REGIONAL INITIATIVE FOR TEACHER IN AFRICA

1. PRESENTATION OF THE FACILITY

The Regional Teachers Initiative for Africa (RTIA), a programme funded by the EU/EC via the Education section (G3) of DG INTPA aims to improve learning outcomes and the socio-emotional development of children in Africa, by having a more competent, motivated and inclusive teacher workforce in basic education.

The RTIA will especially seek to achieve the following outcomes over the next 6 years:

1. Improve the governance, management, attractiveness, and gender balance of the teaching profession, with a strong focus on increased digitalisation and innovation.
2. Enhance the quality, relevance, and effectiveness of initial and continuous teacher professional development, notably through digital education, peer-to-peer learning approaches and regional collaboration.

Within RTIA, the Facility will support teacher policy and improve teacher education and professional development systems by i) providing capacity building at country level through technical assistance, ii) promoting innovation and scaling of effective teaching solutions; iii) increasing the production and use of data and evidence, and iv) promoting the use of regional frameworks, evidence-based practices, and joint learning at regional level.

The Facility will reach the above-mentioned objectives through 3 types of instruments or “windows”: i) a first window to deliver technical assistance on teacher governance and teacher education and professional development based on the demand from eligible partner countries, ii) a second window on testing and scaling effective programs for teacher education and professional development in the thematic areas of digital skills, gender, green skills, and pedagogical skills, including in the context of refugees and displaced population, iii) a research window (third) to create new evidence and support the integration of evidence in the policy making process and in the design of teacher education and professional development programs.

In addition to these windows the Facility’s knowledge management and communication activities will further contribute to the sharing of knowledge, evidence, and best practices related to the overall Initiative outcomes.

The Facility is funded by the European Union and co-implemented by the Partnership formed by three-member state agencies: Expertise France for France, Enabel, VVOB and APEFE for Belgium, EDUFI for Finland. Expertise France has been designated the Coordinating Agency for this Partnership. With the Facility governance scheme serving as the Initiative’s governance scheme, it is expected that the Partnership will work closely with UNESCO and AUC, in charge of the other 2 components of the EU Initiative.

The first phase of the Facility (as well as the Initiative) is scheduled from February 2024 to January 2027 (36 months) with a total budget of 46.000.000 EUR.

Call for expert falls within the scope of window 1 on delivering Technical Assistance (TA) to support countries on specific thematic areas related to teacher policy and governance, as well as teacher education and professional development.

2. CONTEXT

2.1 EDUCATION SECTOR IN UGANDA

The Education and Sports Sector Plan (ESSP) 2020/21 – 2024/25 is fully aligned with the NDP III Strategic Direction, and is informed by the Ugandan Vision 2040, the SDG Agenda 2030, the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA), the NRM Manifesto (2016-2021), and the Government White Paper on Education (1992). The ESSP is also designed to contribute to achieving Uganda’s international commitments enshrined in the UN-SDGs, specifically, SDG4 and in the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA) 2016-2025. The Vision 2040 aims to reach a national literacy rate of 95% by 2040 compared with the baseline of 73% in 2010. The ESSP takes up the same finding as the analysis of the education and sport sector (2019). It highlights the weaknesses in teacher development and management, considered to be the main cause of unsatisfactory pupil/student performance and system inefficiencies in all sub-sectors of the education system. The main challenges are in teacher training, recruitment, deployment, motivation and capacity. Teacher deployment tends not to be aligned with the actual needs of schools, resulting in strong disparities among regions, and between rural and urban areas. Weak school leadership and supervision, combined with poor working conditions, contribute to weak motivation and teacher absenteeism. Lastly, the low capacity of teachers is attributed to weaknesses in both the pre-service and in-service teacher training.

As outlined in the National Teacher Policy, approved in 2018, it is a priority to professionalize the teaching profession to level comparable to other professions like medical, engineering, legal, and accounting among others. This policy provides a comprehensive framework for the development and management of the teaching profession to improve teaching and learning in the entire education system. The Policy intends to a) streamline teacher management for better productivity, discipline, retention, and motivation, (b) strengthen pre-service and in-service teacher training to enhance competences to effectively deliver quality learning outcomes and leadership at all levels of the education cycle, (c) standardize teacher development, qualifications, and practice across all levels of education, and (d) streamline the integration of cross cutting issues into all aspects of teacher training, management, and practice at all levels.

Complementarity with existing policies and processes is one of the core principles of the Facility, so all partners were consulted to avoid overlapping and identify synergies. The proposed programme is built in complementarity with other partners’ support on in-service training and digital literacy training for teachers. Other programs are being implemented by several international partners with a focus on teachers training and digital skills. ENABEL, VVOB, UNICEF, UNESCO and the World Bank/GPE are supporting the MoES’s in improving teacher competencies through continuous professional development programmes (CPD) and a competence-based approach. ENABEL has a long-term involvement in the education sector in Uganda, particularly in teacher training and digital skills development (digital hub in one training center, CPD framework, digital skills training…). ENABEL also implements an EU-funded program that supports in-service teacher training and good practices’ sharing.

2.2 CAP CONTEXT – ARTICULATION WITH PREVIOUS WORKS

Upon request of the Ugandan Ministry of Education (MoES), the Facility of the RTIA is looking for a team of expert (international and national) to support the professionalization of teacher.

Received in May 2024, the country request was the starting point of technical discussions that resulted in the definition of an agreed programme of technical assistance called Country Action Plan (CAP) to be delivered to Uganda by the Facility.

The CAP was co-developed by the Facility International Team and the national partner (MoES), in consultation with other national and international partners on the foundations of the national education sector plan (ESP) and teacher policy. The CAP covers 3 technical areas of expertise, including pre-service training, digital skills and policy framework. The related work package aims to support the implementation and monitoring of the 2019 National Teacher policy.

3. MAIN OBJECTIVES

The overall programme of the CAP is mainly focused on supporting the MoES in the actual implementation of the Teacher Policy (TP), both at policy, institutional, and operational level through the implementation of the new TP orientations.

The general objective of this assignment is to support the implementation and monitoring of the 2019 National Teacher policy. However, the National Teacher Policy is already 5 years old and went through the COVID period, which slowed down most MoES’s activities. A review would allow to take stock of what has been done so far. Without going through a heavy revision process, the expertise would provide key recommendations for its implementation in the 5 coming years and put the focus on operational targets for the next period (acknowledging that the operational plan might not be fully comprehensive).

The specific objectives of the assignment are to:

– perform a mid-term review

– develop a budgeted operational plan for the next 5 years

4. METHODOLOGY & GENERAL APPROACH

The international expert will work closely with a national consultant.

The national consultant will be supporting the process, providing insights on the methodology and local context and contributing to the deliverables. The consultancy as a whole will be carried out over a period of 40 days, during which the national consultant will provide support for a total of 20 days.

The indicative methodology is as follows but not limited to – the consultant is expected to propose a more in-depth methodology in its application. In implementing this consultancy, the selected consultant will be able to carry out:

Scoping meeting

A scoping meeting will be held with the country partner, Ugandan MoE and the Facility, which will be the subject of a short note outlining the work to be carried out, including the methodology and an updated timetable taken into account workshops and the distribution between remote work and in-country missions. An inception report is expected.

Mid-term Review:

• Document Review: Analyze existing policy documents, reports, and data.
• Stakeholder Consultations: Conduct interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders (teachers, school administrators, policymakers).
• Data Analysis and Reporting: Compile findings and draft the mid-term review report.
• Assessment of the NTP implementation: Identify gaps and ways forward for the next five years.

Operational Plan Development:

• Strategic Planning: Develop strategies and actions to address identified priorities.
• Budgeting: Create a detailed budget for the operational plan.

A 4-day mid-term review workshop will be organized to enable a collective analysis of the implementation of the National Teacher Policy, and draw out lessons learned, bottlenecks and identify priorities for the remaining period. This key moment will provide an opportunity to bring together all the stakeholders involved in the implementation of the National Teacher policy. The first stage will be a presentation of the actions undertaken related to the implementation of the NTP and a rigorous analysis of the progress of implementation towards the M&E framework of the policy. Based on the findings of the analysis, the second stage will be focused on the elaboration of an operational and budgeted plan for the remaining period of implementation.

A 1-day workshop will allow for the validation of the mid-term review and the budgeted operational plan.

A participatory approach will be necessary to ensure that (1) the deliverables developed address to the real needs of the partner – relevance (2) the perspectives of all stakeholders are taken into account – consistency (3) the administrations concerned take ownership of the project, which will enhance the sustainability and effectiveness of the technical assistance.

4.1 STAKEHOLDERS

During the assignment a close collaboration is expected with the Ministry of Education and Sports and especially the Department of Teacher Education and Training Development which submitted the request. In the purpose of a participatory approach, various actors should be met and involved at different stages of the study. Below is a non-exhaustive list of the relevant stakeholders:

Stakeholders to be involved in information gathering:

• Basic Education Department (BED)
• Direction of Human Resources in the MoES
• Communication and Information Management Unit (CIM)
• TVET Trainers Training Research and Innovation (TTTRI)
• Preschool Department
• Teacher Training Centers/University
• National Teacher Council

Stakeholders to be involved in the elaboration of deliverables:

• Teacher Education and Training Department (TETD)
• Policy and research departments of the MoES

Stakeholders who will benefit (directly or indirectly) from Technical Assistance:

• Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES)

The consultant will also have to meet, at a minimum, the GLPE coordination agency.

4.2 MAIN DELIVERABLES

The specific deliverables under this consultancy are the following:

1. Deliverable #1: inception report – a detailed methodology note including an outline of the work to be carried out and the distribution of responsibilities between the national and the international consultants (no longer than 4 pages)
2. Deliverable #2: Mid-term review report of the 2019 National Teacher Policy
3. Deliverable #3: Budgeted operational plan for the next five years
4. Deliverable #4: final report

As this mission is performed by a team of two consultants (national and international), the international consultant will be responsible for the quality of deliverables while the national consultant will provide inputs to the deliverables.

Each deliverable will be validated by the MoES and the Facility. Deliverables 2 and 3 will be validated during a 1-day workshop. The PowerPoint presentation and slides developed to facilitate workshops must be sent with deliverables.

5. TERMS OF IMPLEMENTATION

5.1 ESTIMATED NUMBER OF DAYS & GENERAL TIMELINE

The proposed calendar for the assignment is as follows:

Task	National Consultant
Document Review	5 days
Stakeholder Consultations	5 days
Data Analysis and Reporting	2 days
Mid-term review workshop	4 days
Strategic Planning	1 days
Budgeting	2 days
Validation Workshop	1 days
Total	20 days

5.2 ESTIMATED DEADLINES

Deliverable	Estimated # of days		Planned Completion date (indicative)
	International	National
#1: Inception report	3	1	30 January
#2: Mid-term review report of the 2019 National Teacher Policy	18	8	22 February
#3: Budgeted operational plan for the next five years	17	10	19 March
#4 : Final report	2	1	21 March

Consultancy should not exceed 20 working days for the national expert.

5.2 ROLE AND RESPONSABILITIES

The Ministry of Education and Sport – under the leadership of the Teacher Education Training and Development department will be responsible for :

• Providing the documentation
• Facilitating the meeting with the relevant stakeholders
• Organizing the workshop and providing workspace
• Comment on and approve deliverables

The Facility of the RTIA will be responsible for :

• Contracting and facilitating the onboarding of the consultant by providing all documents and resources available
• Monitoring the Consultant’s work from start to finish
• Act as the main resource person for the Consultant
• Ensure quality control of deliverables in collaboration with the Ministry’s focal point for this consultation
• Share deliverables with key stakeholders and contribute to internal and external Knowledge Management
• Collect feedback and comments from stakeholders Acknowledge the validation of the deliverables by all parts
• Evaluate the overall performance of the Consultant for this mandate.

The consultants shall be responsible for :

• Review and comment on these Terms of Reference (ToR)
• Ensure that all deliverables comply with the guidelines formulated at the mission scoping meeting, in accordance with the agreed timetable
• Notify the Regional Teachers’ Facility immediately of any difficulties in implementing the assignment
• The consultants must ensure that the stakeholders are consulted throughout the assignment
• Behave with the highest levels of personal integrity and commitment to the required standards of conduct

More specifically, the national consultant will :

• • Support the International Consultant in all activities especially in the mission and coordination of the in-country mission
  • Provide national context insights and related operational knowledge
  • Compile existing literature related to implementation of the national teacher policy (NTP)
  • Assist in stakeholder consultations and data collection – conduct preliminary interviews
  • Co-facilitate the validation workshop
  • Contribute to all deliverables.

6. EXPERT PROFILE

The national Consultant must have the following Academic qualifications, Work experiences and Technical Knowledge and Skills.

Academic Qualification:

• Degree in Education, Educational Management, or related field or equivalent experience

General Work Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years in the education sector

Specific Work Experience:

• Experience in conducting policy reviews and developing operational plans
• A strong experience with the Ministry of Education and Sport in particular in the field of Teacher Education Training

Language Proficiency:

• Proficiency in English (both written and spoken)

Interpersonal and Soft Skills:

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent communication and presentation abilities
• Ability to work collaboratively with stakeholders from various backgrounds, including government officials, educators, and technical experts
• High adaptability and flexibility in dynamic environments

Additional Assets:

• Familiarity with the education system and policies of Uganda
• Demonstrated ability to conduct workshops and facilitate stakeholder engagements
• Knowledge of gender equality and relevant policy frameworks, including legislation on equal opportunities between men and women

7. HOW TO APPLY & SELECTION PROCESS

To be considered your application must include the following:

• The reference of our offer: 2024/RUNTPMRDOAOP/12338
• your CV (following Europass template) and
• a technical note explaining the assignment, detailing the methodology used and a description of the implementation (10 pages maximum). It must be written in English, and should be presented in A4 format, Times New Roman 12 font, 1.5 line spacing and sent in Word format.
• If possible, please attach a sample of previous works (1 to 3 pieces) that you might have performed and that are similar to the above assignment. In each case, you should specify your role (main author, major contributions, minor contributions, etc.)
• you must hold a valid passport throughout the length of your assignment
• you must be willing to travel to Sub-Saharan African countries

 

• Please note that the Facility applies its own daily rate in accordance with the current compensation grid. In this respect, fees will be calculated on the basis of the candidate’s status and experience. Please click on the following link to apply: https://www.expertisefrance.fr/en/on-recrute?redirected=2#page-12338—1—rtia-w1-uga-4-national-teacher-policy-mid-term-review-development-of-a-5y-operational-plan-h—en_US

Deadline for applications: 2025 January 12, 23:59 PM Paris time (UTC+1)

The evaluation of the tenders received will be based in particular on the following criteria: (i) the candidate’s diploma (ii), the candidate’s experience in carrying out assignments that are relevant or similar to those specified in this call for applications, (iii) the candidate’s understanding of the expectations of the assignment and the proposed intervention methodology.

“within the Facility from the RTIA, we value all experts as unique individuals, and we welcome the variety of experiences they bring to the Facility. As such, we have a strict non-discrimination policy. We believe everyone should be treated equally regardless of race, sex, gender identification, sexual orientation, national origin, native language, religion, age, disability, marital status, citizenship, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you feel that you have been discriminated against, please let the Facility team know as soon as possible. Every complaint will be appropriately investigated”