d) Prepare a comprehensive report with clear actions and plan on how the stated actions will be actualized and followed up

6. CARE’s Role and Responsibility

The role of CARE with regard to this assignment will include but is not be limited to**.**

· Review proposed methodologies, tools, plans, and reports produced by the consultant and advise where necessary.

· Coordinate meetings, discussions, or consultations with MOEHE about the assignment to ensure availability and acceptance.

· Support production/photocopying of materials/handouts needed during the activity

7 Expected Outputs of the consultancy

· A comprehensive report on gaps with annexure of gender mainstreaming and social inclusion policy, system, and procedure that has been developed, included in quality assurance policy, and validated by the MOECHE.

The consultancy will be conducted over a period of 15 days. The consultant will share the reports with CARE and MoECHE within one week after completing the assignment.

8 Duration of the Consultancy

The consultancy will be conducted over a period of 15 days. The consultant will share the reports with CARE and MoECHE within one week after completing the assignment. S/N

Activity

No. days

Developing gender mainstreaming policy, system, and procedure to address the gaps in quality assurance that are inclusive and responsive to the needs of marginalized out of schoolgirls

9 days

Presentation to MOCHE, project staff, and other stakeholders on the policy document including implementation and monitoring approaches.

1 day

Finalization of the policy document (incorporating feedback from MOCHE and stakeholders)

3 days

Validation of the policy document by MOCHE

1 day

CAREPresentation of the policy document and reports to MOCHE and AGES project.

1 day

Total number of days

15 days

9 Desirable qualifications of the Experts:

· Degree in Education or other relevant Social Sciences is mandatory; however, Master’s degree in Education Management/ Gender Mainstreaming, quality assurance. The curriculum is desirable and an added advantage.

CARE· Proven experience in capacity strengthening for local governments on policies, systems, and procedures, minimum five years and above is highly appreciated.

· Proven records of similar assignments with validated reports available for reference.

· Experience in conducting education-related training including skills in facilitating adult learning

· Good understanding of gender-responsive education programming

· Excellent analytical and conceptual skills to think and plan strategically

· Excellent report writing skills

· Excellent written and spoken English, proficiency in the Somali language is desired

How to apply

Interested candidates should send in a detailed Technical and Financial Proposal to the email address SOM.Consultant@care.org by Oct 10, 2021