NEPAL: Asian Development Bank (ADB): Second Secondary Education TA Project
The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) has been invited to bid on an ADB TA project in Nepal. We are looking for six high quality education consultants, from member universities and elsewhere, to help us carry out this assignment. Experience in Nepal or other South Asian countries would be an asset.
This TA project will help improve the quality, access and management of the secondary education system in Nepal. The government is realigning primary and secondary education so that primary will cover grades one to eight and secondary, nine to 12. The TA project will prepare, in its first phase, a secondary education development plan (SED), and, in its second phase, an ADB loan project to be called the Second Secondary Education Sector Project (SSESP).
The project likely will start in May or June and will run for about ten months. In addition to the six "international" consultants who are needed, five "local" (i.e. Nepalese) consultants will work on the project. Consultants must be nationals of ADB countries (mainly the industrialized countries, including Canada, plus the Asian countries).
The six international consulting positions are the following:
1. Team Leader - Specialist in SE development planning, monitoring and evaluation (eight person-months) The consultant will coordinate the work of all team members and liaise with the government, the Bank, aid agencies and other interested parties. The team leader will have overall responsibility for the preparation of the SED and of the SSESP. Specifically, the team leader will prepare a profile of the current status of secondary education, conduct a social impact assessment relating to access, identify areas of needed improvement, assess the role of the private sector in education, review the M&E system for secondary education, and make recommendations on the management, financing and M&E systems required to improve the system.
2. Education Finance (four person-months) The consultant will examine the resource requirements of the sector, prepare a financing policy, and analyze restructuring costs. Attention will be paid to patterns of public expenditure, projected enrollments, cost-recovery possibilities, financing options, cost-effectiveness, and the external efficiency of the sector in terms of labour market and employment outcomes.
3. Teacher Training Curriculum and Development (three person-months) The consultant will prepare a costed implementation plan for SED and SSESP component for improved teacher training and institutional support. Activities will include analysis of the current situation, assessing the impact of the proposed SED on teacher recruitment, training and retention, assessing teacher training needs, and assessing and recommending improvements in the participation in secondary school teaching of women and other disadvantaged groups.
4. Curriculum and Materials Development (two person-months) The consultant will produce a costed implementation plan for the SED as well as a SSESP component for improving the institutional capacity and systems for designing secondary curricula, textbooks and teaching materials. This will include an analysis of the current situation, identification of areas for improvement and of factors affecting successful implementation, and recommendations on additional support materials, training and professional supervision required by teachers.
5. Student Assessment/Examination Reform (two person-months) The consultant will review the current system of student assessment, identify areas for improvement, and develop a costed, phased implementation strategy with recommendations for systems and staff development. Outputs will include a costed implementation plan for inclusion in the SED and a SSESP component for developing the capacity to design and administer an improved student assessment system.
6. Information Technology and Information Systems Development (three person-months) The consultant will review the MIS in use in the education system, study schools where compute education is part of the curriculum, examine the human resource, hardware and software requirements of a successful school-based computer education and computer literacy program, provide cost estimates, and recommend ways of using IT to build institutional capacity. The consultant will prepare a SSESP component on the introduction of computer laboratories in selected schools and on the use of IT for building institutional capacity.
The five local consultants (22 person-months in total) will cover a) educational organization and institutional capacity building, b) teacher training and instructional support design, c) finance, cost analysis and budget preparation, d) management and administrative training, and e) facilities development and equipment procurement.
To respond to this opportunity or to seek further information, please get in touch by January 31 with
John Coleman (613-563-3961, ext. 292; jcoleman@aucc.ca) or
Diane Dubois (613-563-3961, ext. 335; ddubois@aucc.ca).
Our fax is 613-563-9745.