Terms of Reference

Analysis of Education Services in Contested Regions in

Myanmar
1. Summary
Myanmar Education Consortium (MEC) works with partners to improve education for
marginalised children in Myanmar - those who are not fully served by the
government system - whether due to access, language, poverty or exclusion, for
instance due to disability. MEC supports complementary basic education services community-based, faith-based and ethnic education systems - through funding to
partners to deliver services and organisational support to build effective
organisations. The program promotes inclusive, evidence-based policy dialogue
through networking and knowledge sharing. MEC is managed by Save the Children
and supported by the Governments of Australia, UK and Denmark with a program
budget of AUD 29m for the current period of 2013 2016.
An independent Mid-Term Review (MTR) of MEC was undertaken at the end of 2014
to review progress and to support the evolution of the program strategy. In response
to the findings of the MTR, MEC will develop a revised strategy document for the
period to the end of 2018 for consideration by donors. This consultancy is designed
to provide greater analysis of education provision in contested areas 1 in Myanmar
and to support the development of an appropriate program design.

2. Purpose and Scope of the Consultancy

The purpose of the consultancy is:
i.
ii.

iii.
iv.

To provide a situational analysis on basic education in contested areas

including barriers for children in achieving a quality education
To provide an analysis of existing systems and organisations providing
education services, the support they receive and areas where systems could
be strengthened
To identify opportunities for MEC to provide support
To provide recommendations for MEC program design

The consultancy deliverables will include the development of a Consultancy Design

Report which will refine the scope of the consultancy.
1 The analysis is expected to provide an overview of the context in the designated
States in Myanmar, excluding Rakhine. Detailed analysis will focus on areas agreed
in the development of the Consultancy Design Report.
1

The consultancy will focus on basic education services for school-aged children,
including out-of-school children. Early childhood education and adult education
services will not be within the scope of this review.
The findings of the consultancy will inform a revised MEC program strategy which
will be presented to donors for consideration of a MEC program extension beyond
the current contract due to end in 2016. The planning period for the revised
strategy is January 2016 December 2018.
The consultancy is expected to require a team to fully address the Terms of
Reference. Final decision will be based on Expressions of Interest and availability. An
ideal team would include:

Lead Consultant (international) education systems strengthening

approaches and program design
Expert (international) education services in contested areas in Myanmar
Expert (national) - education services in contested areas in Myanmar

The consultancy period will be for a period of five weeks to be completed by 23 rd

June. The lead consultant will report to the MEC Director and be responsible for
coordinating the inputs of the team and ensuring deliverables are produced to
agreed time frames.
The MEC management team will facilitate the consultants access to all relevant
background materials, and coordinate all logistics related to site visits and
interviews with identified key informants.

3. Objectives and key focus areas

The objectives of this evaluation are to:
To provide a situational analysis on education in contested areas including
enablers and barriers to achieving quality education, including
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

the political context including the policy environment and implications of the
peace process
enablers and barriers to achieving quality education,
accreditation and equivalence factors for teacher qualification and student
achievement,
language of instruction and cultural considerations

To provide an analysis of existing systems and organisations providing

education, the support they receive and areas where education provision can be
developed
2

i.

a profile of the current education systems and providers including

partnerships between various providers and community engagement
teacher resources and professional development
curriculum and delivery mechanisms,
assessment, both formative and summative,
current funding, including donor and external support
areas where education systems can be strengthened

ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.

Based on the analysis identify opportunities for MEC to provide support in

relation to system strengthening, policy engagement, curriculum development,
teacher professional development, assessment methodology, school management,
governance and service delivery.
Based on the identified opportunities, provide recommendations to inform
program design to allow MEC to provide effective support to education services in
contested areas, taking into account political considerations and applying an
inclusive partnership approach.

4. Methodology
This evaluation will be undertaken by a team of independent, external consultants.
It is envisaged the methodology will include but not necessarily be limited to:

Literature review of relevant documentation on education provision in

contested areas
Interviews with education providers and teacher training organisations
Key informant interviews, including language and linguistic, curriculum and
teacher training specialists
Interviews with NGOs and donors currently supporting ethnic education in
Myanmar
Field visits at the discretion of education providers

The consultant will develop the review methodology as part of the Consultancy
Design Report.

5. Deliverables
The key deliverables for this study are the following:
A consultancy design report (4 pages maximum) outlining the detailed work plan for
conducting the review, a timeframe for completion of each step, an agreed list of
resources to be reviewed and analysed, and an outline of the methodology to be
used (including key questions).
3

A final report that concisely presents key findings and analysis, and provides
concrete and targeted recommendations from both a policy and programs
perspective, with a view to inform a program strategy development process. The
final report will be no more than 30 pages (excluding annexes) and include an
executive summary, introduction, background, scope and limitations, key findings
and recommendations, bibliography and supporting information.

6. Timeframe
It is expected this consultancy will be conducted over a period of 25 days with all
members of the team participating throughout, though specific tasks may be
allocated within the team. The final schedule and number of days will be agreed
following the selection of consultants.
Date

Activity

7th May
15th May
18th 21st May

Expressions of Interest
Contracting
Literature review, agree
methodology, work plan and
time frame
Consultancy Design Report
Interviews, field visits where
possible
Draft Report
Feedback on draft report
Final Report
Presentation of final report

22nd May
25th May 12th
June
17th June
19th June
24th June
25th June

Consultancy
days
4

1
15
3
1
1

7. Confidentiality
The consultancy addresses sensitive issues and confidentiality will need to be
strictly respected. The consultancy reports are for internal audiences Save the
Children management and donor representatives.
Participants in interviews will be briefed on the purpose of the consultancy and how
information will be used. Participants may request for information not to be shared
in writing. The use of any data must be agreed with participants.
The reports will become the property of Save the Children and will not be shared
with third parties without the express permission of Save the Children.

8. Consultant Selection
The consultancy is expected to require a team to fully address the Terms of
Reference. Final decision will be based on Expressions of Interest and availability. An
ideal team would include:

Lead Consultant (international) education systems strengthening

approaches and program design
5

Expert (international) political economy of education services in contested

areas in Myanmar
Expert (national) - political economy of education services in contested areas
in Myanmar

Interested parties may indicate in the Expression of interest where they would like
to work together.
The lead consultant should meet the following criteria:

Experience in designing and managing programs to support systems

strengthening, ideally with partner organisations
Experience in coordinating a research team
Strong analytical skills
Excellent report writing skills
Experience working in multi-cultural and multi-linguistic environments

The two experts on education services should meet the following criteria:

Substantial experience of education provision in contested areas in Myanmar

Knowledge of education policy reform and the peace process
Established relationships with key education organisations
Experience working with NGOs

Interested parties should submit an Expression of Interest by midnight, Thursday 7 th

May to MEC Director craignightingale@myanmareducationconsortium.org
The Expression of Interest should include:

CV and brief cover letter outlining experience against the required criteria
Availability or other commitments during the indicative consultancy period
Interest in working with other identified consultants (each person should
submit a separate Expression of Interest and identify their desire to
collaborate)
Indicative consultancy daily fee
Any other relevant information

Save the Children is committed to ensuring a safe environment and culture for all
children with whom we come in contact during the course of our work. The
successful consultant will be required to comply with Save the Childrens Child
Safeguarding Policy and sign the Code of Conduct.