Analysis of the
costs of pre-primary Education in Rwanda

Rwanda’s Education Sector
Strategic Plan (2013-2018) recognizes pre-primary education and school
readiness programs (informal community based initiatives and formal programs)
as a vital foundation for future learning, particularly for children from
disadvantaged backgrounds (p. 33). Among its priorities, it lists improved
access to school readiness pro
grams accompanied by expanded access to three
years of early learning for four-to-six year olds by 2017.[1]
Currently, 12.7% of children in Rwanda are enrolled in formal pre-primary
education and early childhood care and development services). There are 2,074
pre-primary schools in the country[2]and 60% of Nine Years Basic Education
schools have a pre-primary component.[3] The physical infrastructure is
provided by the government. The teachers are often volunteers from the
community and their salaries paid for by parents and communities. In 2013 –
2014, 2% of the national budget for education[4] was allocated to pre-primary
education with a clear focus on expanding access by constructing facilities.

Despite the Government’s strong
commitment to expand and enhance the quality of pre-primary services, the
mobilization of adequate financial resources to do so remains a major
challenge. This will make it difficult to guarantee and sustain access to
quality pre-primary services for the most vulnerable and poor children. At
present, children in urban areas have better access to pre-primary education,
but access in rural or disadvantaged areas is restricted. Equally challenging
are the limited information and data available on the costs of providing
quality pre-primary education services to children, and the costs borne by
families. At the Education Joint Sector Review Meeting in June 2014, Ministry
officials highlighted the need for better analysis on the costs of providing
quality pre-primary education services. A bottleneck analysis, conducted by the
Early Childhood Education Working Group revealed that financial access
particularly for poorer families in rural areas remains an issue. [5]

Justifications

The objective of the study is to
provide technical support to the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) and Rwandan
Education Board (REB) in order to obtain evidence on the costs of providing
quality pre-primary education services for young children, and to obtain
information on the level of government budget supporting pre-primary
initiatives at the national and district level, as well as the costs borne by
families. The study will assist the government in effective financial planning
for pre-primary services to ensure equitable access for all children and in
particular inform how available budgets might be best used for pre-primary to
ensure equitable access to quality pre-primary education.

The proposed study is highly
technical, and requires sound economic and budgetary analysis experience, in
addition to prior experience in conducting cost and financing analyses in
developing countries.

Objectives/Specific Tasks

The analysis will answer the
following questions:

1. What is the allocation of the current education budget
   to pre-primary, the budget breakdown and the funding source (percentage of
   funds coming from government; bilateral donors and development agencies?
2. What are the current costs of sending a child to
   government-aided pre-primary schools, including contributions from the
   government, parents, communities, civil society organisations and other
   sources?
3. What are the projected costs for the period of 2015-2018
   of sending a child to government-aided pre-primary school with a minimum
   package of quality services? Projections should also consider costs
   associated with implementation of a new curriculum which will come into
   effect in January 2016.
4. How can the inclusion of children from vulnerable (e.g.
   children from VUP1 & 2 families; children with disabilities; orphans;
   children leaving with HIV) families be ensured?

Specific tasks include the
following:

1. Conduct a desk review of documents, studies, and related
   materials (policy documents, household surveys, and education statistics,
   education budget and allocation to pre-primary and current spending).
   Results of this desk review are to be reflected in the final report.
2. Review and develop tools to collect data at the
   national, district and community levels and in selected government-aided
   pre-primary schools to examine and assess existing pre-primary services
   and budget allocations.
3. Hold a briefing workshop with government officials to
   explain the objectives and methodology of the study.
4. Conduct meetings and interviews with key government
   ministries at central level and district level.
5. Based on the information obtained above, develop a
   methodology for calculating the costs of pre-primary schools attached to
   Nine Years Basic Education schools in targeted areas and analyze the
   sustainability of existing programmes.
6. Based on the main objectives of pre-primary education
   listed in the ESSP, create scenarios that will demonstrate how pre-primary
   services can be expanded and improved and indicators for monitoring. These
   scenarios should include an estimation of their cost and the
   identification of sources for their continued funding and be reviewed
   against national development targets for education. Scenarios should
   consider the curriculum for pre-primary that is being developed as the
   costs will likely change, and also mechanisms that will ensure the will
   ensure inclusion of the most vulnerable, including the poorest; children
   with disabilities.
7. Analyze financing options from social protection angle,
   in particular, staggered financing options to develop a scale up financing
   plan with equitable targeting of pre-primary to ensure access for poor
   families.
8. Prepare, present and receive feedback on a draft report
   on the costs of pre-primary school in Rwanda with recommendations on the
   next steps provided to government counterparts and other stakeholders.

9.Finalize the report based on feedback received
and present findings to key stakeholders.

Methodology

The study will be conducted
through a highly participatory and consultative process involving stakeholders
at the central, district, community and school level as well as development
partners (public, non-public, national and international including civil
society). The study is expected to inform and facilitate the policy discussion
on how to ensure that children from vulnerable families are able to access
quality pre-primary education services.

The methodology will involve desk
review and analysis of existing documents, studies, and education budget and
current expenditure and data collection and in depth analysis at the national,
district and community and school level to identify costs of providing
pre-primary education and also the costs borne by families.

Expected
Deliverables/OutputsMajor Task

Deliverable

Timeframe

Comments

1.

Conduct a desk
review Inception Report

2 weeks

2.

Develop data
collection tools and reporting format

Data collection
instruments

2 weeks

Tools will be
developed in close consultation with Early Childhood Education Working Group

3 –

Hold a briefing
workshop with stakeholders

Workshop and
report summarizing outcomes of the workshop

2 weeks

4.

Prepare a
first draft of the report First draft of report

4 weeks

6.

Final Report
and powerpoint presentation

Summary report

3 weeks

The duration of the consultancy
is for a period of 3 months (12 weeks: see the proposed timeframe above); March
2015 – May 2015

Reporting

The consultant will work under
the direct supervision of the Chief of Education at UNICEF and also in close
contact with the focal point at UNICEF Social Policy Research Section, and
Early Childhood Education focal point at the Rwanda Education Board.

Expected background and
Experience of individual contractor

The post requires a highly
motivated and competent person with the following qualifications:

Ø Minimum of a Masters’ degree in
economics/public financing systems, education or related field.

Ø Minimum of 8 years of relevant
experience.

Ø Extensive experience in
carrying out financial feasibility studies in the field of Education/Early
Childhood Education in developing countries

Ø Spoken and written fluency in
English.

Ø Experience of working with Ministries
in other developing countries on similar issues

Ø Good analytical, communication
and, report writing skills, prior work experience in the duty station area.

Ø Previous working experience in
East Africa an asset.

Consultancy Terms and
Conditions

Payment will be linked to
deliverables.

First
deliverable: Inception Report10% Second deliverable: Workshop and report
summarizing outcomes of the workshop 40% Third deliverable: Final Report

50%

In addition, whenever the
incumbent travels outside Kigali for official purposes, transport will be
provided by UNICEF Rwanda office.

· This consultancy will be 3
months starting from March 2015.

· For the assignment, the
consultant will be provided with one return airfare ticket by the most direct
flights in economy class, if recruited from outside Rwanda.

· The consultant will be provided
a transport for site visits for data collection, training and official
meetings. Other logistical issues will be discussed in more details with
successful candidate.

· Consultancy fee will be paid in
USD.

· UNICEF reserves the right to
withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if
work/outputs is incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines.

· All materials developed by the
consultant will remain the copyright of UNICEF and the Ministry of Education.

[1] 2013/2014 Education
Statistics Yearbook, Ministry of Education.

[2] 2013/2014 Education
Statistics Yearbook, Ministry of Education.

[3] 2013/2014 Education
Statistics Yearbook, Ministry of Education.

[4] Joint Review of Education
Sector, October 2014.

[5] ECE Bottleneck Analysis
conducted by ECE Technical Working Group and finalized in October, 2014

Qualified candidates are
requested to submit a daily/monthly rate, cover letter, a CV and P 11 form
(which can be downloaded from our website at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/P11.doc)
torwajobs@unicef.org with subject line “Consultancy-
Analysis of the costs of pre-primary Education in Rwanda”, by
cob February 26th 2015.

Applications can also be sent
to*: Human Resources Specialist, UNICEF Rwanda, P.O. Box 381, Kigali, Rwanda*

Please note that only candidates
who are under serious consideration will be contacted.

In the selection of its staff,
UNICEF is committed to gender balance and diversity without distinction as to
race, sex or religion, and without discrimination of persons with disabilities:
well qualified candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.