Consultant – Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Body of Authority 64 views0 applications

The focus of these Terms of Reference (ToR) is intended to support South Sudan in the development of a policy framework for the establishment of a national authority/coordination mechanism to govern TVET in the Republic of South Sudan.

Background

South Sudan faces many challenges that undermine its peace and development including but not limited to conflict, political instability, poverty, underdeveloped non-oil sources of revenue and more. Young people represent over 70% of the country’s population (age 29 and below);[1] over 70% of the population is illiterate;[2] 2.2 million children/youth (age 6-17) are out of school;[3] and the country suffers from hyperinflation with rates reaching 550% in September 2016 and peaking at 102% as of September 2017.[4] There is also a severe lack of private sector investment, high rates of child labour and 59% of the working age population has been unemployed for a year or more.[5] Up to 70% of young people lack access to financial capital to start/build businesses and promote private sector development,[6] and many private sector opportunities have been carried out by non-South Sudanese given the low skill level. The challenges are further heightened at the state/local level and by gender. Youth unemployment in Juba is over 60% and over 80% in Bor, while 66% of young women are unemployed.[7] There is a great need to support the inclusion of young women. Over 78% of youth in urban areas stated they are eager to work, but no opportunities for employment or skills training as over 54% said they do not have access to TVET.[8] With many youth becoming restless and the risk of insecurity as a result, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) has multi-faceted benefits (including but not limited to education and job/skills training and employment) that can promote peaceful co-existence and sustainable development towards a shared and common economic goal.

Given that South Sudan is one of the youngest countries in the world, governmental and public infrastructure and capacity are severely limited, and the government capacity and delivery has nearly been halted due to the conflict. The economy has crippled as a result.

Although the education sector has already been facing low levels of investment (2.6% of public expenditures as of 2015), the current crisis further exacerbates the situation, and the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sub-sector within education is the lowest funded education sub-sector. Thus, to address the current conflict and socio-economic situation in the context of fragile states; support Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 8; align with the recommendations of the Global Out of School Children Initiative: South Sudan Country Study (2018); and foster UNESCO 2015 Recommendation Concerning Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), UNESCO through the Capacity Development for Education (CapED) programme support the country of South Sudan in the development of TVET as a peacebuilding intervention.

As part of CapED programme, UNESCO conducted assessments of the TVET sector in 2014 and early 2018, in which one of the key findings was the need to have a central governing structure to support the provision of TVET in the country given the fragmentation in the sector which involves many stakeholders, including 21 government bodies. The central governing structure via a body of authority/coordination mechanism will serve as the apex body that will oversee the management and governance of TVET in the country in a streamlined and harmonized manner. The Government of South Sudan has made a commitment to support and establish such a body/mechanism to better govern the TVET sector. The ultimate objective of this assignment is to provide a policy framework for the body of authority/coordination mechanism that can be adopted by the Government of South Sudan, which will compliment and support the development of a single national TVET policy for the country in which both documents will be in alignment with each other where relevant.

Activities and Deliverables

Under the overall guidance of the UNESCO Representative to South Sudan and Head of Office of the UNESCO office in Juba, South Sudan and the direct supervision of the Education Project Officer, the individual will have the following duties and responsibilities.

Activities

(1) Facilitate and support up to two (2) workshops for relevant stakeholders. One workshop will entail the development of a policy framework for the establishment of a TVET body of authority/coordination mechanism, while the second workshop will present/validate the policy framework.

(2) Conduct meetings and consultations with key stakeholders: government, private sector, UN Agencies, Technical and Financial partners, INGO/NGO, training institutions, etc. in a capacity building manner to further the development of the framework.

(3) Develop a policy framework for the TVET body of authority/coordination mechanism in an inclusive, participatory/consultative and capacity building manner including but not limited to involving all relevant stakeholders (including government, private sector, development partners, UN agencies, civil society, academia, etc.), gender, ethnic background, etc. The methodology/framework should consider the following:

a. Propose a clearly defined structure of the body/coordination mechanism, including but not limited to mandate of the body, responsibilities, reporting lines, members (including terms, nominations, duties, financing scenarios, etc.) and other relevant items

i. Ensure members represent inclusively government bodies,[9] private/public sectors, gender, etc.

ii. Consideration of the entity being under the jurisdiction of the Council of Ministers or a specific legal body

iii. Include provisions on the body/coordination mechanism’s mandate to plan, coordinate and establish standards, qualifications, accreditation, examinations and priorities in TVET

iv. Develop a tentative five-year operational plan outlining a detailed work plan for the first year inclusive of building the capacities of the relevant stakeholders

b. Draw on lessons/practices from countries with similar context to South Sudan

(4) Other relevant activities as prescribed by UNESCO

Deliverables

(1) 1^st draft of policy framework

(2) Final draft of policy framework taking into account comments from all stakeholders

Tentative Timeframe

Timeframe is subject to change and dependent on agreed timeframe between selected candidate and UNESCO.

Item/Deliverable

Date/Deadline

Arrival In-Country for Meetings: Within 1^st week of arrival in-country

First Workshop Facilitation (in-country): Within 1^st week of arrival in-country

Draft [10]: Within 1^st month of assignment

Second Workshop Facilitation (in-country): Within 3^rd month of assignment

Final Draft [11]: Within 3^rd month of assignment

[1] United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. 2017. World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision, custom data acquired via website.

[2] UNESCO. 2009. Literacy Rates in South Sudan. Accessible via https://en.unesco.org/countries/south-sudan

[3] UNESCO. 2018. Global Initiative on Out of School Children – South Sudan Country Study. Juba: UNESCO

[4] World Bank (2017). South Sudan Economic Update: Taming the Tides of High Inflation. Available at http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/806291508505062484/pdf/120563-…

[5] Data analysis from World Bank’s South Sudan High Frequency Survey, Wave 4 (2017). Accessible via http://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/2916.

[6] UNESCO. 2018. Labour Market Assessment and Review – South Sudan. Juba: UNESCO

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Including but not limited to Ministries of General Education and Instruction; Labour, Public Service and Human Resource Development; Agriculture and Food Security; Health; Commerce, Industry and Investment; Chamber of Commerce; Finance and Economic Planning; labour unions/groups.

[10] Work can be done out of country.

[11] Ibid.