Descrição
Job no: 569744
Contract type: Consultant
Duty Station: Abuja
Level: Consultancy
Location: Nigeria
Categories: Health
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.
Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.
And we never give up.
For every child, an advocate
How can you make a difference?
Background and Purpose of the Assignment
Nigeria is home to approximately 206 million people, 43 per cent of whom are below 14 years of age. By 2030, there will be close to 126 million children in Nigeria. Rapid population growth and the swelling child population will place significant pressure on the education system, including its infrastructure and resources. At the same time, Nigeria has the potential to reap a dividend from the impending youth bulge, but this will require significant investments in children’s and adolescents’ education and well-being. The country has developed policies that guarantee free and compulsory basic education and has seen increasing access to education in recent years.
Nigeria is committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, as reflected in current education policies, which guarantee free and compulsory basic education and which position quality of learning outcomes at the centre of the country’s education agenda. The Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) (2016-2019) and the Ministerial Strategic Plan (2018-2022) prioritize education access, learning quality and systems strengthening. A recent analysis of the country’s progress toward Sustainable Development Goal target 4.1 revealed evidence of initiatives in all states that aim to improve children’s access to quality education. These efforts have been met with increasing enrolment in recent years. However, there remain challenges in high out-of-school rates, dropout and persistent inequality.
Nigeria has approximately 10.2 million children who are out of school (OOS) at the primary level, and accounts for 15 per cent of the total number of out of school children globally. Overall, 1 in 3 children are OOS in Nigeria, with 12.4 million having never attended and 5.9 having left school early. Two-thirds (66 per cent) of all OOS children are in the northeast and North-west, 86 per cent are from rural areas and 65 per cent are from the poorest socioeconomic quintile. More than 50 per cent of girls are not attending school at the basic education level, and only 1 in 3 adolescents eligible for senior secondary education are attending. Despite the efforts over the past years, both from the Government of Nigeria as well as its development partners, to strategically address the challenge of out-of-school children (OOSC), and to ensure that all children are in school and learning, progress in reducing the number of OOSC is not keeping pace with the growing child and youth population of Nigeria.
Scope of Work:
Under the overall supervision of the Chief of Education and the guidance from Education Specialist (Access and Equity), the consultant will be responsible for the following tasks over the course of the contract:
a. Conduct initial regional mapping of successful global practices on alternative learning pathways and distance learning opportunities, which include policies, frameworks, models (types and modalities), curriculum, and guidance, in the sub-Saharan African region (primary focus on anglophone countries). The mapping should cover alternative learning pathways for the following groups:Primary school-aged children, both inside and outside of schools.
- Junior secondary school-aged children, both inside and outside of schools.
- Senior secondary school-aged adolescents, both inside and outside of schools.
b. In collaboration with other stakeholders, conduct mapping of alternative learning pathways and distance learning opportunities in Nigeria, for both in-school and out-of-school children from primary to senior secondary level. The mapping should include 1) types and forms, 2) operational modalities, 3) providers, 4) target groups, 5) pedagogical content, 6) learning content, 7) teaching and learning methodologies, 8) design and mechanisms to facilitate transition to formal education, and 9) evidence/evaluation of impact on learning and transition to formal education.
c. Using available data and the information collected though the mapping exercises, analyze the existing gaps in practices and knowledge of alternative learning pathways and distance learning opportunities in Nigeria and identify challenges and bottlenecks in their provision and delivery for different categories of learners in Nigeria.
d. Based on the review and analysis, develop a set of policy and strategy recommendations for strengthening the delivery of quality alternative learni