Bangladesh: Consultancy - USAID/Bangladesh RERA

The influx of over 700,000 Rohingya people to Bangladesh in August 2017 has dramatically impacted the surrounding communities in Cox’s Bazar district, including in the delivery of and access to education. Prior to the influx, primary education outcomes in Cox’s Bazar district were among the lowest nationwide. Students in the district struggle to access schooling, and Cox’s Bazar has the lowest percentage of children of primary school age enrolling in first grade, at 70.8%. The poor quality of education creates inefficiencies, and Cox’s Bazar has the second-highest primary repetition rate in the country (7%) and the second-highest dropout rate (31.2%). Students fail to master foundational skills in the early grades. The endline assessment of the USAID-funded Reading Enhancement for Advancing Development (READ) activity found that in Government Primary Schools that did not receive the intervention 36% of students finish first grade unable to read their first word. In addition, only 32% of third grade students can read in Bangla with fluency and comprehension

Anecdotal evidence indicates that since August the Rohingya influx has brought additional stress on Bangladeshi schools in Cox’s Bazar.In some remote and NGO schools, the crisis has exacerbated the teacher shortage. In government schools where there were not enough certified teachers, “para-teachers” with lower qualifications were providing education to Bangladeshi students; now these teachers are taking better-paid positions working in temporary learning centers in the camps or with NGOs. Teachers from government madrasah schools are also leaving their positions to work in the camps. Dropout at the secondary level is accelerating as secondary school students leave school to seek employment with NGOs working in the camps. The increased police presence in the region is also discouraging youth, especially girls, from accessing education.

In addition, perceived inequities between services delivered to the Rohingya people and Bangladeshi communities in Cox’s Bazar have created tensions in that part of the country. The education system can play a crucial role to mitigate some factors that drive inequalities and grievance. Adequate and relevant provision of education and livelihood opportunities for Bangladeshis is critical to ensure the stability and resilience of Cox’s Bazar.

Cox’s Bazar has eight upazilas (sub-districts), but to date donor support has focused on the two upazilas (Teknaf and Ukhia) closest to the camp that are experiencing the brunt of the negative impact, including high food prices, lower wages, traffic, and crime. As of July 2018, all 137 primary schools in Teknaf and Ukhia have been targeted for grants to improve infrastructure and supplies, and 30,400 learners are benefiting from support.^[1] However, schools in the remaining six upazilas are not receiving supplemental support.

Rapid Education and Risk Analysis (RERA)

USAID/Bangladesh seeks to hire a consultant team to conduct a Rapid Education and Risk Analysis (RERA) to provide an understanding of the impact of the Rohingya influx on pre-primary through secondary education in Bangladeshi schools in Cox’s Bazar. This RERA will focus on the education of Bangladeshis in upazilas across Cox’s Bazar district, and not on the education of the Rohingya children and youth in the camps. The RERA will be used to:

• gain a broader understanding of the risks, needs, assets, and capacities of the education sector in Cox’s Bazar, and;
• inform future USAID education activities to support Bangladeshis in host and impacted communities in Cox’s Bazar.

A RERA is a “good enough” situational analysis of educational institutions, learners, and their communities as a dynamic system of relationships involving assets and multiple contextual risks. A RERA integrates key methodological elements of a rapid education needs assessment and contextual risk analysis to illuminate opportunities to support school community resilience. Importantly, a RERA investigates how risk impacts the school community, how education influences risks, and how contextual risks influence each other. This RERA will provide critical information for future USAID education programming to respond to the impact of the Rohingya crisis in Cox’s Bazar district.

The Lead Consultant will carry out a RERA in accordance with the USAID RERA Toolkit^[2] and in consultation with the USAID/Bangladesh Education Team. Additionally, this task includes provisions for recruiting an appropriately skilled and qualified RERA Team.

Research Questions

USAID/Bangladesh is interested in research addressing the following questions:

• What is the impact of the Rohingya influx on government and non-government schooling for Bangladeshi students in Cox’s Bazar at the pre-primary, primary, secondary, and technical and vocational levels?
• What is the status of: education access, the learning environment, teaching and learning, teachers and other education personnel, education policy, and coordination in Cox’s Bazar?
• What is the context for key cross-cutting issues including: gender, inclusive education for children with disabilities, and student well-being (including social and emotional learning)?
• What are the main contextual risks in Cox’s Bazar?
• What is the interaction between the contextual risks and the education sector?
• What are the resilience factors that influence access to and safety of quality education? How can these factors be strengthened?

Responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities

The Lead Consultant will conduct the RERA in a collaborative manner in line with the RERA Toolkit. Engaging a broad array of partners and stakeholders--both in Dhaka and in Cox’s Bazar-- in the planning and implementation of the RERA and in the drafting of the RERA final report contributes to the quality and legitimacy of the RERA process and findings.

The Lead Consultant should be recruited first and provide input on the hiring of the remaining members of the RERA Team who meet the competencies specified in the “Expertise Required” section of this request. The RERA Toolkit will provide the overall guidance for the implementation of the RERA, from planning, data collection, analysis, and synthesis, to final report writing and supporting collaboration.

The Lead Consultant will consult with the USAID Mission, including members of the Education Team and the Mission’s Rohingya Response Coordinator. USAID staff will oversee the implementation, coordination, and adaptation of the RERA parameters and methodology, and staff from the Mission and Washington, DC, may participate in fieldwork. Constant communication between the RERA Team and the USAID Mission is required, particularly during RERA Team recruitment, adaptation of the RERA to context, and stakeholder engagements throughout the fieldwork.

The Lead Consultant will:

1. Recruit the RERA Team comprised of: the Lead Consultant (RERA Team Leader), a Senior Education Specialist, a Risk Specialist, andlocal researchers and enumerators.
2. Set RERA parameters.
3. Identify stakeholders and plan stakeholder engagement.
4. Finalize RERA research questions.
5. Identify data sources, informants, and key stakeholders.
6. Conduct the desk review.
7. Hold stakeholder consultations at designated moments during the in-country process, including initial consultations with stakeholders in Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar, validation meetings with key stakeholders and partners on preliminary conclusions, and recommendations at the end of fieldwork.
8. Plan and conduct primary data collection, including a school community sample that covers pre-K through grade 10 (including secondary and technical education) in formal and non-formal schools.
9. Develop findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
10. Draft and disseminate the RERA final report, including two Dhaka-based briefings to 1) USAID and 2) external stakeholders on the RERA conclusions and recommendations.

Level of Effort are based on the assumption that the Lead Consultant (Team Leader) forms a core team that includes two additional specialists (Education Specialist and Risk Specialist), three local researchers, and three enumerators. This core team will work together for the first week of primary data collection. In the subsequent weeks of primary data collection, this core team will form three teams each comprised of one core team member, one local researcher, and one enumerator. It is anticipated that translators may be required to assist with primary data collection where RERA Team members do not speak Bangla or Chittagonian dialect.

USAID/Bangladesh aims for primary data collection to occur in October 2018, before the beginning of the end-of-year school exams in mid-November. The timeframe for the assistance and delivery of the report will be late August 2018 until December 2018. The in-country dissemination workshops with USAID and external stakeholders could occur in January 2019 to accommodate winter holidays.The period of performance is expected from mid-September 2018 - December 2018, with option to work remotely and expected month trip to Dkaha, Bangladesh.

Deliverables are illustrative:

• Task 1: Recruit RERA Team (remote) - Adjust budget as necessary, RERA Team conflict sensitive self-assessment
• Taks 2: Plan and Adapt RERA (remote) - RERA Parameters Checklisted completed, RERA design plan completed, Key Informants and Focus Group Participants Matrix completed, RERA Research qusetion adaped for context and purpose
• Task 3: Conduct design, data analysis and collection (remote) - Desk review completed, School Community Scoring Rubric adapted and completed, School community data sample determined, School Community Fieldwork Tool adapted
• Task 4: Conduct design, data collection, adn analysis (in Dhaka and Cox's Bazar) - Inception briefings held with USAID/Bangladesh, Consultation held with key stakeholders in Dhaka and Cox's Bazar, Primary data collection completed, Debriefings held with USAID/Bangladesh, Validation meetings with USAID/Bangladesh, partners, stakeholders on preliminary findings and the final report
• Task 5: Complete final report (remote) - Final report completed, PowerPoint presentation summarizing RERA methodology, findings, conclusions, and recommendations completed, Share open data with USAID/Bangladesh for use in ongoing, similar analyses, and submit to the Secondary Analysis for Results Tracking (SART) and Data and Evidence for Education Programs (DEEP) Databases, Upload final report to the USAID Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC) and share with USAID Education in Conflict and Crisis Network (ECCN).

Qualifications

The Team Leader should have the following attributes and experience:

• Minimum of seven years of professional experience in peacebuilding, conflict prevention, or similar programs, including leading or participating in education in crisis analysis
• Experience conducting Rapid Education and Risk Analyses
• Established relationships with networks, research/academic institutions, and implementing organizations in the field of peacebuilding and conflict prevention
• Experience leading and managing teams
• Experience working in a collaborative, multicultural environment involving multiple stakeholders
• Proven ability to produce clear, succinct written reports
• Fluency in written and spoken English;
• Master’s degree in a related field; PhD preferred

The remaining team members (Education Specialist, Risk Specialist, enumerators and local researchers) should collectively possess the following attributes and experience:

• Expertise in education in conflict and crisis environments generally and Bangladesh’s education system specifically. They should be able to bring on board active networks of local contacts in the education sector.
• Expertise in relevant contextual risk analysis methodologies and be connected to active networks of local contacts in the contextual risk sectors.
• Oversight of the team’s adherence to ethical standards for research with human subjects.
• Knowledge of conflict sensitivity principles well enough to ensure the conflict sensitivity of the RERA Team and the RERA methodology and process.
• Experience working with USAID either as a contractor or staff member.
• Translators (if necessary) should have a combination of language abilities in Bangla and Chittagonian dialect.

Dexis is an equal opportunity employer offering employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, citizenship, physical or mental handicap, or status as a disabled or Vietnam Era veteran of the US Armed Forces.

https://careers-dexisonline.icims.com/jobs/1558/