Expression of Interest (EOI) for Consultant for feasibility study for the project ‘Strengthening

institutional capacity of Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary School Education (MBSSE) to
improve and increase access to quality education in Kenema District’

About SEND

We are a non-governmental organization that is dedicated to creating a Sierra Leone where there is
respect for human rights, accountable governance, food and nutrition security as well as equal
opportunities for men and women to thrive. We liaise with communities, traditional authorities,
government institutions and foreign partners to combine resources that will develop innovative
solutions to alleviate poverty and enhance quality self-reliance.

With our strategic approach, SEND Sierra Leone has adopted the global Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGS) to guide national development planning and implementation. The pursuit of economic
equality and social equity are mainstreamed in the SDGs. Our commitment to the government is to
improve the delivery of social services, strengthen gender and social inclusion, and prioritize the
education sector.

SEND Sierra Leone is an independent structure, a local NGO registered in Sierra Leone. Our portfolio
includes community development, WaSH, health, nutrition/agriculture and women’s empowerment.

Intervention areas are in the districts of Kailahun, Kenema, Kono, Western Areas Urban and Rural
districts and more recently, the district of Bonthe.

Our vision is to see a Sierra Leone where people’s rights and well-being are guaranteed. Our mission is
geared towards the promotion of good governance, voice, accountably basic services and equality for
women and men in Sierra Leone.

Project context

Sierra Leone’s tumultuous past has left many of its sectors damaged. The educational sector is no
expectation. According to the International Education rankings for 2018, Sierra Leone is ranked 164
out of 201 countries. According to the Sierra Leone’s Medium-term National Development Plan 2019
– 2023, the Country’s population is young and dynamic; but literacy level is low. There is weak
performance in primary and secondary education. for the Early Results Grade Reading Assessment,
the Early Grade Mathematics Assessment, the National Primary School Examination, the Basic
Education Certificate Examination, and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination are
poor and not getting better.

The school completion rate remains a serious challenge. Primary school completion rate is 65.97%
(65.35% and 66.6% for female and male respectively), while Secondary School Completion rate stands
at 51.33% for all categories with 48.27% and 54.44% being respectively female and male. Statistics for
High School Graduation and College Graduation rates are not known. Student to teacher ratio is 32:1
with 23:1 and 37:1 being female and male respectively. Too many girls are still not completing basic
education, and many who complete do not move on to senior secondary school. High repetition rates,
especially at the primary level, have been a major factor in limiting school completion. The low levels
of teacher competence and motivation are additional factors.

The number of teachers has been increasing over the years, as school enrolments increase. In 2016, the
total number of teachers in all schools was 63,535, of which 17,147 were female. By 2017 the total
number had increased 63,736, while female teachers decreased to 17,006. The problem is most serious
at the primary level, where 42 percent of teachers are unqualified, compared to junior secondary and
senior secondary levels, where 27 percent and 12 percent respectively of teachers are unqualified. About
34 percent of teachers have no formal training as educators in 2016. Consequently, quality of
education remains a concern across all school levels because the teaching force in Sierra Leone is of
poor quality.

Equity issues exist in education. Pre-primary schooling is not equitably provided. A vast number of pre-
primary school-age children do not have access to pre-primary school. Where this is provided, the
quality of service has been uneven. There is still inequity in the provision of general schooling and in
enrolment across geographical areas. Many children are still starting primary school late, above the
official age. In addition, many children with disabilities are out of school.

In the governance and management of the school system, there has been unnecessary over-
centralization, and no system of financing that encourages and rewards good performance and
improvement. In Kenema, where this action will be implemented, the Ministry of Basic and Senior
Secondary Education statistics indicate that there are 970 schools of which 108, 700, 121, and 41 are
respectively pre-primary, primary, JSS and SSS are currently operating in the district. Nearly all schools
have similar challenges as shared above, with many lacking trained and qualified teachers and resources
and the low operating capacity of the MBSSE contribute largely to the poor education performance of
the district.

The specific objective of this proposed action is to significantly improve and increase access to basic
and senior secondary education in Kenema District through capacity enhancements of the MBSSE, and
increasing the capacity of teachers to provide quality teaching and enhancing learning activities that are
safe, inclusive, equitable and relevant to needs in order to impact productive economic activity.

With this action, SEND will build the institutional capacity of key departments in MBSSE to effectively
play its designated management and deployment role, policies, standards, guides, and to develop related
frameworks in support of quality education Service delivery in Kenema District. Such capacity
enhancement will enable the institution to manage teachers` records, transfers, deployment, assessment,
promotions, and monitor the performance of teachers and school principals for improved governance
and delivery of education service provision.

The project

SEND Sierra Leone and TERRA TECH GERMANY, funded by German Federal Ministry for
Economic Cooperation (BMZ), are planning a project ‘Strengthening institutional capacity of Ministry
of Basic and Senior Secondary School Education (MBSSE) to improve and increase access to quality
education in Kenema District’ The overall objective of this action is to strengthen the organizational
capacity of MBSSE and community education support structures to significantly improve and increase
access to basic and secondary education in Kenema District .
The following are the proposed results of the action:

• Result 1: Improved capacity of the MBSSE in Kenema District for effective and result oriented
teaching and learning in basic and secondary schools.
• Result 2: Community education support structures are functioning effectively and contribute to
quality delivery of education services in Kenema District
• Result 3: Improved in education infrastructure and strengthen effective education service delivery

Project strategies include:

Improving the capacity of the MBSSE in Kenema District for effective and result oriented
teaching and learning in basic and secondary schools: SEND will undertake capacity assessment of
the MBSSE departments such as the TSC, Free Quality Education Unit, the Inspectorate Division and
teachers in 970 schools in Kenema District. After the assessment, SEND will develop a capacity
building plan for the departments and support the establishment of a Computer Training Centre (CTC)
for teachers, equipped with computers and internet facilities for the quarterly trainings of teachers in
batches jointly selected and approved by the MBSSE to enable them develop computer skills to support
teaching and learning in the 970 schools in Kenema Districts. Each of the 970 schools will select one
teacher to benefit from the training in order to teach IT for pupils/students. Other teachers are allowed
to pay a minimal fee to benefit from the trainings and such payments will contribute to future
sustainability of the center.

Supporting the effective functioning of community education support structures to contribute to

quality delivery of education services in Kenema District: SEND will support the MBSSE to assess
and map out all the SMCs/SBOG/WESC in 970 schools and wards to provide data for the planning and
delivery of capacity building activities for these community education support structures. The members
of the SMCs/SBOG/WESC will be trained on education and child care policies, and the Teachers Code
of Conduct to support effective implementation of policies and the protection of the rights and dignities
of all children in schools. To unify and promote learning, a network of SMCs/SBOG/WESC will be
created and connected through social media platforms and supported to promote awareness in schools
on the Government’s Free Quality Basic and Secondary education in Kenema District. This action will
also provide resources to the MBSSE to build the capacity of the district leadership of the Kenema
Network of SMCs/SBOG/WESC and support them with resources to organize quarterly Kenema
District quiz competitions on Mathematics, English and Computer to enhance competition and learning
among 970 schools in the District

Improving education infrastructure and strengthening effective education service delivery: In

partnership with MBSSE, this action will access the database of schools in Kenema and select a junior
secondary school in dire need of construction and implement a newly constructed Kenema Model
Junior Secondary School for Girls for academic excellence in Kenema District jointly selected by the
MBSSE and SEND to educate, prepare and nurture the future of girls and to also enable them cultivate
a lifelong passion for learning. This school should be synonymous with quality and highly regarded as
an institution that provides a healthy environment for education and a place that facilitates young girls’
minds to imbibe not only knowledge but also the courage and wisdoms to face the world with
confidence through the acquisition of academic, emotional, social, mind-set intelligence. The school
will be integrated with recreational facilities such a school field, volleyball and basketball courts,
principal’s office, staff common room, hall, long tennis and handball courts. Improved water facilities
and solar will also be provided to enhance the effective functioning of the school. A computer Lab will
also be provided and equipped with computers, internet facilities to strengthen the acquisition of IT
skills to support the education of girls. The teachers for the schools will be provided by the government
of Sierra Leone who will be well trained and managed to ensure that the objectives of the school are
achieved. Yearly subsidies will be provided by the government from the third year onwards to ensure
sustainability of action when the project shall phase out.

Purpose of the consultancy

SEND Sierra Leone is seeking the services of a consultant to conduct a feasibility study for the proposed
project to guide the development of the proposed project proposal and submission to the donor as part
of the processes that should guide the development of action. The final report will take the form of
findings and recommendations for possible strategies and activities with clear qualitative and
quantitative description of each indicator and suggested tools for monitoring data collection as well as
an operational M&E plan.

The consultant will have overall responsibilities for this assignment and is expected to:

• Review relevant project documents, national and international policies to inform the
processes and recommendations
• Develop the feasibility tools including both quantitiative and qualitative tools
• Lead the pre-testing of the study tools and refine the data collection questions
• Develop sampling procedure
• Training enumerators and supervisors for quantitative and qualitative data collection
• Supervise the quantitative and qualitative data collection
• Analysis of quantitative data in SPSS or similar statistical software
• Analysis of qualitative data in connection wtih quantitative data
• Writing report with recommendations
• Incorporate comments and finalise report
• Present findings to staff of SEND
• Orienation with SEND staff on the study and recommendations

Roles of SEND Sierra Leone:

• Develop terms of reference

• Share all relevant project and context documents for background understanding to support the
processes of the study
• Review and comment on study methodology, sampling and tools
• Approval of the final study instruments
• Give feedback and comments to draft reports
• Recruit external enumerators and facilitate logistics for data collection
• Administrative and logistic support to consultant
• Logistical organization for study findings sharing event

Methodology
This study will be conducted within the target area of Kenema District with a representative sampling
from within direct beneficiaries of 20% of all target groups as proposed in the concept such as schools,
teachers, MDAs reps, community stakeholders, parents and other stakeholders of the proposed project
in Kenema District.
The methodology is expected to include both quantitative and qualitative tools.
Quantitative tools are expected to capture for example:
• Educational characteristics of target group
• Knowledge, attitudes and behaviors (KAB) around education practices at household and
community level
• Minimum years of edcuation
• Living standard of target groups
• Access to adequate edcuation facilities
• Access to quality education services
• Access to and use of education facilities/services
Qualitative tools are expected to capture for example:
• Knowledge, attitudes and behavior around education
• Perception and attitudes towards education
• Opportunities and challenges for education interventions
• Education potentials and recommended strategies

Proposed structure for baseline report:

• Executive summary
• Background and context
• Methodology
• Presentation of findings (thematic) and discussion of findings (using both quantitative and
qualitative data)
• Recommendations for the proposed approaches in the Concept Note
• Recommendations for awareness raising strategies
• Recommendations for supporting activities (e.g. teacher training, IT interventions, and
education infrastructural development)
• M&E Framework for the monitoring of feasibility indicators

Work plan and financial proposal

The consultant is expected to present a proposal inclusive of work plan and cost of service for
consideration, including the following:

• Detailed CV of consultant
• Elaboration and outline of methodology and sampling
• Work plan (indicating breakdown of number of days allocated for various tasks)
• Final financial proposal
• 3 references

Expected qualifications of consultant:

• Background in education or in feasibility studies, community development, or similar.
• Demonstrated experience conducting similar studies for (I)NGOs
• SPSS license and mastery (or similar statistical software package
• Willingness to travel to remote area for the assignment

Payment Terms
Upon the signing of contract, SEND will make 20% advance payment to facilitate work. 80% of the
contractual sum will be paid after the final report is submitted, discussed and endorsed by SEND and
TERRA TECH.

Please forward proposal to:

ayamga@sendsierraleone.com
Kindly quote only the Consultancy in the subject line.
Closing date: 18th December 2019