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Project Details

Search Reference:

3112-BN-66 - LT Chief Technical Advisor (Educational Development) + ST Management Training Consultant + ST Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant

Fund Provider:

Asian Dev. Bank

Citizenship requirements:

None

Framework of Search Request:

ShortListed

Duration of the assignment

2005-08

Country(s) of work:

Nepal

Deadline:

31 December 2005 at 5 PM, Paris Time

Expected Starting Date:

February 2006

Project description summary:

Teacher Education Project - Overview
A. Rationale
46. Despite considerable achievements in expansion, the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of basic education remains low. The poor quality of classroom teaching is one key reason, which is manifested in low student learning achievements, and high dropout and grade repetition rates. A teaching force with little or no training has a major impact on the quality of classroom teaching. It is increasingly recognized that improving the quality of classroom teaching is key to improving the quality of education. At present, entry-level qualifications for primary teachers are low and most teachers have little or no training. Teacher absenteeism is high and motivation is low.
47. Poor teaching quality stems from lack of emphasis on training of teachers, an unsuitable teacher training curriculum and teaching methods, and weak management capacity. In view of the low entry-level qualifications of primary school teachers, a well-designed system of preservice and in-service training for them is essential. The design of such training systems necessitates adequate institutional capacity to conduct and manage training, develop curricula, and to design and develop teaching and learning materials. BPEP II is undertaking large-scale interventions to improve the quality of basic education.
48. The Project provides critical complementary support to BPEP II by addressing the issue of teacher quality through comprehensive teacher training. This was not fully addressed by BPEP II for reasons explained in para. 21. It is felt that further neglect of issues related to teacher training is likely to have a negative impact on the effectiveness of the BPEP II inputs. The Project is designed to address these issues. However, it is recognized that given the limited emphasis on teacher training so far, the Project has a rationale independent of other quality improvement inputs into the primary education system.
B. Objectives and Scope
49. The Project's overall sectoral objective is to assist the Government in improving the quality and efficiency of and access to basic education through provision of better-qualified teachers. The specific objectives are to improve the quality and coverage of teacher training by enhancing the institutional capacity of a teacher training system that encompasses preservice, in-service, and recurrent training of primary teachers and to increase the representation of disadvantaged groups,10 particularly females, in the teaching force. The Project's objective will be achieved by
(i) building the capacity for policy making, planning, and managing teacher training programs;
(ii) enhancing the professional skills of teachers by training the trainers and teachers, and
developing the curriculum and materials; and
(iii) improving access to basic education for disadvantaged groups, including women, by encouraging increased recruitment of teachers from these groups; by sensitizing teachers to the needs of pupils, and by providing fellowships for preservice training for prospective teachers from disadvantaged groups, particularly women.
50. Even though the Project will be implemented over six years, it envisions a system for teacher training that aims to clear the backlog of untrained teachers and provide preservice and recurrent training on a continuing and sustained basis. As a strategic input to improving the quality of basic education for girls and other disadvantaged groups, the Project also recommends strategies for recruiting and training teachers from such groups. The objectives will be achieved through the following four components: (i) building institutional capacity for delivering training for primary school teachers by developing staff skills and improving the facilities of NCED, PTTCs, and DEC; (ii) developing teacher education curriculum and teaching- learning materials; (iii) teachers and educational administrators and managers; and (iv) educating teachers to better serve the needs of the disadvantaged groups and girls.

51. The Project has been designed in a highly participatory manner with the active involvement of all the stakeholders: government officials and agencies, aid agencies active in education, nongovernmental organizations, parents, teachers, and communities particularly in selected districts where the majority population belongs to disadvantaged groups. In particular, teachers were actively involved in the teaching needs assessment which was based on the curriculum for the basic 2.5-month training package. Detailed consultations were also held with the officials at NCED, selected PTTCs, and DEC to assess their existing capability and projected needs. The project components are described here (details are in a supplementary appendix).

1. Building an Effective and Sustainable System for Teacher Education
(Component 1)
52. This component will provide quality training to meet the needs of the country for qualified primary school teachers. It will strengthen institutional capacity to implement a comprehensive system for teacher training. The Project will do this by supporting key training institutions like NCED, PTTCs, DEC, and other private providers to create a network of institutions that can take on the responsibility of teacher training in the long term. The technical capacity of the staff will be strengthened through training using multiple modalities. A detailed staff development plan is in Appendix 4. Some enhancement of facilities will also be supported to enable the institutions to discharge their roles effectively. Support will also be provided to DEC for refurbishing recording studios. Private providers of teacher training, and higher secondary schools and faculty of education campuses providing preservice training will also receive support for training trainers, and improving instructional materials. Specific inputs for institutional capacity building include the
following:

a. NCED and PTTCs
53. NCED and PTTCs were established to take on the responsibility for training primary school teachers. Due to the limited emphasis on teacher training, however, NCED and PTTCs were given neither the responsibilities nor the inputs to enable them to develop according to the role envisioned for them. NCED and the PTTCs will be strengthened through several measures:

(i) Administrative reorganization. An assessment of staff needs indicates that NCED and PTTCs are operating below capacity and, even with additional responsibilities for training accruing from the Project, additional staff requirement is minimal. These institutions, however, have staff posted against temporary positions. The temporary positions will be converted into permanent ones. In addition, NCED will be given a procurement consultant. The financial section of NCED will be strengthened by upgrading the position of the financial officer to that of financial analyst. The administrative structure of the PTTCs will be reorganized to strengthen and streamline their operation.
(ii) Staff development. Substantial inputs are needed to upgrade the skills of the staff at NCED, the PTTCs, and DEC. Developing staff skills is key to long-term institutional capacity building. The Project will provide, both in-country and international training for master trainers, curriculum and materials developers, and management staff. Incountry training will need 58 person-months of international consultants and 309 of domestic consultants. Included are the services of an adviser who will be based in 4 NCED to give technical support to the Project. In all, 41 staff members from NCED, 73 from PTTC, and 16 from DEC will benefit from international and in-house training.
(iii) Infrastructure development. The complex of NCED and that of the PTTCs are new and were developed under the ADB-financed PEDP. The quality of civil works is generally poor and each complex requires some improvements and additions to make it fully functional. With the increased responsibility to be vested on the institutions, certain additional facilities are considered essential. NCED will have a training resource center with a seating capacity of 30 people. The center will be fully equipped with training materials, reference books, nonprint materials including
audiovisual equipment, and a computer lab. NCED will also be provided with a desktop publishing facility to enable it to produce and internally disseminate teaching learning materials. For the training candidates, a hostel for 30 persons with dining facilities will be added to the existing NCED complex. The shortcomings of each PTTC complex will be identified and rectified. Each PTTC will also have a fully equipped multimedia lab with audiovisual equipment and computers. (iv) Teacher management information system. The teacher management information system (TMIS) at NCED will be strengthened for improved collection, management, and analysis of data on teacher training. The TMIS will be linked to the education management information system (EMIS) of DOE to allow for coordinated planning, management, review, and evaluation of teacher training. PTTCs will be strengthened to collect and process data. Concerned staff from NCED and PTTCs will receive training in TMIS.

b. Training Management and Coordination Committee
54. To support the above inputs, the capacity to formulate and periodically review the teacher education policy will also be strengthened by strengthening the training management and coordination committee (TMCC). The Education Regulations of 1992 mandates the TMCC to review the policy for teacher training and recommend to the Government changes in policy. The membership of the TMCC will be expanded for a broader representation of agencies concerned with basic education. The reorganization of the TMCC will take place before project implementation to enable it to undertake some preparatory policy-related activities. To facilitate the effective functioning of the TMCC, NCED will serve as the secretariat with the NCED executive director serving as member secretary. This will ensure close linkages and coordination between the TMCC and NCED.

c. Assistance to Providers of Pre-Service Teacher Training
55. After the backlog of untrained primary school teachers has been cleared, NCED and PTTCs will be responsible for in-service recurrent training only. Preservice training will be the responsibility of private PTTCs, HSSs, and FOE campuses. The TMCC has approved 15 private PTTCs. Another 15 FOE campuses and 35 HSSs will be selected to give training. These institutions will be accredited to attain the target of trained preservice teachers and will assist in training untrained in-service teachers. The capacity of the selected institutes will be strengthened by
(i) providing increased access to NCED and PTTCs services, e.g., training RCs, media laboratory, and TMIS;
(ii) providing trainers' training to 900 staff of these selected institutions to enable the institutes to conduct both in-service and preservice teacher training;
(iii) providing 5 printed teaching-learning materials, e.g., trainers guides, resource materials, etc.; and
(iv) encouraging participation in training and curriculum-related workshops, seminars, etc.

d. Institutional Linkages
56. Creating effective institutional linkages is an essential component of capacity building. To optimize the benefits of inputs and resources, all teacher-training activities must be coordinated and linkages established among institutions responsible for primary education. Since DOE is responsible for administering primary education, the linkages between NCED and DOE will be strengthened by forming a coordination committee with representation from NCED, DOE, DEC, and other related agencies as NCED may consider appropriate for effective implementation and coordination. The activities of the concerned agencies will be coordinated by
(i) including teacher training in the district education plans;
(ii) formulating district teacher training plans that will be approved by DOE in consultation with NCED;
(iii) NCED providing professional support in the design and development of recurrent teacher training packages;
(iv) having DEOs provide NCED with information needed for accrediting the recurrent teacher training programs;
(v) having concerned staff members of DOE as members of training program and materials development teams;
(vi) having DOE deputize staff and resource persons for training as master trainers and as resource persons for the conduct of training;
(vii) deputizing teachers, supervisors, resource persons, DOE personnel as master trainers and trainers for PTTCs;
(viii) supervising trained teachers to assess and monitor posttraining classroom behavior;
(ix) giving feedback to PTTCs about the performance of trained teachers in the classroom; and
(x) sharing information in monitoring and evaluation.

2. Developing Effective Teacher Education Curriculum and Materials
(Component 2)
57. This component will focus on an improved teacher training curriculum and development of teaching learning materials to make training more effective, participatory, activity-based, and linked to school practices. The existing curriculum for teacher training has a heavy content bias. While teachers' mastery of the subject matter needs to be strengthened, their pedagogical skills also need to be strengthened. The national primary teacher-training curriculum has been revised to meet the goals and objectives of basic education. It incorporates pedagogical skills to improve the effectiveness and relevance of classroom teaching. Under the TA to prepare for the Project, a
teacher needs assessment was carried out. The revised curriculum is based on that assessment.
The comprehensive in-service training package includes (i) a training curriculum, (ii) trainers' guide, (iii) training of trainers (TOT) manual, (iv) resource materials for trainees, and (v) a materials preparation kit.

58. The 10-month curriculum is split into four packages, each lasting for 2.5 months. The curriculum for the first or the basic training package was prepared and was approved by the TMCC. Packages 2 and 3 of 2.5 months each will be offered by distance mode. To facilitate this mode, the curriculum of the two packages has been integrated. To improve the quality and efficiency of the training programs, DEC staff will receive short-term international training in script writing, and distance education teacher training and management. Package 4 is designed to be an interactive package that gives 40 percent of the time to practice teaching in the classroom. Even though the curricula for the integrated packages 2 and 3 and package 4 have been developed, supporting materials such as the TOT manual, trainers guide, resource material for trainees, etc., will be developed under the Project. The trainers guides will be pretested and a national workshop organized to validate the training curricula. In addition, the Project will support the preparation of materials for cultural and gender sensitization for administrators as well as teachers.

59. Under the project preparatory TA, a 10-month preservice curriculum was prepared. However, UNICEF also supported the preparation of a preservice curriculum of shorter duration through FOE, Tribhuvan University. NCED will synthesize and integrate these two curricula. It is expected that with the enhanced professional capacity of the institutions engaged in teacher training, the curriculum will be an evolving one, taking note of, and incorporating newer trends and methodologies based on research and feedback.

3. Providing Teacher and Management Training (Component 3)
60. Under this component, approximately 32,000 teachers (approximately 38 percent of primary school teachers) that have so far received no training will complete the basic training package of 2.5 months. Thus, at the end of five years, all primary school teachers will have received the basic package of training. In addition, during the Project another 41,000 primary school teachers
(approximately 48 percent) will complete the integrated packages 2 and 3, and 34,000 teachers (approximately 40 percent) will complete package 4. During this period, preservice training (of 10- month duration and following the schedule and modalities separately designed for preservice
training) will also be given to approximately 15,000 teachers.

61. In addition, 100 officials and 500 primary school principals will receive management training annually. NCED will conduct management and orientation programs for (i) officials of MOES and affiliated agencies, (ii) regional education directors, (iii) DEOs, (iv) school supervisors, and (v) primary school headmasters. The Project will assist in building in-house capacity within NCED to conduct management training. International and domestic consultants will assist in preparing the management training curriculum as well as training materials.

62. Due to differing training modules in the past, primary school teachers have received training of different duration, lacking consistency. The Project will address this lack and will bring uniformity to the level of training the teachers receive. Approximately 9,700 teachers have received 150 hours of training. They will receive an additional 180 hours through RCs and secondary education development units to bring them at par with the teachers who have received the basic package. There are 3,200 teachers who, in addition to the basic package, have received only package 2 through distance education. The Distance Education Center (DEC) will train these teachers in the old package 3. In view of their teaching experience, 4,300 teachers aged above 50 years will receive shortened training of 2.5 months duration specially designed for the group. All teachers are expected to complete package 1 of training in five years. Training in the integrated packages 2 and 3 will be completed by the eighth year and package 4 will be completed by the ninth year.

63. PTTCs, HSSs, RCs, and secondary education development units will be used to expedite the training of primary school teachers. Mobile training units will be used for training in remote areas. Private training institutions and university campuses will also be strengthened to build the capacity to meet future training needs of the primary school system.

64. The required number of trainers will vary from year to year. For the basic package, the trainers will vary from 249 in year 4 to 160 in year 5. For package 4, the need for trainers will increase gradually from 27 in the first year to 635 in the sixth year. PTTCs will work with a constant group of 63 trainers. For the rest, trainers from institutions involved with training will be identified. The identified trainers will receive TOT from NCED and PTTCs. TOT packages will include training manuals for the trainers. At the start of the Project, a group of 12 master trainers will be trained locally.

4. Educating Teachers to Better Serve the Needs of Girls and Other Disadvantaged Groups (Component 4)

65. The general issues of enhanced access to and improved quality of education for girls and other disadvantaged groups are being addressed through BPEP II. Even so, discriminatory treatment and lack of sensitivity on the part of teachers can discourage children from coming to school. Studies have found that lack of sensitivity to the needs of children from disadvantaged groups leads to low enrollment and high dropout rates from such groups. Teachers and administrators will be sensitized to the extent and nature of discrimination, and to ways of minimizing discrimination and enhancing self-esteem among girls and children from disadvantaged groups. This sensitization element is incorporated in the training curriculum to ensure that it is an integral part of the training of trainers and of teachers and administrators.

66. The representation of females and of other disadvantaged groups needs to be increased. At present, only 22.5 percent of primary school teachers are female. One reason cited for this low representation is that the number of candidates available from these groups is not adequate. In the absence of a provision for affirmative action, the recruitment of females and persons from disadvantaged groups cannot be mandated but can only be encouraged. To encourage female candidates and candidates from other disadvantaged groups to enter the teaching force, scholarships for preservice training spread over five years will be given to 2,500 candidates. Preference will be given to candidates from the 12 districts identified as disadvantaged because over 65 percent of the total population there belong to disadvantaged groups. These districts also account for 20 percent of the total population of disadvantaged groups in the country. The Government has assured that priority will be given to female teachers in recruiting for the approximately 3,000 vacancies arising annually mainly due to attrition.


Position 1
Title	LT Chief Technical Advisor (Educational Development)
Description	Chief Technical Advisor (22 manmonths, revised) from Feb 2006 - Jul 2008 Duty Station: NCED The Chief Technical adviser (CTA) will provide management and technical support for institutional strengthening of the National Centre for Educational Development (NCED), and for the efficient execution of project activities. The CTA will be a specialist in the planning and management of teacher training systems with a minimum of 15 years of relevant experience. He/she should have extensive professional experience in South Asia, ideally Nepal, and have led large teams of consultants. The CTA will work closely with the executive director and deputy directors of NCED to undertake the following tasks: 1. Oversee the organization and implementation of training courses for all stakeholders in the teacher training system (government and non-government); 2. Conduct for NCED staff workshops in annual programme planning and development of staff management plans; 3. Review the Staff Development Plan and revise the annual training plans to cover all in- country and international training; 4. Prepare regular evaluations of the impact of training and professional development activities on the performance of the NCED, the ETCs and DEC staff and make proposals for enhancing the effectiveness of training; 5. Prepare a plan and work together with NCED to materialise the Advanced Independent International Learning Programme; 6. Support NCED to prepare and finalise Institutional Capacity Building Plan (ICBP) for NCED system already initiated by NCED; 7. Provide technical support - briefings and reports - to senior Department of Education (DOE), NCED, and Distance Education / Open Learning Division Centre (DE/OL) officials in determining the future of teacher training in Nepal, including the merging of the relevant teacher training activities of the (DE/OL), the Secondary Education Development Centre (SEDC) and Secondary Education Development Units (SEDUs); 8. Coordinate the tasks of international short-term consultants and domestic consultants through regular meetings and reviews, ensuring that NCED and (DE/OL) counterparts' perspectives on the work of the consultant team are fully reflected in the work of the consultants; 9. Ensure quality of consulting inputs under the entire project and ensure that impact of the inputs results in transfer of technology, capacity building of the project staff and improved effectiveness in TEP implementation. 10. Periodically review progress made in project, identify actual and potential problems, and suggest remedial measures; 11. Prepare synoptic technical reports on project activities and progress to share with stakeholders of the teacher training system; 12. Undertake other activities consistent with the project objectives as requested by NCED and the Asian Development Bank; 13. Take responsibility for co-ordinating all consultants and their activities to ensure effective implementation of the project and also be accountable to results of the whole consulting services.

Position 2
Title	ST Management Training Consultant
Description	Management Training Specialist (3 months) Duty station: NCED within management training division Reporting to: Executive Director NCED, through Division Director NCED, CTA/LTA, Coordinator MT and counterpart staff The specialist will focus on HRD and capacity building. He/she will work under the guidance of the MT Coordinator and do the following tasks: i. Work with local management training consultants and take lead to formulate a detailed programme for the local management training consultants and the management training staff of NCED; ii. Review management training and the TOT and trainers guide for the management training programmes and recommend improvements; iii. Deliver one training programme for the management training staff of NCED in an area identified as priority by the NCED; iv. Enhance capacity of management training staff by giving wider exposure in terms of materials and expertise related to the recent management practices at international level; v. Participate in and guide the management training staff in training materials development and in conducting management training programmes; vi. Within the scope of his/her tasks, give due consideration to the crosscutting issues of gender and cultural sensitisation; vii. Assist national management training consultants in preparing progress reports.

Position 3
Title	ST Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant
Description	Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant (3 months) Duty Station: NCED in the Division of Research, with frequent travel to ETCs and schools Reporting to: Executive Director NCED, through Division Director NCED, CTA/LTA, Co-ordinator M&E and counterpart staff The monitoring and evaluation consultant will work with the head of the Research and Evaluation Section of NCED. The consultant will have a higher educational qualification in evaluation in education or other social science discipline with a substantial amount of evaluation in the content, as well as direct experience of the standard approach of ADB to benefit monitoring of projects. The consultant will work in close cooperation of the M&E Coordinator and be responsible for the following tasks: i. Provide international expertise to the planning, management and implementation of the M&E system with regard to NCED, the M&E Coordinator, the trainers and the ETCs; ii. Work with the M&E Coordinator, the two Information Technology Specialists, DOE and NCED staff to improve and upgrade teacher management information system (TMIS) at NCED and ETCs; iii. Ensure TMIS developments in Nepal are fully in line with similar developments in other countries, coordinate the selection of appropriate software for processing, monitoring, and evaluating by the Information Technology Specialists (positions 24 and 25), and specifically ascertain that the data and its periodicity match the UNESCO / EFA indicators; iv. Together with the M&E Coordinator, coordinate the review of existing hardware by the Information Technology Specialists (positions 24 and 25) who will also support the further training of staff in the use of ICT equipment and media for educational purposes; v. Together with the M&E Coordinator, develop a functioning feedback mechanism that supports quality enhancement at classroom level by continuously feeding analyses of classroom behaviour into the continuous improvement of training programmes and activities; vi. Together with the M&E Coordinator, develop and strengthen local skills at school, ETC and community level in monitoring and action research; vii. Within the scope of his/her tasks, give special consideration to the crosscutting issues of gender and cultural sensitisation.

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