Junior Education Consultant – MFP -8 months project

Job Overview

Objective: The Junior Consultant will provide support in reviewing the existing policy on alternative pathways to learning for Out of School Children (OOSC) and coordinating the implementation of NFE  programmes under the supervision on the DG of Education.

Background: The multi-crises the country has been going through during the last few years, namely the multiple influx of refugee, (socio) economic, and COVID-19, are having serious implications on the future of Lebanese and non-Lebanese children, undermining access to protection, psychosocial support, education, basic services, livelihoods opportunities, while impacting their psychological well-being and ultimately further threatening inter-communal coexistence. Children affected by protection issues such as child Labour, early marriage, and children with disabilities are at higher risk of being out of school. In addition, extensive evidence confirms that many more conflict-affected children are at high risk of dropping out of education, due to interrelated demand and supply factors, including, on the one hand, economic and social disadvantages associated with vulnerability and in-school factors, including violence in schools, inadequate school infrastructure, and quality or relevance of instruction, on the other. Marginalized groups are most seriously at risk of dropping out, including children in rural areas, those from poorer families, children with special needs or disabilities, and adolescent girls and boys.

In response to these increasing protection needs and the high numbers of out of school children, MEHE developed its Reaching All Children with Education (RACE I and II) strategy and introduced the National NFE (Non-Formal Education) Policy Framework (published in 2019). The aim was to sustain increased and equitable access to quality education for all children aged 3 to 18 in Lebanon through the provision of education for disadvantaged groups to access or return to school through regulated NFE programmes. However, there are still issues that need to be resolved to make the pathways more accessible, affordable and efficient, and ensure that they lead to the desired outcome for all learners; moreover, given the large, and increased, number of Out of School Children (OOSC) ,the current NFE system does not have the capacity to fulfil its policy aims of supporting out-of-school children and transitioning them to the formal system. For example, there is no unified information management system available for the sector to track the educational pathways of children. None of the existing systems track NFE children after completing the NFE pathway, nor do they track the barriers and motivating factors to education. This impacts the capacity of actors to proactively identify risk factors, before drop-out becomes inevitable. This is especially true when it comes to children with specific vulnerabilities such as those at high risk of labour and marriage. As such, the transition rate to formal education is unclear.  Furthermore, the current NFE programmes have a limiting reach to around 40,000 children per year and excluding groups of children with specific vulnerabilities such as working children and married girls. Even if more spaces were available, the programmes are expensive, provide limited data on learning outcomes, lack a clear quality assurance system, and fail to match the out-of-school children’s current learning levels and the expectations in the formal system. Lack of clear policies on accreditation and certification includes those related to accountabilities of service providers when it comes to issues such as child safeguarding and child protection.

Given these circumstances, UNICEF worked on developing Dirasa, a school bridging program, that offers a whole-system approach featuring multiple and flexible pathways that lead to formal education, aiming by end of 2024 to facilitate re-entry for 18,000 out-of-school children and adolescents (comprised of about 30 % Lebanese and 70% non-Lebanese, including 3% who are children with disabilities) aged 8-14 in to formal education, prevent drop-out of marginalised adolescents, and create pathways into TVET and youth programmes for older adolescents by partnering with private schools.

Scope of Work: In close alignment with outcomes for multiple and flexible pathways to education described in Programme 1.6 of MEHE’s 5-Year General Education Plan 2021-2025: “Providing multiple and flexible pathways to education for children out of school (NFE)”, the purpose of this consultancy is to support MEHE update the alternative learning pathways available to OOSC, develop additional policies, implementation framework, and SOPS based on lessons learned from the previous years of implementation, and to ensure a better fit between the needs of OOSC and the programmes that are offered.  The scope of work includes supporting the development of a unified data management system, revising criteria for transition to formal education, reviewing retention processes and framework, and supporting in the development of a clear referral mechanism for other sectors, including health, nutrition, and child protection.

Under the leadership of the DG of Education, the consultant will support MEHE in developing a unified, comprehensive, and disaggregated Information Management System that is accessible to all providers to ensure consistent input, proper tracking of progress, and to inform future policy and practice. The consultant is also expected to suggest amendments to the scope of the NFE taskforce along with the drafting of clear and concise SOPs, anticipated deliverables, and timeline. S/he will ensure that the SOPs for the NFE end of-cycle testing reflect not only the learning achievements in the NFE programmes, but also the corresponding formal education (FE) grade-level content, thus ensuring transition to FE.

The Junior Consultant will coordinate  with  the Senior Consultant in the Ministry of Education and Higher Education to review the existing policy on alternative pathways to learning for OOSC, so it follows a

“whole of system” approach that addresses the administrative and regulatory challenges faced by OOSC, and allows for expanding access to regulated, cost-effective, gender and disability responsive, multiple flexible pathways (MFP) for vulnerable out of schoolgirls and boys.

Furthermore, the junior consultant will support the DGE office in coordinating the implementation of NFE programmes  to ensure that it aligns closely with Programme 1.6 of MEHE’s 5-Year General Education Plan 20212025. The junior consultant will also play a key role in following up on any challenges on the ground that will require MEHE’s leadership, support, and advocacy. Additionally, the consultant will support the senior consultant in following up with MEHE to endorse Dirasa SOPs and regulations, in addition to capturing lessons learned to ensure the quality of programme implementation and documentation of the implementation process.

The consultant should also build on and/or complement existing initiatives in order to eliminate any duplication of efforts.

The consultant should be ready to support the DG in any task related to NFE and education in General.

The duration of the contract will be a total of 8 months

The consultant will be working at the MEHE. Laptop, the phone will not be provided by the contracting Agent.

Payment is subject to the receipt of:

– Approved report

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