Job Description

Posted on April 11, 2023

CALL FOR CONSULTANCY FOR ENDLINE EVALUATION OF THE COMMNUITY ACTION FOR OUT OF SCHOOL CHILDREN (CAOOSC) PROJECT
5TH APRIL 2023
TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE ENDLINE EVALUATION OF THE COMMNUITY ACTION FOR OUT OF SCHOOL CHILDREN (CAOOSC) PROJECT
1.0 Background
Zambia Open Community Schools (ZOCS) is a vibrant and flagship organisation for Community Schools in Zambia since 1992 that empowers communities to provide quality basic education to OVC, especially girls and children with disabilities. Premised on the principle that every child has a “right to education”, ZOCS, through its three-pillar approach of Advocacy, Capacity Building and Service Delivery, has accomplished much for the children and people of Zambia, reaching out to 259,691 learners (132,459 Boys and 127,232 Girls) in 1,385 demonstration Community Schools across 97 Districts in all the 10 provinces of Zambia.
ZOCS delivers its programme through the three strategic pillars to ensure that children in underserved communities have access to quality, equitable and inclusive education thereby by enabling them to progress and complete mandatory schooling in order to brighten their prospects of reaching their fullest potential and significantly contribute to national development.
The three strategic Pillars are;
i. Advocay aimed at influencing education policies to leverage resources for increased support to OVC education through Community Schools Countrywide.
ii. Capacity building through training of Volunteer teachers in various skills (including pedagogical skills), inclusive education for learners with Special Education Needs (SEN), training of Volunteer teachers at Primary Diploma and psychosocial counselling skills); training of Parent Community School Committee (PCSC) members in School governance, resource mobilization and advocacy skills.
iii. Service Provision aimed at direct support to the learners through upgrading of Community Schools’ infrastructure; procurement and supply of appropriate teaching and learning materials to community schools; provision of School bursaries to vulnerable OVC who qualify to Secondary School; procurement and supply of assistive devices for learners with disabilities; provide Community Schools, volunteer teachers and OVC households with economic strengthening support; and school feeding in Community Schools.
2.0 Project Background and Context
The Community Action for Out of School (CAOOSC) project was designed to bring 175,000 out of school children (60% girls, 40% boys) back to school was funded by Educate A Child (EAC).  This number includes children with special education needs and disabilities in 500 community schools in 29 districts in the 10 provinces of Zambia.  Besides the direct beneficiaries, the project was also aimed at indirectly benefiting Parents Community School Committee (PCSC) members, Community Action Groups (CAG), volunteer teachers, community members and other children already enrolled in existing schools. Below is a definition of out of school children.
Out of School Children (OOSC) are children of school going age who are not in school due to various reasons such as long distances to school, limited school space and early marriages, teenage pregnancy, lack of interest in school, unsupportive learning environment, lack of support due to poverty, lack of appreciation for the value of education by parents, negative cultural practices, over age and health conditions. OOSC fall under various categories mostly:
i. Children who do not have access to a school – These are children of school going age who are not enrolled in school due to various barriers such as long distances to school, limited school space.
ii. Children who have access to school but who are not enrolled- These are children who have access to school but are not enrolled in school due to stigma and lack of assistive devices for those with disabilities, lack of support due to poverty, lack of appreciation for the value of education, negative cultural practices and over age.
The project also indirectly benefited OOSC who have access to a school but dropped out of school.
iii. Children who have dropped out of the education system – These are children who were enrolled in school but have left school due various reasons such as early marriages, teenage pregnancy, lack of interest in school, unsupportive learning environment, lack of support due to poverty, lack of appreciation for the value of education, negative cultural practices , over age and health conditions (ref to Annex 4: Beneficiary distribution)
3.0 Project Objectives and Outcomes
The main goal of the CAOOSC project was to: Increased Out of School Children including OVC especially girls and children with disabilities enrolled into school, retained and complete quality primary education in Zambia.
3.1  Project Objective 1: To Provide access to Primary schooling for rural communities with no access to Established Community/Government Primary Schools.
3.2  Project Objective 2: To stimulate access to Primary Education for OOSC who dropped out of School in Communities with Established Community Schools.
3.3  Project Objective 3: To ensure 175,000 OOSC enrolled in School are retained in School.
4.0 Purpose of the Evaluation
The purpose of the evaluation is to provide evidence and learning on performance of the Community Action for Out of School Children (CAOOSC) project implemented from 2018 to 2022. The evidence and learning garnered by the evaluation will inform future programming by ZOCS and the funders.
5.0 Evaluation Objectives
1. Review performance of the project with emphasis on the outcomes and impact of implemented interventions from 2018 to 2022;
2. Assess the effectiveness of the advocacy, capacity building, and service delivery interventions such as community sensitizations, lobbying and policy influencing, training for volunteer teachers and Parents PCSC
3. Provide key lessons learnt, best practices and recommendations for incorporation into the ZOCS Strategic Plan mid-term review: advocacy, capacity building and service delivery strategies.
6.0 Scope of the Evaluation
The Evaluation will cover all project activities for the period 2018 – 2022. The analysis will focus on the following expected results:
1. Increased access to quality education for OOSC brought back to school in the 10 Provinces of Zambia
2. Increased numbers of new Community Schools established, registered with Ministry of General Education to increase space for 100,000 OOSC in Primary education in 10 Provinces
3. Increased numbers of   Low-cost standard teacher’s houses constructed for deployment of trained teachers in the targeted Community School
4. Establish the numbers of   OOSC with disabilities enrolled and provided with assistive devices in target Community Schools
5. Increased number of communities in 10 Provinces of Zambia sensitized on the importance of education and enrolment of their children in school
6. Increased number of trained teachers deployed to Community School
7. Increased number of volunteer teachers trained in basic teaching methodologies to improve quality teaching for the OOSC
8. Datamine the number of Community Schools supported with school feeding programme during the hunger period to increase learner attendance (COVID period)
9. Establish the number of School managers trained in management and entrepreneurship in the target Community Schools
10. Establish the number of Community Schools oriented and provided with the re-entry policy
11. Establish the number of out of school children including learners with disability, enrolled, retained and progressing to secondary school
12. Development of an online data management platform
7.0 Evaluation Target Groups

Vulnerable children brought back to school
School Administration (Teacher in charge)
Volunteers’ teachers
Parents Community School Committees (PCSCs)
District Education Board Secretaries (DEBS)
MoE HQ staff
ZOCS Programme Manager
ZOCS Executive Director

8.0 Methodology
It is expected that the consultant shall design a detailed methodology suiting the nature of the study. The evaluation process should be collaborative and participatory to utilize existing and new data and information that will respond to the aims and objectives of the evaluation. The consultants shall be expected to employ quantitative and qualitative methods with a well-structured sampling design including data collection tools and data analysis framework that will assess the effectiveness of the project in achieving its outputs, outcomes, and desired impact. The Evaluation will target a total of 180 schools in all targeted 9 provinces of Zambia. The duration for the evaluation including submission of the final report to ZOCS and dissemination of the findings to the stakeholders   will be 23 days from the time the contract is signed.
8.1 Evaluation deliverables
The deliverables of the evaluation shall include the following.

An evaluation methodology and design (sampling methods and plan to be used and questions to be answered) and a detailed work plan for the entire exercise which includes timelines and milestones. Draft questionnaires, interview guides and other data collection tools will be submitted to ZOCS for review and approval before commencement of data collection.
As part of the annexes to the final report, the consultant shall prepare an evaluation summary to give a focused version of the report spelling out the aims and objectives of the study and the effectiveness of the intervention while providing recommendations for project sustainability and learning points for dissemination.
Evaluation report: The consultant will submit a detailed final report outlining the evaluation methodology, findings (including indicators), lessons learned and recommendations. The report shall incorporate the most appropriate recommendations that will inform programming by ZOCS and partners.
The final report should address the issues and questions raised in this ToR and correspond to the evaluation objectives set out above.
Budget: The consultants shall include, as part of their application, a detailed budget providing the estimated costs associated with executing the evaluation.

8.2 Audience

Donor: The dissemination of findings to the donor will be through the final technical report.
Partners at Provincial/District level: At district level the dissemination will be done during a dissemination meeting with all implementing partners which will be held centrally in Lusaka
Partners at Community level: Brochures will be used to communicate results to all the partners/stakeholders at community level.

9.0 Qualifications and experience required
An institution or individual with:

At least Master’s degree in Education, Development Studies, Project management, Monitoring and Evaluation or a related field.
At least 5 years’ experience in working with development programmes in education.
Demonstrable experience with quantitative and qualitative research, data base management and statistical data analysis.
Experience of working in Zambia or Southern Africa.
Relevant knowledge and experience regarding the thematic areas.
Ability to deal with hardship and remote area field work preferred
Action-oriented and evidence-based approach and strong drive for results.

The Consultant will be expected to have a meeting with the ZOCS to discuss the plan for the study.
To be considered for the Consultancy, send your application letter,  resume, including evidence of previous consultancy works done, to the postal or email address below by Monday 10th April 2023 at 17:00 hours.
The Executive Director,
Zambia Open Community Schools (ZOCS),
P.O. Box 50429,
Lusaka.
Phone: +260 211 253841/43
Email: [email protected]
Zambia Open Community Schools  is an equal opportunity employer and women are encouraged to apply.