International Consultant to Develop Early Childhood Education National Standards in Maldives

Background

Quality early childhood education (ECE) is a right of every child. As such, ECE is the foundation of lifelong learning. Participation in quality early childhood education programmes is a strong predictor of academic achievement as well as improved social, economic and health outcomes. Therefore, quality pre-school education is of crucial importance for child development and socialization.

In Maldives, the current pre-school education structure caters to children aged 4 to 6 years and lasts from two to four years. Although pre-school education is not under the formal education system of Maldives yet, the Ministry of Education is the regulatory body for all schools in the Maldives. Given the importance of early childhood education, much effort has been devoted to expand preschools. In recent years, pre-schools have expanded extensively. As a result, each inhabited island has a pre-school, while preschools in the urban setting has signifcantly increased. A vast number of these schools are private schools and community led schools. More and more children are accessing early childhood eductaion through these schools. Most of the teachers have an advanced level certificate training, nonetheless, teacher quality still remains a concern. There is a great need to standardize and improve the quality of the preschool programmes offered across the country.

With the development of the preschool Act in 2012, it is mandatory for Ministry of Education (Educational Supervision and Quality Improvement Division - ESQID) to monitor the preschools in the country. Further, the child friendly school (CFS) concept and holistic development of the child are overarching approaches that are already being embedded in the education system. In order to assess the developmental skills and most importantly, in order to standardize the education provided by preschools, national ECE standards of quality in line from a CFS perspective needs to be developed.

UNICEF is seeking an international consultant to provide technical support to develop national standards of quality education for early childhood education and preschools.

How to apply:

Deadline for Applications is 19th July 2014 (Saturday)

Please send:

1. Expression of interest: Mail or letterexplaining why the consultant is the most suitable for the work

2. Updated CV (with contacts of three work referees )

3. Brief proposalof approach to work / methodology and time line

4. Financial proposal: Financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, an estimate fee per deliverable and a daily or monthly fee rate. The financial proposal must include a breakdown of this lump sum amount:

· Technical fee (an estimate quote per deliverable and a daily or monthly fee rate)

· Travel(estimate fare amount from home-base to Maldives)

· Number of anticipated working days for the assignment

Please send your application to Kalpana Humagai, khumagai@unicef.org and cc to Aslam Mohamedasmohamed@unicef.org (Subject: Consultancy to Develop National Standards of Quality on Early Childhood Education - ToR No: 2014/13). Only short listed candidates will be contacted.