Antecedentes

Background:

The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is one of the most diverse regions of the country in terms of geography, ethnicity, culture and tradition of the peoples. The estimated population in the CHT is approximately 1.58 million which is about 1% of the total population of Bangladesh. There are eleven indigenous groups in the CHT speaking distinct languages. These are Bawm, Chak, Chakma, Khyang, Khumi, Lushai, Marma, Mro, Pangkhua, Tangchangya and Tripura. The three largest of these (Chakma, Marma and Tripura) represent about 90% of the total 'indigenous/tribal' population, which altogether make up only about 50% of the overall population of the CHT at present, with the rest consisting of Bengalis, the majority of whom were relocated into the CHT a little over three decades ago. The majority of the CHT population lives in rural areas.

Basic education was one of the heavily affected sub-sectors during the long conflict in the CHT. Villages in the CHT have lower access to education as compared to the rest of the country. For children, especially the younger ones, it is difficult to walk through the hilly terrain and reach the schools. Due to grossly inadequate basic education infrastructure and facilities, closures, relocation of schools and displacement of elements of the population combined with personal and livelihood insecurity the progress in terms of enrolment, literacy and completion of children of the indigenous minority population is much lower than the national averages. Substantial number of households still remain excluded from the educational process. In addition, the distance to education facilities seems to be a significant deterrent to enrolment of 6 year olds with parents often delaying enrolment till their child is older (thus the disparity between Gross Enrollment Ration (GER) and Net Enrollment Ratio (NER)). An appropriate distance (2 km as defined by the government) in the plains areas is different from an appropriate distance in very hilly or marshy areas. Difficult terrain makes the journey much longer and potentially unsafe.

UNDP through the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Facility (CHTDF) implemented the Phase I of Education project from January 2008 to 2009 with an aim to support and work to complement the government’s plans as described in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) (2005 and 2008). From December 2009, the CHTDF has been implementing education project "Strengthening Basic Education in the Chittagong Hill Tracts-Phase 2” (SBECHT-2) to support the government to realize its commitments to basic education in the CHT and the project was scheduled to end on 30 September 2013. However, later the project duration has been extended to March 2015 (no budget extension). The EU has been the main donor for both phases, with CIDA and UNDP sharing some of the costs.

Within the scope of the overall objective "Improved socio-economic development of the CHT in line with the principles of CHT Accord", the project purpose is: "Establish and promote access to a quality primary education system in the CHT." The project purpose is set around targeted results related to advocacy, strengthening systems, increasing access to basic education, improving quality of education, and multilingual education.

The project operates in 13 Upazilas (4 Upazilas in each district of Khagracahri and Rangamati and 5 Upazilas in Bandarban district where the project intervention has been started newly in Naikhongchari Upazila from January 2014) out of total 25 Upazilas in the three hill districts  and supports 315 schools (100 schools in each district of Khagrachari and Rangamati, and 115 schools in Bandarban district) in which 228 are HDC managed Non-Government Primary Schools (NGPS), 65 are Government schools and the remaining are Non-Government Private Schools. In addition, the project provided capacity development support to additional 180 School Management Committees (SMCs) of selected government primary schools in three districts of CHT (60 schools in each district).

The project targets CHT remote communities that are most vulnerable and have limited access to primary education services. Direct beneficiaries of Phase 2 include above 20,000 children with access to school, and to an improved classroom or school environment.

The project is being implemented in close collaboration with the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs (MoCHTA), Ministry of Primary and Mass Education (MoPME), Directorate of Primary Education (DPE), and National Curriculum & Textbook Board, and in partnership with the three Hill District Councils (HDCs), and national and CHT based NGOs.

The project was consciously designed to complement 2nd Primary Education Development Program (PEDP-II), and in particular the Action Plan for Mainstreaming Tribal Children in Education. The contribution of the project is visible in achieving the Tribal Action Plan. It has addressed the main learning barriers including language barriers by establishing schools in remote areas, recruiting community based teachers who speak local languages, organizing training courses to promote child-friendly learning, introducing mother-tongue based Multilingual Education (MLE) for children belonging to 7 CHT ethnic groups and developing culturally sensitive relevant materials as well as strengthening of School Management Committees (SMCs) of 315 remote schools in un-served or underserved communities in the CHT.

CHTDF, UNDP took part in a pre-appraisal mission for 3rd Primary Education Development Program (PEDP-III) and in liaison with MoCHTA, in subsequent processes of developing and implementing PEDP-III as well. At present PEDP-III focuses on marginalized communities including 'tribal groups' in hard to reach areas under the heading of 'inclusive education', in the context of which the CHTDF education component has the potential for harmonization and alignment. From the very beginning of the 2nd phase, the project has been implemented by having the Hill District Councils (HDCs) as the main implementing partners. This has been done, as education is one of the subjects transferred to HDCs as per the provisions of the CHT Accord and related legal provisions for the CHT. At the same time, however, CHTDF has tried to facilitate closer working relations between HDCs and relevant line departments at various levels. Thus, at the start of phase 2, the Directorate General of DPE issued a letter urging all DPE officials at District and Upazila levels to extend necessary support to SBECHT. At the national level, the Technical Advisory Committee for Education (which functions as an advisory committee to the CHTDF National Steering Committee), comprising of members from MoPME, Ministry of Education (MoE), DPE, UNICEF etc., has identified potential areas of collaboration between SBECHT and PEDP-III.  However, in this context, it was also noted that relevant provisions under PEDP-III are rather limited at the moment.

Bangladesh Population and Housing Census, 2011.

Deberes y responsabilidades

Objective:

• The evaluation will assess major achievements and overall impact of SBECHT-2, and review effectiveness and efficiency of the overall project interventions in establishing and promoting access to a quality primary education system in the CHT particularly focusing on the assessment of capacity development of HDCs and issues of sustainability of HDC managed schools as well as recommendations for way forward and UN Joint Programming for CHT.

Specific objectives of the final evaluation are:

• To assess major achievements and overall impact of the project, providing evidence-based results of its contributions in establishing and promoting access to a quality primary education system in the CHT, especially focusing on targeted results related to advocacy, strengthening systems, increasing access to basic education, improving quality of education, and multilingual education;
• To provide a forward-looking plan on future programming and modalities of implementation in the CHT emphasizing sustainability, engaging with national actors and institutions, ensuring linkages across institutions, and partnering with other UN agencies for a One-UN approach in the CHT.

Scope of Work:

The final evaluation team will undertake the following, but is not restricted to:

• Analyze the project's alignment/synergy with government’s policies and programs (E.g. National Education Policy 2010, and the new SWAp, the PEDP-III), identify the roles of HDCs and different duty bearers, and recommend scope for better alignment/integration for sustainability;
• Identify major achievements of the project in line with the expected results and assess their sustainability prospects with appropriate recommendations;
• Analyze the role of Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and HDCs feeding in the project learning to the PEDP-III and provide recommendations for effective engagement and better coordination with the line departments for effective inclusion of ethnic minority children in mainstream education;
• Identify constraints and challenges that the project have faced, overcome, learnt lessons from, and make recommendations for the implementation of future projects;
• Evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of project coordination and management, including specific reference to:
• Organizational/institutional arrangements for collaboration among the various partner institutions involved in project execution;
• The effectiveness of the monitoring mechanisms currently employed by the project management in monitoring progress on a regular basis;
• Administrative, operational and/or technical problems and constraints that have influenced the effective implementation of the project (including recommendations for necessary operational changes and alignments);
• Institutional capacity building of HDCs for better delivery of education services and national level advocacy in favor of strengthening primary education system in CHT in line with CHT peace accord.

Methodology

The Team Leader, along with other two team members, is expected to coordinate with CHTDF, UNDP offices in the districts and Upazilas during field work. The detail of the evaluation’s methodological approach is to be determined by the consultants.

However the data collection techniques can primarily be focused on:

• Desk review and content analysis of key project documents including data/information included in earlier project progress reports, monitoring reports, evaluations and surveys;
• Focus Group Discussion with a selection of School Management Committee (SMC), Mother Groups, and school teachers;
• Interview/meeting with concerned ministries including MoCHTA, CHT Regional Council, HDCs, representative of concerned line department of the govt. NGOs and key project staffs.

Deliverables/Outputs of the assignment/service:

• Inception report: An inception report in consultation with, and incorporating written inputs from the National Expert and CHT Expert to be shared and agreed with CHTDF Education Cluster within one week of commencement of contract. The report will consist of detailed methodology of the evaluation, stakeholders to be met and detailed work plan approved by CHTDF. This report will also clearly specify the distribution of tasks among the team of consultants, and different parts of the final report that different team members will be responsible for;
• Presentation of evaluation findings and draft evaluation report: Present the draft findings of the evaluation team at a debriefing to CHTDF, EU, HDC and GoB representatives and submit the draft report (both hard and soft copy) to CHTDF, UNDP;
• Final report*:  Submit a final report combining written inputs from the National Expert and CHT Expert and in consultation with them delivered both in soft and hard copy. The report will incorporate feedback from all concerned (CHTDF, UNDP/EU/HDC/MOCHTA) and accepted by CHTDF, UNDP.

The final report contains:

• Executive Summary (Brief description of the project, context and purpose of the evaluation and main conclusions/findings, recommendations for way forward and lessons learned);
• Introduction (Project background, Purpose of the evaluation, Key issues addressed, the outputs of the evaluation and how will they be used, Methodology and Structure of the evaluation);
• The development challenges and project response (how the challenges are addressed by the government, and how they are reflected in national policies and strategies; and information on the activities of other development partners in response);
• The main findings: project relevance, integration potentials, clarity of roles, efficiency, effectiveness, impact of project activities, and sustainability with recommendations for way forward and future projects;
• Conclusions;
• Recommendations and lessons;                       
• Annexes - TOR, Itinerary, List of people met, List of documents reviewed, questionnaire used and summary of results.

Tentative Payment Schedule:

Payments will be made based on the following percentages and milestones:

• 1st Payment (20% of total contract value) – Timeline: In 1 week - following effective date of the contract. Inception report: An inception report in consultation with, and incorporating written inputs from the National Expert and CHT Expert to be shared and agreed with CHTDF Education Cluster within one week of commencement of contract. The report will consist of detailed methodology of the evaluation, stakeholders to be met and detailed work plan approved by CHTDF.

This report will also clearly specify the distribution of tasks among the team of consultants, and different parts of the final report that different team members will be responsible for:

• 2nd Payment (40% of total contract value) – Timeline: In 5 weeks - following effective date of the contract. Presentation of evaluation findings and draft evaluation report: Present the draft findings of the evaluation team at a debriefing to CHTDF, EU, HDC and GoB representatives and submit the draft report (both hard and soft copy) to CHTDF, UNDP;
• Final Payment (40% of total contract value) - Timeline: In 6 weeks - following effective date of the contract. Final report*:  Submit a final report combining written inputs from the National Expert and CHT Expert and in consultation with them delivered both in soft and hard copy. The report will incorporate feedback from all concerned (CHTDF, UNDP/EU/HDC/MOCHTA) and accepted by CHTDF, UNDP.

Period of assignment/service

The evaluation is scheduled to take place over the months of Nov-Dec 2014. The expected start date is by 2nd week of November 2014. The whole assignment may span over a total period of some six weeks, with fieldwork/interviews within the country/CHT expected to take up to four weeks.

Duty Station

During the evaluation, the consultant will be based at CHTDF office Rangamati and s/he has to visit school located at above mentioned Upazilas under 3 districts of CHT.  The consultant will be directly responsible to Cluster Leader-Capacity Development & Service Delivery (CD&SD) and s/he will be performing under technical guidance of Sr. Technical Advisor and PMR unit.

Inputs:

From CHTDF:

• CHTDF will provide a letter of introduction and facilitate access to relevant offices, including security clearance for travel within the CHT (if/as applicable), for the consultant hired to carry out the final evaluation;
• CHTDF will provide temporary desk spaces, if required, for the consultant;
• Vehicle support for work related travel within the CHT (including pickup/drop from/to Chittagong airport if applicable);
• Support in organizing workshops/meetings/FGDs as per work plan but costs for conducting FGD/meetings/workshop in relation to this contract as well as interpreters’ assistance, if any, will be borne by the consultant.

From the consultant:

• The consultant should have her/ his own laptop;
• Ensure progress tracking of target-achievements specified as per the work plan submitted.

Requirements of the Team Leader (International) Requirements of the Team Leader (International)

There will be a total of three consultants (Team Leader, one CHT Expert and one National Education Expert) who will work as a team, of which one will be the Team Leader who will lead, manage, guide and supervise the review team. The responsibilities and qualifications of the Team Leader are given below:

Responsibilities                                                                                                        

The Team Leader will have overall responsibility for the quality and timely submission of the final evaluation report to UNDP.

Specifically, the team leader will perform the following tasks:

• Lead and manage the evaluation;
• Design the detailed evaluation scope, methodology and approach;
• Ensure efficient division of tasks within the evaluation team;
• Conduct the evaluation in accordance with the proposed objective and scope of the evaluation;
• Oversee the administration and analysis of the results of the exercise;
• Prepare and present a briefing to UNDP Senior Management and other interested parties as needed
• Draft and communicate the evaluation report;
• Finalize the evaluation report in English and submit it to UNDP/CHTDF.

Competencias

Functional competencies:

Professionalism:

• Flexibility to make ad-hoc changes as and when the need arises;
• Ability to perform under stress;
• Willingness to keep flexible working hours.

Teamwork:

• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations as a team member, in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect;

Communication:

• Excellent interpersonal and writing communication skills.

Corporate competencies:

• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:

• A post graduate qualification preferably in Education or Social Sciences/ any relevant discipline.

Experience:

• Work experience in the area of education for at least 10 years;
• Experience of evaluating projects funded/managed by the EU, and UNDP/UN agencies;
• Experience with multilateral or bilateral supported conservation projects;
• Extensive international experience of leading evaluation of similar projects;
• Knowledge of Indigenous Peoples rights and policy issues;
• Demonstrated analytical ability and excellent report writing skills with relevant experience and produced at least 5 reports for donor/UN agenciesl;
• Willingness and ability to travel to the CHT area, including to certain remote areas;
• Project review or evaluation experiences are desirable and experience of working as Team Leader of any such mission will be an advantage

Language:

• Fluency in speaking and writing in English.

Evaluation Of Candidates:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis: The candidates will be evaluated through Cumulative Analysis method.

When using the weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% marks i.e. 49 marks in the Technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.

Technical Evaluation Criteria (Total 70 marks):

• Appropriateness of the proposed methodology including the timeline - 20 marks;
• Demonstrated analytical ability and excellent report writing skills with relevant experience and produced at least 5 reports for donor/UN agencies- 20 marks;
• Extensive international experience of leading evaluation of similar projects - 15 marks;
• Experience of evaluating projects funded/managed by the EU, and UNDP/UN agencies. - 15 marks.

Financial Evaluation (Total 30 marks)

Financial proposals from all technically qualified candidates will be scored out 30 marks based on the formula provided below. The maximum marks (30) will be assigned to the lowest financial proposal.

All other proposals will receive points according to the following formula:

• p = y (µ/z)

Where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated.
y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal.
µ = price of the lowest priced proposal.
z = price of the proposal being evaluated.