1. Introduction: Supported by European Union, Unique intervention for Quality primary education (UNIQUE II) project is a non-formal primary education program for the out of school children has been implementing from December 2011 in 84 upazila and 26 district under 6 different regions across Bangladesh. Under the leadership of Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM), six other organizations (ASOD, CCDB, DORP, PMUK, SUROVI, VARD and YPSA) as a partner organization are working collaboratively for implementing the project for reaching its goals. Plan Bangladesh is its technical partner. This is a 6-year project started in December 2011 and will be completed in November 2017. The major objectives of the project is to impart quality primary education to out of school and drop out children of aged 6-14 particularly from the disadvantaged group of geographically susceptible upazila through the multi-grade teaching learning approach. It also intends to provide pre-school as well as subject based remedial services to the slow learners of the targeted government and registered primary schools. UNIQUE-II aims at promoting, facilitating and managing greater community involvement and allowing the local community to participate at all stages of the project cycle. The project works for creating sufficient ownership of the local people with the aim of making more flexible and vibrant communities. The specific objectives of UNIQUE II project:

• To provide primary and pre-primary education to 297,467 disadvantaged children from the targeted geographically susceptible upaziias
• To develop institutional collaboration and horizontal learning mechanism between formal and non-formal primary education providers &
• To document and disseminate effective practices and lessons.

1.2       Key expected results of UNIQUE II project:

• Effectiveness of non-formal primary education programmes increased in 26 targeted districts through reaching the out- of-school children and catering for their learning needs
• Children's performance improved in formal schools of targeted 84 upaziias
• Child-centred learning community and supportive environment developed in the targeted 423 unions of the project

1.3       Major Activities of UNIQUE II Project

1. Organization of Children Learning Centres (CLC)
2. Community-based pre-primary education
3. Learning Camp for remedial support to low performing students in schools
4. Replication of Multi-Grade Teaching-Learning approach
5. School Improvement Programme
6. Collaboration between formal and non-formal primary education
7. Learning Resource Centre for technical support at local level
8. Promoting pro-active roles of local government bodies in primary education
9. Development and use of contextually appropriate learning materials at the local level
10. Linkage of parents with livelihood opportunities to support children education
11. Family Life Education for  the parents/guardians
12. Disaster preparedness for uninterrupted children education
13. Promoting mother language education for effective early learning
14. Sharing lessons among primary education actors for cross learning

 

2. Scopes and Objectives of the study: The UNIQUE II Project has taken an initiative for conducting a number of studies on outcomes of UNIQUE II project activities. The objectives of the proposed studies are as follows:

Sl	Activities to study	Coverage in the project	Objectives for the study
01	CLC Based Pre-Primary Education	# of Children: 60,000 # of PPE centres: 2134	Assess the extent of preparedness/performance of students in PPE centres    Assess performance of students after mainstreaming in formal schools
02	Organizing learning Resource centres (LRC)	# of LRC: 185 in 185 unions	Identify strength, weakness, opportunities and threats of LRCs.
03	Organizing learning Camp	# of students 30,000 # of camps: 1200	Assess the learning outcomes of the camp students in terms of their test/exam results (Pre, Post & PECE)   Assess performance of students during post-camp situation
04	Promoting role of LGIs	# of Union LGIs (Union parishad): 185	Assess the extent of proactive role of LGI in ensuring quality primary education.
05	Education in Emergencies	# of Upazila: 13 # of CLCs: 540 # of people reached: 5400	Assess the role of trained community, teachers and students   Evaluate the extent of their knowledge and skills in education in emergency situation.
06	Mother Language Education	# of CLCs: 14 # of children: 509 Types of materials: primers, exercise books, flash cards, alphabet charts, tutor’s guide etc.	Review the effectiveness of UNIQUE II MLE teaching learning materials   Assess language learning outcomes of children.
07	Sustainability of CLC	# of CLCs sustained: 450	Identify the status and factors influencing sustainability of the CLCs.

 

3. Sample size and locations of the study: The study will be conducted in the working areas of UNIQUE II project based on appropriate and statistically viable sample size (out of the coverage mentioned in section 2) as well the objectives. However, Dhaka /Mymensnigh and remote areas in Barisal and CHT district/s can be considered as locations.

4. Methodologies of the Study: The consultant will be using a range of participatory observation and analysis based techniques through a standard sampling method. The consultant will be also using different types of anthropological and statistical methods which are appropriate for the study. The consultant will however provide detailed methodology as appropriate along with a budget/cost estimate in the proposal. However, as part of the methods the following can also be considered:  

• Desk/literature review e.g. Project Proposal and LFA based reports, INRs, Participatory Monitoring reports, project activity brochures/literature etc.
• Field visits and interview/group discussion with relevant stakeholders e.g. staffs, community, learners. Tutors, LGI representatives, partners, GoB line authority, other NGOs working in the same field etc.

 

5. Consultant’s profile: The finally selected consultant must have a profile as follows:  

• A Bangladeshi who has a post graduate degree in Education/social sciences.
• Research experience in multi-sectoral education projects and preparing documents that are objective oriented and evidence-based.
• Proven experience in preparing baseline reports, project evaluation report of  development organizations such as international or National NGOs
• At least 10 years of relevant experiences.
• In-depth knowledge on different report writing approaches.
• In-depth knowledge on statistical analysis.
• Good written skills in English compatible for research Journals.
• Sound knowledge on MS office and SPPS
• Thorough understanding of Bangladesh development context.

 

6. Deliverables and Timeline: The Consultant is expected to produce seven deliverables in a form of seven reports/monographs in high quality standard English based on seven activities of the project as mentioned in section 2 bearing necessary observation findings along with statistical analysis, data and information. Where appropriate, the reports should utilize tables and graphs to link with data. All reports in both soft and hard copies to be made available.

The format of the each report/monograph may contain the following aspects:

• Executive Summary  
• Introduction / Background to the study
• Methodology used
• Context Analysis
• A description in the form of  Findings, Conclusions and specific actionable and prioritized recommendations
• Annexes

• Terms of Reference
• Profile of the study Team
• Study Schedule
• Documents consulted during the Study 
• Persons participating in the study
• Field data used during the study, including baselines/focus group stories and data
• Bibliography

Each study/monograph will be within 20-25 pages (paper: A4 size, font size: 12 Times new Roman) excluding the annexure part. The entire assignment as mentioned in section 8 is however to be completed within 90 days (3 months) from the date of signing/or work order issued. Therefore the consultant will have to submit a study-schedule with the proposal.

 

7. Quality assurance of the study and monographs: The submitted reports/monographs should represent a thoughtful, well-researched and well organized effort. Findings/Observations should therefore be specific, concise and supported by strong quantitative or qualitative evidence. Also recommendations need to be action-oriented and specific with defined responsibility for the action.

8. Requirements from the consultant: The consultant must provide (a) forwarding letter with detailed profile/ CV (b) evidence/certificates of research experience (c) updated income tax certificates (d) work plan and (e) expected cost statement/budget (all inclusive) to accomplish the entire assignment. It is to be noted that the Project office shall not provide any office/logistics/vehicles support to the consultant. But, necessary support service from field based staff can be provided to the consultant. Therefore, the consultant to include all related expenses in the estimated cost statement.

9. Payment Schedule: The UNIQUE II project, Dhaka Ahsania Mission will make all payments by account payee cheque. However, the payment will be made as per the Finance Act of Bangladesh Government. The payment schedule will be as follows:

• 1st Payment: 30% of total contract value will be paid with the signing of the MOU.
• 2nd Payment: 40% will be paid after submission of draft reports/monographs in a standard prescribed format with approval from appropriate authority.
• Final Payment: Rest of the 30% payment will be made after the final reports/monographs are submitted with entire satisfaction.

10. Disclaimer: UNIQUE II Project/ Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals/application without assigning any reason whatsoever. However, value-for-money will be an important criterion in selection of the consultant.