Detailed description of project Back
The Overall Objective (OO) of ISEM II is to provide young people with more equitable opportunity for completing good quality secondary education and developing skills needed by the labour market. The action has 3 Specific Objectives (SO) addressing areas of: equitable access, quality and relevance, and governance and management of secondary education.
The first objective is done through i) upgraded and expanded secondary school infrastructure, and expanded technical vocational education facilities in secondary schools, including improved WASH facilities and climate resilient infrastructure. (Expected output 1.1) and ii) increased access to secondary education, particularly for female students and students living in vulnerable situations. (Expected output 1.2).
The second objective is done through i) provision of equipment to targeted schools, including cluster centres, new technical vocational workshops and boarding facilities (Expected output 2.1) ii) teacher development (Expected outputs 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 ,2.5) iii) School governance and Decentralization (Expected outputs 3.1, 3.2, 3.3).
The contractor, represented by a team of Technical Assistants (TA) will be responsible for the support to the MoE in the implementation of the following outputs: 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3. However, the TA team will be in charge of the coordination of the whole project including expected outputs 1.1, 1.2 and 2.1.
The specific objective of this contract is to provide the beneficiary country, Malawi, and more specifically, the MoE and its affiliated institutions with technical assistance to deliver on its desired objectives of: promoting equitable enrolment to secondary education; improving the quality of secondary education; and improving governance and management of secondary education institutions at central and decentralized levels.
The expected outputs of this contract are as follows:
- Teachers’ pedagogical and technical knowledge and skills are improved including possibly environment and disaster preparedness, gender equality, human rights and WASH education;
- Increased capacity of government teacher-training institutions to provide distance and e-learning services for teachers;
- Monitoring and Evaluation of the secondary school curriculum is supported;
- English language competency improved for English language teachers and junior secondary school students;
- Leadership skills of education managers are improved;
- Improved professionalism in secondary education service provision;
- Improved management, accountability and quality of service provision.
Type of services provided
Management and coordination of the programme
- Support to the Ministry of Education (MoE) in the preparation and implementation of ISEM II activities related to results 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 in close collaboration with the EU Delegation;
- Seek prior approval of the MoE and inform the EUD of any activities, studies, etc. implemented under the programme;
- Manage a pool of STE to be mobilized in response to identified needs from the MoE and information of the EU and ensure implementation of each STE’s assignment, for effective delivery of the programme results;
- Support to the MoE in the monitoring of all programme components including the ones not directly implemented by this contract (works, supplies, and grants). The TA will be in charge of supporting the MoE in collecting the data to monitor the achievement of the indicators included in the ISEM II logframe. The TA will facilitate the implementation of any research conducted around the results of the project;
- If need be, support the finalisation of the direct grant to the Ministry of Education according to EU procedures and support the Ministry in the implementation of activities under the Grant;
- Prepare all programme reports and ensure their timely submission to MoE for endorsement before submission to EUD for approval;
- Prepare consolidated monthly bulletins, with input from all implementers (including components outside this contract), outlining progress made in the month and a general risk analysis for the attention of stakeholders;
- Support the MoE in organising meetings: the monthly coordination; the Steering Committee (at least bi-annual); and Education Divisions Management;
- Support the MoE in sector coordination e.g. facilitation of technical working groups (TWGs) relevant to the programme;
- Ensure the implementation of the ISEM II Communication Plan and compliance of the programme to the EU communication and visibility requirements;
- Support the implementation of communication activities (including international days’ celebration, closure events, etc…);
- Support EU Delegation in preparation for policy dialogue with MoE;
- Provide inputs as required for the preparation of the new EU support programme on education; and
- Organise the dialogue between the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour and the EU funded TA under the Zanchito project to develop a policy on vocational education for secondary education.
Tasks related to Teacher Development
- Support the implementation of teachers training plan, taking into account lessons from previous experiences, including other donor supported initiatives;
- Follow up on the implementation of the CPD framework, including capacity strengthening at district, cluster and school levels;
- Explore/follow up innovative approaches to mainstreaming crosscutting and emerging issues (such as inclusive education, environment and disaster preparedness, gender equality, human rights and WASH education) in teacher training programmes – both pre and in-service programmes;
- Support the development/operationalisation of teacher competency framework in line with the national education standards and build capacities of TTIs on these teacher competencies; and
- Support the development of a robust English subject programme to be piloted in selected schools.
Tasks related to School Governance
- Support the implementation of school level quality assurance mechanisms;
- Support/follow-up on the development of school leader competency framework and its application for improved school leadership and management skills;
- Support implementation of Secondary School Improvement Plans (SSIP) and reporting modalities for improved accountability;
- Strengthen community participation through capacitation of school governance structures (Board of Governors [BoG] and Parent Teacher Association (PTAs)).
Tasks related to Decentralization
- Support the implementation of the decentralisation situation analysis recommendations conducted in 2022 with the view of implementing the secondary education decentralization roadmap.
Main staff provided:
- Team leader & Capacity Development Expert (600 w/d);
- NKE pool (640 w/d).
