SCOPE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

MAIN OBJECTIVES

The consultancy mission concerns the pre-school and primary levels. At pre-school level, it should help to achieve the long-term objective of ‘100% of children benefiting from one year of pre-school education’, in particular by setting up a system of initial pre-school training and strengthening in-service teacher training, including in inclusive education. For primary education, the aim of the strategy is to develop quality primary education to provide initial knowledge and skills for all. With this in mind, the SSEF provides for: (i) improving the practice of bilingualism by creating and implementing specific school programmes from pre-school onwards, (ii) strengthening the teaching of national languages, (iii) strengthening the pedagogical framework, as well as initial and in-service teacher training, (iv) strengthening the use of ICT in the training of trainers, (IV) promoting scientific and digital culture.

Programme 14 of the strategy (steering and sectoral governance) includes in one of its cross-cutting strategies the coordination of teacher training, that of primary school teachers by MINESEC and that of secondary school teachers by MINESUP, in order to align training content with the needs of the employing ministries and to plan the numbers to be trained.

One of the most important ways of equipping teachers with the didactics of bi-plurilingualism is the initial training of student teachers in the Ecoles Normales des instituteurs de l'enseignement général (ENIEG). The main objective of this mission is therefore to support the Cameroon Ministry of Education in reforming the initial training of pre-school and primary school teachers. This will involve supporting the integration of inclusive approaches to pedagogy and the didactics of bi-plurilingualism in the two education sub-systems (English-speaking and French-speaking). More specifically, the mission aims to develop a framework document for the introduction of bi-plurilingualism into the initial training programme for student teachers, taking into account the needs and aspirations of students for multilingual and inclusive teaching.

METHODOLOGY & GENERAL APPROACH

The consultancy will be carried out by a team of consultants consisting of an international expert and a national expert. The international expert will be the mission leader and will be supported by the national consultant for each activity. The methodology adopted for this mission will include the key stages, the division of responsibilities envisaged between the national consultant and the international consultant and the modality of working remotely versus on site depending on the activities. The experts will work closely with national stakeholders to ensure a thorough understanding of national needs and the achievement of the study objectives.

General approach:

- Remote work: Literature review, preparation of data collection tools, preliminary analysis.

- On-site work: Data collection, stakeholder interviews, validation workshops, classroom observations (schools and ENIEG) to analyse current pedagogical practices and gather qualitative data on multilingual education.

Work breakdown :

- International expert, mission leader: 30 working days, including 15 days on site in Cameroon.

- National expert: 30 working days, in Cameroon with regular meetings.

Number of on-site missions :

- The international expert will be in the field for 15 consecutive days.

- The national expert will work on site throughout the mission.

The indicative methodology could be as follows, but the experts are free to propose a more in-depth and relevant methodology.

STAKEHOLDERS

Stakeholders to be involved at least in gathering information and producing deliverables:

• The Ministry of Basic Education, the General Inspectorate of Education, the Directorate of Planning, Projects and Cooperation (DPPC), the Directorate of Human Resources (DRH), the Directorate of Nursery and Primary Education (DEMP), the Directorate of Financial and Material Resources (DRFM), the Directorate of Literacy;
• The Ministry of Secondary Education (MINESEC), the General Inspectorate of Education, the Department of Teacher Training,
• The teacher training colleges for general education (ENIEG).
• The National Schools and Languages in Africa (ELAN) project team.

MAIN DELIVERABLES

The specific deliverables of this consultancy are as follows:

1.            Deliverable #1: scoping note

2.            Deliverable #2: framework document

3.            Deliverable #3: slides developed to facilitate the validation workshops.

4.            Deliverable #4: final report.

Deliverables must be submitted in electronic format (Word and PowerPoint) and validated by the Minedub focal point and the Facility. The consultants must ensure that the documents are clear, concise and meet the defined requirements.

IMPLEMENTATION MODALITIES

ESTIMATED NUMBER OF DAYS AND GENERAL TIMETABLE

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Ministry of Basic Education (MINEDUB)

• The Ministry, via its focal point, will be responsible for :
• Providing documentation
• Facilitating meetings with relevant stakeholders
• Organising the workshop and providing workspace
• Commenting on and approving the deliverables

The RTIA Facility

The Facility will be responsible for :

• Contracting and facilitating the integration of the consultant by providing all available documents and resources
• Briefing the consultant in advance of the assignment
• Monitoring the consultant's work from the start of the assignment to its conclusion
• Act as the main contact for the consultant
• Ensure quality control of deliverables in collaboration with the Ministry's focal point for this consultancy
• Share deliverables with key stakeholders and contribute to internal and external knowledge management
• Collect feedback and comments from stakeholders and validate deliverables by all parties
• Evaluate the overall performance of the consultant for this assignment

The Consultants

The consultants will be responsible for :

• Reviewing and commenting on these Terms of Reference (ToR)
• Ensuring that all deliverables comply with the guidelines formulated at the scoping meeting, in accordance with the agreed timetable
• Immediately inform the Regional Teachers' Facility of any difficulties in implementing the assignment
• Implement all stages of the validated methodology
• Lead the inception phase, including the document review and scoping meeting
• Compile and submit the final report
• Ensure that stakeholders are consulted throughout the assignment
• Conduct themselves with the highest level of personal integrity and commitment to the required standards of conduct

The division of roles between the international and national consultant could be as follows.

International expert :

• Conduct the document review and preliminary interviews.
• Analyse current curricula and identify opportunities for integrating bi-plurilingualism.
• Carry out field observations and interviews to gather qualitative data.
• Develop the policy framework document.
• Participate in the validation workshop and incorporate feedback from stakeholders.
• Finalise the deliverables in collaboration with the national expert.
• Co-write the scoping note and final report.

National expert :

• Participate in the document review and preliminary interviews.
• Facilitate interactions with local stakeholders.
• Contribute to the analysis of curricula and the development of the guideline framework document.
• Coordinate the organisation of the validation workshop.
• Ensure continuity of work on site and support the international expert.
• Co-write the scoping note and final report.