The Ghana Government is committed to providing free, compulsory, and good quality basic education for all children, including children with disabilities. The Inclusive Education (IE) programme aims to increase the enrolment and learning opportunities of children with non-severe disabilities in regular schools by creating child-friendly school environments and support systems for pupils with disabilities and special education needs. The Special Education Division (SPED) of the Ghana Education Service (GES) has implemented the IE programme in 29 districts which include sensitization of key government officials and communities, screening of children, training of teachers and restructuring of facilities.

In 2012 UNICEF started the support to the IE programme through the SPED in five districts. With UNICEF support, the national, regional and district teams were equipped with knowledge and skills on the principles of IE, organization of inclusive classes and early detection of children who need special attention. The trained teams then trained head teachers and teachers who in turn are expected to lead the IE programme in their schools. The GES and the Ghana Health Service also developed a harmonized screening mechanism to be implemented at the school level. These interventions happened in the five districts in 2012 and from 2013 the support has been expanded to seven additional districts totaling twelve districts in five regions.

After all the key activities (training, sensitization, screening etc.) are successfully implemented, it is essential to find out the actual impact of these interventions at school/classroom levels: e.g., teaching practice, enrolment/attendance of children with disabilities, screening practice, physical school environment, attitudes/support towards children with disabilities etc. However, currently there is no standard monitoring mechanism or tool to systematically assess the inclusiveness of schools particularly concerning children with disabilities. The SPED has started the development of a standard checklist for the IE programme to enable more systematic monitoring of the IE practice at the school level. The purpose of this consultancy is to provide technical support to the SPED in finalizing the IE monitoring tool and conducting actual monitoring/assessment in selected districts.

Justification

Development of a rigorous monitoring tool requires highly specialized expertise and experience in inclusive education programmes. In order to ensure the quality and robustness of the monitoring tool, it is essential for the SPED to be assisted by a technical expert specialized in inclusive education.

Specific Tasks

The assignment will be composed of the following four specific tasks:

•  In consultation with the SPED and other relevant partners, review relevant materials including the IE training package, studies/research on inclusive education in Ghana and elsewhere, and inclusive education standards, checklist and monitoring framework from other countries.
•  Develop a monitoring tool for assessing IE practice at school levels. The monitoring tool should contain a simple rating system by which stakeholders (e.g., special education officers, circuit supervisors, head teachers, teachers, etc.) can assess their schools’ inclusiveness in order to plan future improvement actions.
•  Using the IE monitoring tool, conduct actual assessment of the IE practice in 2 districts, randomly selecting schools. This will include the training of the national and district teams.
•  Write a short report summarizing major findings, key issues and strategic recommendations

Methodology

The work will involve the following: • Desk review of relevant materials • Consultations with key government stakeholders and development partners both at central and decentralized levels • Develop IE monitoring tool for discussions • Assess schools using the assessment tool and write a short report

Location of Work

The consultant will be partly based in the UNICEF Ghana office and partly home-based. Regular meetings with key government officials and other stakeholders will be held and field trips to selected regions/districts will be carried out during the consultancy. The desk review of relevant materials and report writing could be done at any location. The concrete work plan will be discussed/agreed with UNICEF in the inception report.

Expected Deliverables

1) Inception report with detailed work plan … 2) Final version of the IE monitoring tool … 40% Development of checklist 3) Assessment report in 2 districts … 60% Final Assessment report

Reporting

The consultancy will be conducted by an external consultant under the supervision of UNICEF Chief of Education. Day-to-day work will be managed by Education Officer of UNICEF. The draft monitoring tool and reports will be reviewed by UNICEF and the SPED of the GES.

Qualification Required & Experience

o Advanced university degree in education, particularly special education o At least ten years experience in basic education with specific experience in inclusive education and education for children with special needs o A proven record in the design and implementation of quality assessment in education o Excellent report writing skills and fluency in English o Work experience in the education sector in Ghana an asset

General Conditions:

•  UNICEF will provide office space and access to facilities such as printers and the internet at its offices. • The consultant is expected to bring his/her own laptop computer. • UNICEF will not pay for the use of printers, the internet and other services used outside its offices. • UNICEF will provide transport when field visits are undertaken and payment of per diems will be adjusted accordingly based on the prevailing rates.

Policy both parties should be aware of:

•  Under the consultancy agreements, a month is defined as 21 working days, and fees are prorated accordingly. Consultants are not paid for weekends or public holidays.
•  Consultants are not entitled to payment of overtime. All remuneration must be within the contract agreement.
•  No contract may commence unless the contract is signed by both UNICEF and the consultant or Contractor.
•  For international consultants outside the duty station, signed contracts must be sent by fax or email. Signed contract copy or written agreement must be received by the office before Travel Authorisation is issued.
•  No consultant may travel without a signed travel authorisation prior to the commencement of the journey to the duty station.
•  Unless authorised, UNICEF will buy the tickets of the consultant. In exceptional cases, the consultant may be authorised to buy their travel tickets and shall be reimbursed at the “most economical and direct route” but this must be agreed to beforehand.
•  Consultants will not have supervisory responsibilities or authority on UNICEF budget.
•  Consultant will be required to sign the Health statement for consultants/Individual contractor prior to taking up the assignment, and to document that they have appropriate health insurance, including Medical Evacuation.
•  The Form 'Designation, change or revocation of beneficiary' must be completed by the consultant upon arrival, at the HR Section.

Location: Nationwide Recruitment

How To Apply For The Job

If interested, please complete the United Nations Personal History form (P11) and include a copy of your CV and motivation letter and e-mail directly to:

HRghana@unicef.org

The P11 form can be downloaded from: http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/P11.doc Kindly indicate the title of the consultancy

Applications submitted without the P11 form will not be considered. In your application please specify that you found out about this job opportunity on Ghanacurrentjobs.com

Closing Date: 13 February 2013