BACKGROUND INFORMATION

• Puntland Context 

Somalia has some of the lowest development and humanitarian indicators in the world, and inequalities across different social groups are a major driver of conflict. The absence of central governance during the civil war has seen the northern part of Somalia split into autonomous and semi-autonomous regions: the internationally unrecognized autonomous state of Somaliland and the semi-autonomous state of Puntland. Puntland has been relatively stable over the last decade, thereby allowing for a stronger emphasis on building governance and rule of law, as well as enabling it to establish political and administrative institutions. The Puntland state of Somalia had managed to undertake a democratic transfer of political power and is characterized by an administration dedicated to the provision of critical basic social services, presence of an active civil society, and a growing private enterprise community.

Somalia, with the longest running humanitarian crisis lasting for over 2 decades, is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a Gross Domestic Product of US$220 per capita. It is reported that 82% of the population in Somalia is multi-dimensionally poor, and 43% of its population lives on less than US$1 per day. As to OCHA humanitarian Bulletin report, as of February 2015, 1.1 million people out of the total estimated Somali population of 12.3 million are IDPs and of these 130,000 are settled in Puntland. Furthermore, the majority of the population is pastoral or agro-pastoral, with 52% of the population having nomadic livelihoods. 60% of employment opportunities revolve around livestock, frankincense production and fishing. Other sources of income for many households in Puntland are remittances from the diaspora community. Contributions from the diaspora not only benefit household incomes, but also significantly contribute to service provision in and around towns. It is quite common to see schools and mosques built courtesy of diaspora contributions.

Following the fall of the Siad Barre government in 1991 and the onset of the civil war in Somalia, the semi-autonomous state of Puntland formed its regional administration on May 5, 1998, bringing together the Bari, Nugaal and Northern Mudug regions as well as areas of Sool and Sanaag. The Puntland State consists of the following seven regions: – Bari, Nugal, Mudug, Sanaag Sool, Ayn,Highland, Gardafuu and Karkaar with its main city at Garowe. While Puntland has since joined the Federal Government of Somalia, formed in 2012, public systems continued to be managed directly by state institutions. Puntland has experienced relative stability during the past five years, although conflicts in contested areas with Somaliland, inter-clan clashes and attacks by armed militants have taken place, including a severe escalation of border clashes in 2018-2019. The livestock sector dominates the economy of the Puntland regions and livelihoods of the population. Hence, the economy of Puntland is largely dependent on livestock exports, which contribute to approximately 80% of foreign exchange earnings, 40% of the GDP and 60% of employment opportunities. The fishing industry is ranked as the second highest income earner for the population of Puntland, after livestock while remittance from the diaspora also plays a major role in the economy. The state was heavily affected by the 2017 drought, resulting in large scale displacement and nearly $1 billion in economic losses, 51% of which in the livestock and agriculture sectors , with a devastating impact among the estimated 40% of the population formed by pastoralists . At the moment, much of Puntland is facing acute food insecurity (IPC 3), aggravated by an ongoing second wave of COVID-19 infections; the economic impact of the pandemic, including the reduction in remittances and livestock exports to Gulf countries; below average rainfall, locust swarms and the devastating impact of cyclone Gati in Bari, affecting an estimated 180,000 people.

• Overview of the Education Sector

The education system is managed directly by the State’s Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE). Despite the fragility of the context, Puntland’s education system has experienced substantial development, including strengthening of local institutions and a substantial expansion of access to primary education. The primary gross enrolment rate (GER) has is steadily increasing, from 55% in 2015 to 64% in 2019, although the reduction in the gender gap was far more limited (one percentage point) and the gender parity index remains substantially low, at 0.81 for primary and 0.68b for secondary. The overall primary school enrolment increased by 25% during the same period. On the other hand, while new schools have been constructed, the closure of other schools and insecurity resulted only in a modest increase of the overall number (from 653 in 2016 to 658 in 2019).

Puntland has met its ESSP targets for hiring and training new teachers. The number of primary school teachers has increased by 12%, from 4,310 in 2016 to 4,806 in 2019. A total of 690 teachers have received training, surpassing the ESSP target of 500. Additional GPE funding under the Maximum Country Allocation (MCA) is being allocated to support teacher training as well. Puntland’s Garowe Teacher Education College (GTEC) provides in-service and pre-service training to primary and secondary teachers. The increased enrolment maintained the pupil-teacher ratio at 33 despite the addition of new teachers, however. Access to learning materials remains a challenge, although the GPE’s MCA will provide nearly 900,000 additional textbooks until 2023.

As of 2018, the state government invested 4.4% of its budget in the education sector, well below the 8% target in the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP). Despite funding challenges, the MOEHE has been moderately successful in strengthening decentralized services at regional and district levels, and over 1,381 Community Education Committee members have been trained. The Ministry has a Gender Unit and Gender Focal Points in all regions. The longitudinal study conducted by the Somali Girls’ Education Promotion Project-Transition (SOMGEP-T), funded by the UK Government and implemented in rural and remote primary schools, found that female students in Puntland had consistently greater gains in numeracy and Somali literacy than their peers in other states, suggesting that progress on learning is being observed even among vulnerable populations such as pastoralists. The sector has expanded the coverage and capacity of the Education Management Information System (EMIS), having systematically released annual reports, although data is not available for all subsectors.

Puntland has been heavily affected by COVID-19, with 1,101 cases identified as of November 21, 2020 and ongoing outbreaks in eight regions. Schools remained closed between March and August 2020, resulting in potential learning losses and increased dropout rates in 2020-21. On July 2020, the MOEHE launched a remote education program using UNICEF’s learning passport platform to offer classes to primary students. Furthermore, the combination of crises faced by families and teachers is having a negative impact on students’ mental health; a study conducted in July 2020 found that 9% of the girls assessed in rural and remote areas of Puntland reported severe anxiety on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, with 4% reporting the same for depression, with a potential midterm impact on learning, retention and transition rates.

The GPE through the Education Sector Plan Development Grant (ESPDG) plans to support the Puntland Government in ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all by building stronger education systems for achieving improvements in education equity and learning as outlined in its Strategic Plan 2020. The previous Puntland Education Sector Analysis 2012 -2016 has expired while the Education Sector Strategic plan 2017-2021 expires in December 2021. It’s for this reason, the Puntland Government seeks the services of a consultant to support them in conducting Education Sector Analysis-ESA, and developing an Education Sector Strategic Plan 2022-2026 (ESSP).

2. OBJECTIVE, PURPOSE & SCOPE OF WORK

• Overall objectives:

The overall objective of this consultancy is (a) Conduct a comprehensive Education Sector Analysis of the context, challenges and opportunities across the sector; (b) Prepare and develop a Five-year Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP 2022-2026).

• Purpose: 

The purpose of this consultancy is to facilitate, in cooperation and partnership with the MoE & HE, a comprehensive ESA which sheds light on reform options, including an assessment of the realization of 2017 -2021 ESSP to draw lessons learnt, identify areas for change, and successes and achievements to build on, and innovations to be introduced. The result of the education sector analysis and assessment of the current ESSP 2017-2021 will feed into the expansion/development of a new Five Years Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) for 2022 -2026. Being a very consultative and participatory process, the consultant will work closely with the MoE & HE and the Education Sector Committee and other education stakeholders including Ministries of Finance-MoF and Planning-MoPIC. The process should be geared towards ensuring local ownership and building the capacity of the MoE & HE for future sustainability, and increased capacity to carry out similar actions in the future.

3. Scope of Work

The consultant will support the MoE & HE in the coordination, preparation, design and facilitation of the ESA as well as the development of the ESSP 2021–2026 (including the financial and costing plan as well as the monitoring and evaluation framework). The consultant will work in close partnership with the MoE & HE of Puntland, the Education Sector Committee and development partners. The specific tasks are as follows;

• Window 1: EDUCATION SECTOR ANALYSIS-ESA:

The consultant will work closely with CARE Somalia team members, CARE US technical team members, the National Coordinator and Deputy National Coordinator from the MoE & HE in providing the following support;

• In cooperation and partnership with the MoE & HE and other stakeholders, consolidate information needed from the various departments or sectors and share these with the CARE technical teams. This is meant to facilitate desk reviews, analysis of the context, analysis of existing policies, analysis of education system performance, analysis of system capacity and thematic assessment of public financing; thematic assessment of equity and inclusion.
• Supporting the MoE & HE in organizing consultative meetings, technical working group meetings, and the thematic working groups meetings to discuss or present findings of the Education Sector Analysis
• Supporting the MoE & HE and stakeholders in organizing inception meetings to review the ESA work plan and discuss roles to be undertaken by the various committees.
• Support the data collection processed especially in helping the MoE & HE organize consultation meetings with TWGs, sample primary and secondary schools, TVET/TTC Institutions, NFE/ABE, and the HEI
• Conduct capacity building training for MOE & HE staff and enumerators in data collection and analysis.
• Participate in the drafting preliminary ESA report, presentation of the preliminary findings, presentation and submission of final ESA report.
• Window 2: DEVELOP EDUCATION SECTOR STRATEGIC PLAN FOR 2022 – 2026

The consultants will work closely with CARE SOM team members, CARE US technical teams, the National Coordinator and Deputy National Coordinator, Director of Policy and Planning Department from the MoE & HE in providing the following support;

• Assessment of the ESSP 2017- 2021: In partnership with the MoE & HE and development partners, the consultant will support the development of tools for in depth assessment of the implementation of the ongoing ESSP 2017- 2021. This include use of a combination of field visits and analysis of previous reports on the Joint Reviews of Education Sector (JRES), EMIS database as well as other document such as development partners and donor reports. Based on the collected data, the consultant is expected to support the production of an elaborative analytic report. Towards this, the consultant is expected to further support field visits, desk reviews, focus group discussion and interviews as found important to fill in information gaps. Complementing the sector analysis findings, the data observed in the above stated methods will be a base to inform the design of the new ESSP.
• Synthesis Report: based on the findings of the ESA and assessment of the current ESSP 2017- 2021, the consultant(s) will provide a synthesis report, which will include data analysis, as well as a narrative portion, conclusion and recommendation on way forward.
• Policy priorities, key strategies, and plan targets: The consultant will organize a consultative meeting in coordination with the MoE & HE and development partners to facilitate a dialogue between political and technical views to clarify critical issues define realistic strategies and set targets.
• Program design: The consultant will support technical participation of stakeholders and MoE & HE technical staffs of the different departments in a working group in ensuring policy priorities and strategies are translated into priority programs.
• Implementation arrangements and capacities: The consultant will ensure that a structure indicating responsibilities and accountabilities for overall implementation and specific program are developed to avoid duplication – the implementation structure should be in harmony with the ministry’s structure and line of authority, unless change is required.
• Costing of the education sector plan: The consultant will support the MoE & HE and the respective team in coming up with explicit assumptions so that the cost estimate can be calculated more easily. He/she will work alongside the MoE & HE and partners to prepare a costing and financial plan as well as a monitoring and evaluation framework for the Education Action Plan.
• Developing an action plan: In cooperation and partnership with the MoE & HE and other stakeholders, the consultant will support the drafting of the ESSP (2022-2026)
• Developing a monitoring and evaluation mechanisms: The consultant will closely work with the responsible department in the Ministry and stakeholders to prepare a monitoring and evaluation framework for the Education Action Plan that sets clear indicators, and monitoring procedures.
• Validation of the ESSP- 2022-2026: The consultant will closely work with the responsible department in the MoEHE and stakeholders to organized a validation workshop for the ESSP and ESA 

4. PRINCIPLES AND WORKING MODALITIES 

While developing the Education Sector Strategic Plan-ESSP, the consultant (s) should adhere to the following fundamental principles and working modalities: –

• Country ownership: – Education sector plans need to be the result of a process led by the government and internalized by all national stakeholders. During the preparation of the plan, one should pay attention to the quality of the preparation process, as well as to the quality of the plan. It is important that the process be fully participatory and include a range of stakeholders (such as ESC members, civil society, CECs, relevant Ministries, development partners etc.) who will be in charge of implementing the plan at the local level.
• Capacity development; – A successful plan depends on aligning with existing capacity and developing additional capacity during the course of implementation. Both elements are critical to supporting sustainable development. The consultant (s) needs to be aware off and adhere to the fact that the steps to be followed in the development of an education sector plan are equally important as the result.
• A well-organized Participatory process: – The process should allow political leaders and technical experts to find a balance between political ambitions and technical constraints as well as raise awareness and gain the commitment of a wide range of education stakeholders. The process should involve selected ministries (especially the ministry of finance) and planning, various levels of education system administration, stakeholders in the education sector and civil society, nongovernmental education providers, and international partners. The involvement of these actors can occur through consultations during the plan preparation process and through structured discussions on drafts of the plan document. The local education group (LEG), chaired by the ministry of education, and is a valuable forum for policy dialogue and to nurture the plan process.

5. ORGANIZATION AND STEERING 

The MoE & HE will establish a working modality structured towards enhancing participation of the different actors in the process of developing the ESSP for 2022 -2026. The consultant shall support the MoE & HE in the process of consultation and the participatory process. The participatory process shall involve a wide range of actors, and needs to be supported by clarity on the roles and responsibilities of these actors, especially the actors who lead and coordinate the action. Towards this the following structures will be established, roles and responsibilities defined.

• A steering committee: – to oversee and guide the process. It would be composed, essentially, of senior ministry Personnel, with the participation of other relevant ministries (for example, finance and planning) and development partners.
• A coordinating committee: – would coordinate the technical work, including bringing all ministry directorates and departments together. This committee might be led by the director general. The secretariat of the committee will be the policy and planning department of the MoE & HE and would be responsible for preparing the draft education sector plan.
• Working groups: – This would focus on specific themes or subsectors (for instance, teacher education, adult education, finance, monitoring and evaluation, and so on) and will be assigned by the coordinating committee to draft specific sections of the plan.

In collaboration with the development partners the MoE & HE shall make sure that these structures are established, have defined clear roles and responsibilities, the respective committee and working groups are functional, and their works are periodically reviewed, and provided with adequate feedbacks.

6. DELIVERABLES 

• An inception report detailing methodologies to be used, implementation timeline and ways of engaging the respective Ministries, development partners and other stakeholders in the process.
• Puntland ESA synthesis report, Public finance analysis report, and a Five-Years Education Sector Strategic Plan-ESSP
• Soft and hard copy of the activity report that highlights achievements, challenges and lessons learnt during the ESA and ESSP development process.

7. TENTATIVE WORK PLAN:

The assignment will take place over the months of March-November, 2021 with following tentative deadlines: 

8. CONSULTANT REQUIREMENTS

• At least an advanced degree in education and /or educational economics or related field.
• At least 8 years of relevant experience in the field of educational research
• Experience in undertaking sector analysis and education sector strategy development or similar work, preferably in Somalia and/or other developing countries
• Good communication skills, with fluency in written and spoken English. Knowledge of Somali language is an asset
• Experience in analysis of macroeconomics.
• Good in facilitation and participatory skills.
• Excellent analytic and report writing skills
• Experience working with government ministries, preferably the Ministry of Education.

9. FINANCIAL PROPOSAL

 The budget prepared by the bidder should cover all the activities relevant for the preparation, design and facilitation of the ESA as well as the development of the ESSP 2022 – 2026. This budget should be inclusive of all costs travel, accommodation and any other costs associated with the completion of the work including where required costs for reasonable adjustment.

10. HOW TO APPLY 

All applications should be sent to SOM.Consultant@care.org latest by1700 Hours (GMT +3) 5-March-2021 in one email, with separate attachments for the technical and financial proposals in pdf and a Subject line “Consultancy to support MoEHE in the preparation of Puntland Education Sector Analysis (ESA) and the development of a Five-Years Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP 2022-2026)”.