1. Background
Cambodia has a population of 16.2 million, with 49.5 % aged 24 and under, and more than 75% below 30. The largest age group, 0 to 14-year-olds, makes up 31% of the population. The country has experienced significant economic growth over the last two decades and the poverty rate has declined from 47 % in 1994 to 13.5 % in 2014. However, while new economic opportunities have improved the lives of many – urban Cambodians, in particular – it has also increased inequalities.
It is estimated that Cambodia has one of the highest rates of disability in the developing world. According to the 2009 Cambodian Socio-Economic Survey (CSES), 6% of non-institutional Cambodians, or an estimated 879,000 people, were living with disabilities; a quarter of them were under the age of 18. The 2008 Census reported that only 1 % of all children had a disability, though it is likely that these numbers are significantly under-reported due to inadequate screening systems. Under-reporting underscores the fact that many children with disability are invisible, underserved with compromised potential in particular where early detection is in place and the impact of disability can be considerably reduced/mitigated. The World Report on Disability found that 15% of the world’s population is affected by a disability; applying this figure in Cambodia, with a population of approximately 16 million, with 70% of the population under 30 years old, it is possible to estimate based on the World Report’s finding that up to 1,680,000 people under 30 years old are affected by a disability. Of this number, approximately 2%, or 33,600 will have a severe disability and require special services. Rough estimates indicate there is a strong need to have inclusive development programmes for people with disabilities in order to reach some of the most vulnerable and excluded segments of society.
There are numerous equity issues related to disability:
- In terms of livelihoods, the CSES found that a head of a household (HoH) who is a person with a disability will earn approximately USD42 per month, compared to a non-disabled HoH who earns approximately USD60 per month. When comparing average monthly wages for rural persons with disabilities who are the HoH (approx. 85% of persons with disabilities live in rural areas in Cambodia), then the majority of persons with disabilities earn one third the GDP per working population.
- CSES found that persons with disabilities are twice as likely to be landless and that, generally, infrastructure in Cambodia is largely inaccessible1.
- Access to health services for persons with disabilities also is lower (i.e. seeking private providers in the first instance due to low confidence in public providers). Despite a RGC decree that persons with disabilities receive free healthcare,
- experience indicates payment is always required2. Barriers to accessing healthcare include attitudinal and the affordability of services and transport3.
- Children with disabilities are less likely to attend school when compared with peers, and girls with disabilities are less likely than boys with disabilities to be in school. Issues preventing children with disabilities attending school include social discrimination, lack of transport, assistive devices, physical barriers and teachers’ lack of skills in appropriate teaching methodologies. Children with intellectual disabilities are particularly disadvantaged and vulnerable, with few available services
Enabling access for children with disabilities to education services, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) had adopted a Policy on Education for Children with Disability in 2008, and implemented Inclusive Education programing in primary education for a decade already; while Inclusive Education in early childhood started only in 2012. In addition, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) established the Special Education Department (SED) in June of 2016 to oversee educational provisions to the most vulnerable children, promote inclusive education, and this was coordinated with the support of NGOs in Cambodia.
In July 2017, MoEYS took over the 5 Special Schools and 71 integrated classrooms that were established and run by Krousar Thmey Organization serving deaf and blind students, the 21 public schools run by The Rabbit School Organization and Hand of Hope Community for children with intellectual disabilities (with 897 students), and at the same time, set up the National Institute for Special Education. NISE’s main mission was to provide Special Education training to teachers in the country.
Fulfilling its mandates SED in collaboration with other relevant departments, with financial support from UNICEF, revised the Policy on Education for Children with Disability and had it approved in 2018 as “Policy on Inclusive Education”.
NISE will play a vital role in human resource development (special educators or special teachers) to support the implementation of the policy and its soon-to-be approved Action Plan. Therefore, this institution urgently needs to have its own medium and long term strategies in line with the Policy and Action Plan for improving education services for children with disabilities, preferably inclusive education.
Under fund support from Krousar Thmey Organization, NISE is looking for consultancy in conducting “Training Need Assessment”.
2. Purpose
The purpose of this consultancy is to establish a training need assessment for NISE.
The assessment should be comprised of need of capacity building of NISE trainers, staff capacity development plan, identify key priorities for institutional development, identity institutional strength and main challenges. These need of assessment will have to focus on trainers’ academic skills, knowledge and competence in order to respond to the vision of NISE to become a leading institute in human resource development in disability field and inclusive. The need of assessment should be based on international standards but adapted to a Cambodian context as well as the academic and cultural background.
3. Qualifications or Specialized Knowledge/Experience Required
The consultancy will be undertaken by an international/national consultant (or a group of consultants) with the following profile:
Education
- Advanced University degree in assessment and capacity building, in addition to that, additional University courses or training or other relevant field of studies would be welcomed (ie education, special education, linguistics, Deaf studies).
Experience:
- At least 5 years of experience in working in the area of need assessment or staff capacity building and institutional development plan at both international and national levels, preferably with some experience in low-income countries and in education setting
- Experience in training, supervising and research.
- Expertise in development of staff competency and effectiveness.
- Solid understanding of education issues.
- Extensive experience in training and institutional capacity development.
- Experience of and knowledge of Cambodia education system/ reforms and disability sector, a strong asset.
- Demonstrates, applies, and shares technical knowledge to government partners.
- Fluency in English. Khmer is an asset.
4. Contract duration, location and other conditions
The consultant will be contracted for fifteen days (15) working days spreading over the period of two months effective from Nov to December 2023. The consultant is expected to be mainly based in NISE and travel to meet with relevant stakeholders in Phnom Penh.
5. Deliverables and Payment
A). Key tasks
In consultation with the relevant stakeholders, technical departments of MoEYS and development partners, the consultant is expected to perform following tasks;
A1. Desk/ literature review, stakeholder consultation and inception report:
Inclusive Education training materials and accompanying documentation (including training materials) currently used for Teacher Training by the MoEYS
International standards and good practices related to the staff capacity building and training need assessment.
Identify the performance requirements for a particular occupation, as well as the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to carry out the role effectively.
Consultation with relevant stakeholders to learn about institutional human resources development and quality assurance.
Feedback to NISE’s staff Job Description Example/Sample/Template.
Establish the needs of NISE.
Analyze the skills gap between NISE’s needs and capabilities
Assess training options and to determine the potential effectiveness based on the time toward it.
Report of findings on employees’ training needs and recommend ways to address them
Identify need of capacity building of NISE trainers, staff capacity development plan, identify key priorities for institutional development, identity institutional strength and main challenges.
Support NISE to strengthen its internal organization by proposing an assessment tools and plan for staff capacity development.
Collaborate with the Teacher Training Department (TTD) and the Special Education Department (SED) to ensure effective participation of all stakeholders and to approve training content throughout regular exchanges and a workshop including all relevant staff from ministry's concerned departments.
Prepare for, and present the draft plan, to senior ministry, key Development partners, board member and key specialize NGOs to gather input for the Action Plan in order to get final inputs.
Finalize and submit training assessment framework for approval.
A2. Prepare a Final draft
Together with NISE, identify training need assessment of NISE trainers and officers.
Revise the draft of capacity building in accordance with the results and findings of the consultation workshop.
Prepare a PowerPoint presentation (of approximately 15 slides) and use this to present the revised draft curriculum framework to senior ministry officials, key development partners, NISE’s board members, and key specialized
NGOs for final inputs.
A3. Final Consultancy Report
Finalize and submit a consultancy report (of approximately 5 pages, excluding annexes) enclosing the final c.
A final report and submission should also be delivered in hard copy and soft copy (In Khmer and English Version). A following presentation to key stakeholders is expected during the launching ceremony (scheduled in December).
6. Reporting Requirements
- For both, institutional development plan and training need assessment report
- Inception Report of the completed Desk review and consultation with stakeholders (including consultancy work plan).
- First draft of training need assessment and present to senior management and stake holders.
7. Contract Supervisor and other stakeholders
Krousar Thmey is the contract supervisor for this consultancy. The consultant will work with, and under, the overall management of the Director of National Institute for Special Education (NISE) and in close collaboration and support from Krousar Thmey’s Education Specialist for ECE/inclusive education. The consultant will collaborate and consult with NISE’s technical officers, Special Teacher Education Technical Working Group (STETWG), relevant MoEYS’s technical departments (i.e. TTD, ECED, PED, CDD, SED), relevant national institutes, universities, special education schools. In addition, the consultant will consult with relevant development partners, specialized NGO/IOs on relevant technical issues and programs.
The consultancy will require travelling to different provinces.
8. Administrative Issues
Policies both parties should be aware of:
- 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 NISE’s supervisor and the consultant.
- Consultants will not have supervisory responsibilities or authority on NISE budget.
- For the time in Cambodia, consultant will be required to document that they have appropriate health insurance, including medical evacuation, prior to taking up the assignment.
- NISE will not be accountable for any insurance and taxes.
9. Nature of ‘Penalty Clause’ to be Stipulated in Contract Unsatisfactory performance: In case of unsatisfactory performance the contract will be terminated by notification letter sent five (5) business days prior to the termination date in the case of contracts for a total period of less than two (2) months, and
fourteen (14) business days prior to the termination date in the case of contracts for a longer period
Performance indicators: Consultants’ performance will be evaluated against the following criteria: timeliness, quality, and relevance/feasibility of recommendations for Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS).
10. Submission of Applications and Assessment Criteria
A two-stage procedure shall be utilized in evaluating proposals, with evaluation of the technical proposal being completed prior to any price proposal being compared. For evaluation and selection method, the cumulative analysis method (weight combined score method) shall be used for the recruitment.
Interested individuals or group of individuals who meet the minimum requirements should please submit their application to kimchhorn@hotmail.com by 15th Nov 2023, close of business.
Applications shall contain a technical proposal on the basis of the tasks and deliverables detailed in the ToR. The technical proposal should include updated CV of the consultant (in case of group application, each member of the consultancy group has to submit one CV), and copies or links to published materials of two relevant assignments performed previously by the consultant or the group of consultants.
Candidates are also required to prepare a lump-sum offer in a financial proposal for the services to be provided in US dollars. The fee should be expressed as a daily rate including per-diem and transportation costs for Phnom Penh, provinces, and other costs such as Khmer translation. During this assignment, the consultant is expected to travel to the provinces for field work for 5 days.
Submitted proposals will be assessed using Cumulative Analysis Method. A proposal should attain a minimum of 55 points to qualify and to be considered further. The Contract shall be awarded to candidate obtaining the highest score.
No financial information should be contained in the technical proposal. Please submit the technical and financial proposals in two separate documents.
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