CONSULTANCY FOR ACCELERATED LEARNING PROGRAM FEASIBILITY STUDY AND IDENTIFICATION OF ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION POSSIBILITIES IN CAMEROON

Accelerated Learning Program feasibility study and identification of alternative education possibilities in the West, Littoral, North-West and South-West Regions of Cameroon for displaced children affected by the crisis.

1 Background information

1. Background on the context

Over 7 years after the onset of the crisis, the situation in the Northwest (NW) and Southwest (SW) regions has remained unstable, with a difficult security situation that has caused children not to access quality education, with many schools within both regions damaged and/or closed. According to the Cameroon Humanitarian needs overview for 2024, an estimated 596,000 school aged children need humanitarian assistance, including 156,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs). Data from the North-West and South-West regional delegations of basic and secondary education for 2022/2023 revealed that a total of 4,195 schools are operational, out of the expected 6,557 schools, leaving a total 2,362 schools (36 per cent) still not operational. This is an improvement of over 18 per cent compared to the preceding school year where 54 per cent of schools were still non-functional. However, this situation continues to deprive around 298,000 children of access to education.A total of 632,457 pupils (54 per cent girls) are enrolled out of the 930,335 expected, and only 2 per cent of the pupils enrolled for the 2022/2023 school year were children living with a disability. Education was reported to be the second priority humanitarian need in the NW and SW regions.[1]

Meanwhile, the presence of IDPs from NW and SW regions is adding additional pressure on primary and secondary schools in the neighbouring Littoral and West regions, and in some urban zones of the Centre and Adamawa regions. As reported in 2024 HNO, In the 2022/2023 school year, the Ministry of Basic Education (MINEDUB) and Ministry of Secondary Education (MINESEC) continued to record IDPs students. Displaced children struggle to access school due to poverty and social exclusion as displaced children are charged higher fees.[2] The education structures in these areas face difficulties integrating IDPs, with an average student/ classroom ratio of up to 200 children. In addition, since hosting communities are French speaking, the situation of IDPs and social cohesion are often difficult as language barrier remains a major issue for displaced children.[3] As an example, the schools are not equipped with adequately trained teachers who can provide psychosocial support to distressed children, manage large classrooms, or classes in English language. [4]

1. NRC and Plan international activities and presence

NRC has been working in Cameroon since 2017 through the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Shelter, Livelihoods and Food Security (LFS), Information Counselling and Legal Assistance (ICLA), and Education programmes, and is currently responding to the three crises in the Far North, the East/Adamawa and the NW SW regions). NRC started its interventions in the NW and SW regions in June 2018 through an integrated WASH and Shelter response and is currently implementing ICLA, WASH, shelter and LFS programme in the area.

NRC Education Programme in Cameroon:

In crisis-affected areas of Cameroon, NRC’s Education Programme provides a lifeline to children whose education has been disrupted. The program targets displaced children, and returnees, boys and girls, of primary school age (6-14 years). NRC prioritizes the most vulnerable children, including those not attending school, those who are over the required age for primary school entry, children with disabilities, and orphaned or violence-affected children, with a particular focus on girls’ education. The program aims to ensure all enrolled children acquire foundational literacy and numeracy skills, allowing their transition into formal education and empowering them to build a brighter future.

In the Northwest and Southwest regions:

In the regions of Northwest and Southwest, a total of 12,248 school-age children have been supported by NRC’s education program in Mezam, Donga-mantung, Kupe Manengumba, and Fako divisions. To help improve access to quality education, NRC intervenes through:

• The emergency education response: rapid teacher training, and organisation of recreational activities.
• Support for formal education: distribution of school kits, teaching materials, provision of tables and benches, capacity-building for teachers on teaching methods, etc.

PLAN International’s Education programme

PLAN international’s organisational efforts in the field of Education focus on supporting the provision of inclusive quality education at pre-primary, primary and secondary levels, for the most vulnerable and excluded children and young people; benefiting girls from these groups in particular. This includes formal, informal and non-formal provision in both development and humanitarian contexts, including in conflict zones and where communities have been displaced.

Inclusive quality education which means that all children, whatever their physical, intellectual, social, emotional or linguistic abilities, including the most vulnerable and marginalised, are supported and able to learn and participate equally and effectively, safely and without gender bias.

This includes in formal and non-formal education programmes.

• Not only literacy and numeracy, but also broader life skills that enable students to be leaders, agents of change and active global citizens.
• Comprehensive sexuality education is an integral part of the curriculum, so that girls in particular acquire the knowledge and skills they need to make decisions about their bodies, relationships and sexuality, free from coercion, violence and discrimination.
• Opportunities that prepare children and young people to promote peace, stability, social justice and cohesion, and to tackle other challenges such as climate change;
• Promoting girls’ participation in ICT and digital technology education;
• The opportunity to contribute to and participate in all aspects of school life, free from discrimination and violence.
  1. NRC’s and Plan interventions specific to the study

With results at country level,

Engage in learning and other school activities without discrimination, exclusion or violence from peers, teachers or others; recognise and respond effectively to issues of unfair treatment or violence; engage actively in school governance mechanisms to promote inclusive quality education in a safe environment.

At family and community level

Challenge harmful social and gender norms and promote equitable access to education for all, without discrimination or unequal expectations based on gender, disability, ethnicity or other identities; support all children, young people and adolescents in their learning, according to their needs; support and promote non-violence and inclusion in schools; support lifelong learning for all children, young people and adolescents, even in emergency situations;

At government level, education authorities, education service providers and teachers

Ensure that relevant, comprehensive and gender-responsive curricula are in place, including comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), with the necessary resources to implement them effectively; ensure that teachers have the necessary training and support to use learner-centred and gender-responsive teaching methods in the classroom; facilitate learning in a positive, safe and protective environment that protects all students from violence and abuse ; develop gender-responsive policies for children, adolescents and out-of-school youth; put in place effective school entry, re-entry and support mechanisms; promote access to education for children at risk of exclusion for any reason, including gender, disability, ethnicity and poverty; develop and implement policies to support school attendance by pregnant girls and reintegration policies for adolescent mothers; strengthen community participation in education.

The overall aim of the study is to assess the current situation in the Northwest, the Southwest, the West and the Littoral Regions. the study will include the following:

• Conduct a comprehensive feasibility study to assess the viability of implementing an Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP) for displaced children (8 to 14 years) affected by the crisis in the Northwest, Southwest, West and Littoral regions of Cameroon
• Identify potential alternative education options for displaced children.
• Assess the specific needs and challenges faced by displaced children in accessing formal and informal education opportunities such as causes/ push factors for children and youth to drop out from school.
• Analysis of the opportunities and challenges for a tailored ALP an alternative education approach to address the needs of out of school children in West, Littoral and the NWSW.
• Analysis of the resources available and potential synergies with ongoing Education programs in the aforementioned regions.
• Analyse the main risks and protective factors that could affect the extent to which AEPs could be implemented in the different regions
  1. Overarching purpose

2 Purpose of the study and intended use

The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of implementing an ALP in the NW, SW, Littoral and West regions of Cameroon for displaced children outside the school system (primary) affected by the crisis. The study should also assess the possibility of developing alternative learning opportunities in the NW and SW regions.

1. How will the study be used?

The study shall highlight the key needs and issues in ALPs.

The main conclusions and recommendations will be used to improve the NRC’s and Plan’s respective and joint Education strategies. More specifically, the findings and recommendations will inform the decisions to be taken as part of the scaling up of the Education in Emergency (EiE) interventions, including ALP, in the NW, SW, West and Littoral regions of Cameroon.

The study report will also serve as an advocacy tool and as a guide for stakeholders and partners (and mainly MINEDUB) in the implementation of future projects.

1. Who will it be used by?

The first users of this study will be NRC and Plan International. The study will also be used by MINEDUB and other humanitarian actors as part of the institutionalisation of the AEP, and by the Directorate-General for Civil Protection and European Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) to inform future priorities in terms of humanitarian funding in EiE in Northwest, Southwest, West and Littoral Regions of Cameroun.

The study report will be published on the NRC website, and the lessons learned, and recommendations will be shared with the members of the Education Cluster.

In addition, NRC will develop its management response plan to follow up on the implementation of all relevant recommendations.

3 Scope and lines of inquiry

1. Scope:

Globally, this study will provide evidence and specific information in terms of needs, opportunities, and resources to scale up AEPs in the Northwest, Southwest, West and Littoral Regions of Cameroun.

The specific objective of this study is to confirm the feasibility and to identify the possibilities for an ALP as well as the difficulties hindering access to formal education for out-of-school children affected by the crisis in the North-West and South-West, whether they are hosted in the West and Littoral regions of Cameroon or living in the Northwest Southwest region. The study should have a gender-sensitive analysis and take into account the specific needs and the main challenges faced by girls, and then to develop operational and tangible recommendations for a potential scaling up of the AEP.

The geographic scope of the study will be the Northwest, Southwest, West and Littoral regions of Cameroon as indicated in the table below.

Regions

Division

Subdivision

Village

Northwest

Mezam

Bamenda 2

Mankon

Santa

Njong, Santa Mbei

Tubah

Bambui and Bambili

Southwest

Meme

Kumba 1&3

Kamalikum, Njembe , Etam

Konye

Konye Central

West

Bamboutos

Babadjou

Bachua, Balepo, Kombou

Littoral

Moungo

Fiko

Souza

Loum

Mabombe

1. Lines of inquiry

This study will provide with answers for the following questions:

• What are the educational needs of displaced children aged 6 to 14 years old in the West, Littoral, NW, and SW Regions of Cameroon as a result of the crisis?
• What are the current educational – formal and informal – ressources and infrastructure in each of the 4 regions (targeted locations)?
• Are the existing educational resources and infrastructure in the affected regions adequate in meeting the needs of displaced children (e.g. safety, access, availability, etc.)?
• How do IDP children currently access education and what are the gaps/limitations in the educational opportunities.
• What are the educational, economic and social determinants of children’s dropping out of school?
• What are the difficulties faced in accessing formal and informal education for children outside the school system (including out-of-school children and children who have dropped out of school) in the targeted locations?
• Which modality for study do all participants of learning process (teachers, parents, students) prefer and why?
• How feasible is it to implement ALP in the NW and SW regions and what are the potential barriers/constraints (e.g. resources, infrastructure, support from state structures, etc.)?
• If ALP is not feasible in NW and SW regions, what alternative learning opportunities can be deployed in these regions?
• Based on the barriers and challenges identified, what would be the best education modality to implement in the West and Littoral regions for displacement-affected children?
• How can non formal EiE in emergency program in NW, SW, Littoral and West regions help crisis-affected children in transitioning to formal education? What are the opportunities and the challenges to expect?

Based on the scope of the study and the lines of inquiry above, NRC and Plan expect the study to include a clear definition of the target populations, particularly English speaking IDP children not attending school, children who are over the required age for access to primary school, and children with disabilities, for EiE/AEP in these regions, and an analysis of the communities’ perceptions of education and their willingness to engage in EiE/AEP in the targeted areas.

4 Methodology

NRC and Plan International will open a call for consultants to submit proposals and and a study methodology with participatory approach, and both qualitative and mixed quantitative methods. The study methodology should follow a non-experimental design to produce credible results.

• The study will use a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods and the consultant, considering the suggestions and guidance of the steering committee, will propose the most relevant and suitable methodology. The consultant will develop the detailed methodology in an inception report, based on these terms of reference., The Steering Committee is in charge of reviewing and approving the report. As a minimum, the methodology should include the A desk review of key documents, including analysis of existing qualitative and quantitative data from the ongoing programme;
• Structured or semi-structured interviews with key informants, including local authorities, humanitarian actors, NRC ‘s and Plan International ‘s staff, etc. Women, elderly and minorities should be amongst the key informants.
• Participatory methods, such as inclusive and/or representative focus groups to gather the views and perceptions of specific groups, such as women and disabled people, who may have been under-represented in the household survey sample;
• Surveys of beneficiaries to identify their needs, understand their experiences, their level of participation and the use of, access to and familiarity with the goods and services made available to them.

Candidates should aim to surpass these minimum standards, demonstrating their ability to excel beyond basic expectations.

Triangulation should be carried out in the document review and analysis phases. In addition, a field visit should be planned to confirm preliminary findings with key project stakeholders.

The consultant, in consultation with the steering committee, will prepare all relevant tools based on the agreed methodology. The consultant may propose changes to the methodology, but these must be discussed and approved by the committee. All relevant data must be disaggregated by gender, and displacement status. The specific needs and concerns of girls/women, boys, adolescents and vulnerable groups must be taken into account throughout the study. Data analysis will be gender sensitive and ensure the use of appropriate statistics (median, mean, etc.) to highlight trends and correlations. Content analysis is encouraged for qualitative data.

The consultant is expected to work to the highest standards and codes of conduct. High ethical standards, transparency and objectivity will be observed at all times.

The study must respect the rights of interviewees and ensure their protection by guaranteeing confidentiality and security. Respondents must not be exposed to risk or inconvenience. Data collection tools will as soon as possible be pre-tested and study activities will provide a safe and creative space where respondents feel that their thoughts and ideas are valued. All individuals involved in the study, such as the consultant, interviewed staff, suppliers, etc. must be made aware of and abide by NRC Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct. The data collection plan must highlight how the consultant will observe data protection principles and methods in using and archiving the data. At least half the enumerators will be women. All enumerators will be trained on ethical data collection techniques.

5 Study follow up and learning

The results of the study will be used in the strategic review process at country level for of NRC and Plan International. Based on the findings and recommendations, NRC, as the consortium lead, will develop and implement a response plan to be disseminated among Education stakeholders, including MINEDUB, financial partners, and coordination fora.

6 Management of the study

A Steering Committee (SC) for the evaluation has been set up by NRC and Plan International and is composed of the following members:

• Chair of the Steering Committee: Head of Programme (NRC)
• Evaluation Manager: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager (NRC)
• Members of the steering committee: Education Programme Development Manager (NRC), M&E Coordinator (Plan International), and Project Coordinator (Plan International).
• The Steering Committee will oversee overall administration and coordination, including progress monitoring.

The main functions of the steering committee will be to:

• Establish the terms of reference for the evaluation;
• Select the consultant;
• Approve the methodology, the sample to be interviewed, the timeline, the tools and the potential intervention sites;
• Review the preliminary report;
• Review and approve data collection tools;
• Approve the final report; Disseminate the report.

Throughout the process, the consultant will work closely with the steering committee, and with the Evaluation Manager. The committee will coordinate the evaluation process. It will review and approve each evaluation result and establish a strategy for dissemination and use.

The consultant(s) will be responsible for logistics, communication and secretarial services (printing of documentation, etc.). The consultant(s) will also be responsible for the administration of all methodological tools such as questionnaires, focus groups, etc. NRC and Plan International will facilitate access to the intervention sites. The programme teams will facilitate the process by providing reference documents and contacts of partners and resource persons.

7 Deliverables and reporting deadlines

The consultant will carry out their tasks on the basis of an agreed work plan:

Deliverable 1: Draft Inception study Report – The draft Inception Report (using the standard NRC template) should outline any proposed changes to the methodology or any other issues of importance to the continuation of the evaluation. The inception report should include:

• a literature review;
• the conceptual framework that will be used to undertake the study;
• a study matrix defining the approach to data collection, the methodology, data sources, sampling and selection criteria;
• data collection tools (in English)
• a work plan for the study;
• an analysis plan;
• a list of the main stakeholders to be interviewed.

Deliverable 2: Study inception report – The inception report will be finalised after consultation with the members of the steering committee (max. 1 week for review).

Deliverable 3: Draft study report (30 pages maximum) – including a summary of the main findings, conclusions, and recommendations, as well as all raw data.

All raw data collected is to be transferred to the NRC and is the intellectual property of the NRC. The raw data sets will be transferred at the same time as the draft study report.

The draft study report will be produced following the literature review and after the fieldwork and formal feedback meetings with the steering committee. The draft report is then circulated at a stakeholder workshop organised by the steering committee. Wherever possible, the evaluator should lead and present the main findings of the study in person.

Deliverable 4: A final study report (30 pages maximum, in English) structured as follows:

• Cover page
• A list of acronyms and abbreviations
• A table of contents
• A summary (in French and English)
• Introduction and background
• Scope and objectives of the evaluation
• Methodology
• Limits
• Results
• Conclusions
• Lessons learned and recommendations.

Report appendices include:

• Terms of reference
• Evaluation matrix
• List of documents consulted
• Assessment tools
• Raw data
• List of people and organisations/institutions consulted.

The report will be disseminated, and the consultant is expected to present it to national stakeholders.

8 Timeframe

1. This study will commence on the 4th of September 2024 and the estimated number of working days to complete the study is 45 working days. The following phases must be respected.

Phase

Main tasks

Deadline

Phase 1

• Scoping meeting with the steering committee.
• Review of all relevant documents.
• Preparation and submission of the inception report including an assessment matrix, work plan, data collection tools, analysis plan and methodology.

September 4th, 2024

September 9th, 2024

Phase 2

• Field mission.
• Preparation of the interim report.
• Submission of the first version of the report to the steering committee.
• Initial results presented to the steering committee.

October 7thth, 2024

Phase 3

• Committee comments and suggestions on the interim report.
• Integration of comments and submission of the pre-final report.
• Validation of the final report by the steering committee.
• Presentation of the study by the consultants to Education actors and donors.

October 14th , 2024

1. Consultant team

The NRC and Plan International are seeking expressions of interest from individuals and companies experienced in conducting similar assessments and studies.

Candidates must have:

1. Advanced university degree or equivalent in Education Sciences, humanitarian/development studies, social sciences/humanities, statistics or other fields related to the provision of humanitarian aid in the Education sector;

2. Experience in planning, implementing, monitoring and especially evaluating programmes in humanitarian contexts.

3. Good knowledge of data collection methods using tablets and Computed Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) systems and the ability to analyse, summarise, present and write clear reports;

4. Good knowledge of outcome evaluation approaches, in particular participatory mixed methods;

5. Good knowledge of community development mechanisms, gender and equity.

6. Good communication, writing and summarising skills in French and English;

7. At least 5 years’ experience in quantitative and qualitative research and ;

8. Technical understanding of ALP;

9. Adequate knowledge of local cultures and languages as well as of the social, economic and political context of Cameroon – the West and Littoral regions – is an asset.

For candidates applying as a group, the composition of the team must be balanced to ensure comprehensive coverage of the various aspects of the study defined in these terms of reference, including cross-cutting issues, and gender balance is expected.

10 Application process and requirements

Submission deadline:

The application must include the following information:

• A technical proposal, including the proposed study design, study methodology, comments on the terms of reference, timetable and proposed work plan (max 5 pages)
• A financial proposal (max. 3 pages) separate from the technical proposal, including all taxes and covering the costs of travel to the site, food, accommodation, etc.).
• CVs of consultants
• Three references for the firm and/or each of the proposed consultants
• At least two extracts from past work (minimum 4 pages per extract)
• A letter of motivation containing the following information: a description of how the candidate’s skills, qualifications and experience meet the requirements of the assignment, a list of previous assessments relevant to the context and purpose of this assignment, a statement confirming the candidate’s availability to carry out the assignment and the budget (the currency of the amount should be in XAF).

for more information kinly find details on the ITB via the following link