Background
Access to education for girls and women in Africa continues to pose significant challenges that affect their ability to enrol, retain, complete, and transition through various educational levels, including secondary, technical, and vocational education and training (TVET), and tertiary education. These challenges are multifaceted and influenced by a variety of contextual factors that differ across regions.
One of the primary barriers is the entrenched gender norms prevalent in many African societies, which often prioritize boys’ education over that of girls. This cultural bias leads to lower enrolment rates for girls, especially at higher education levels. Many families perceive investing in boys’ education as more beneficial, stemming from traditional views that regard men as the future breadwinners. Another significant hurdle is early marriage, which remains a major barrier to girls’ education. In numerous communities, girls are married off at a young age, resulting in school dropout. Cultural practices often position marriage as the ultimate goal for girls, which diminishes the perceived value of education. Violence against girls in educational settings, including harassment and sexual violence, further exacerbates the problem by creating an unsafe learning environment. The fear of such violence can deter girls from attending school and/or cause them to drop out entirely.
Further, economic constraints also play a crucial role in hindering girls’ education. Families facing financial hardships may prioritize education for boys, believing that they will contribute more to the household income. Additionally, the costs associated with school fees, uniforms, and supplies can be prohibitive for low-income households. Families might also consider the immediate economic benefits of having daughters contribute to household chores or labour, leading to a short-sighted view that deprioritizes girls’ education.
Health issues further complicate access to education for girls. Many schools lack adequate facilities for menstrual hygiene, resulting in increased absenteeism among girls. The stigma surrounding menstruation can discourage girls from attending school during their menstruation periods. Moreover, high rates of teenage pregnancy can disrupt girls’ education and lead to dropout. In regions heavily affected by HIV/AIDS, girls often encounter additional health risks that impede their educational advancement.
Geographic barriers also contribute to the challenges. In rural areas, the distance to schools can be significant, and families may be unwilling or unable to send their daughters to distant institutions, resulting in lower enrolment rates. Furthermore, the quality of education is often lacking, with inadequate teaching resources and unqualified teachers contributing to disinterest and higher dropout rates among girls, particularly if they do not receive sufficient support in their studies. While many African countries have established policies aimed at promoting gender equality in education, weak governance and insufficient funding frequently hinder effective implementation. This inconsistency can create gaps between policy and practice. Additionally, educational policies may not adequately address the specific challenges faced by girls and women, resulting in a lack of targeted interventions that could enhance access and retention.
Information about the Project
Oxfam together with partners are implementing a Scottish Government-funded project which focuses on supporting girls and women to ensure access, retention, completion, and transition across secondary, TVET and/or Tertiary education in Malawi, Rwanda, and Zambia over a five-year period from 1st July 2024 to 31st March 2029. The project brings together several partnerships: Oxfam in Africa (OIA) collaborating with Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) in Rwanda, Oxfam in Malawi working alongside Concerned Youth Organisation (CYO) in Malawi, and Oxfam in Zambia teaming up with YWCA in Zambia. Oxfam Great Britain (OGB) holds the contract with the Scottish Government.The project focuses on providing scholarships for vulnerable girls and young women; ensuring access for students with disabilities through assistive devices; and offering mentorship, counselling, career guidance and other support services. The project will also focus on strengthening teacher capacity in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and promoting Gender Transformative Education (GTE). By implementing these initiatives, the project aims to reduce barriers to education for girls and women. This will lead to increased retention, transition and ultimately, higher completion rates in secondary, as well as Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and tertiary education.
The project aims
Overall Objective: Improved participation, retention, completion and transition rates for girls and women in secondary, tertiary, and technical and vocational education and training, including in the STEM discipline in Malawi, Rwanda, and Zambia.
Specific Objectives
Outcome 1: Increased provision of scholarships and other supportive interventions to remove barriers for young women to access and complete secondary education and transition from secondary to tertiary education and TVET.
Output 1.1: Increased provision of bursaries to girls and young women at secondary education, tertiary and TVET institutions, within the project localities. The activities under this will focus on transparent process of identifying program participants and provision of the scholarship and linkages to other scholarship facilities and monitoring of the scholarship program performance.
Output 1.2: Improved access to schools by girls and other vulnerable children, within the project localities. The activities under this will be to provide supporting materials to learners to access education, support learning and learner retention. The materials will be learning materials, uniforms and bicycles for learners that walk long distances to schools.
Output 1.3: Improved access to safe learning environments at secondary, TVET, and tertiary schools and safe working environment in future, within the project localities. The activities under this will be provision of dignity kits for girls, creation of safe schools through tackling School related gender-based violence and creation of referral system, community mobilization to address negative socio norms, mentorship and creation of girls’ agency and support government authorities to enforce protection policies for the girls and other vulnerable learners.
Outcome 2: Increased girls and women’s enrollment, retention, participation and performance in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects.
Output 2.1: Increased knowledge of STEM and TVET opportunities, within the project localities. This will involve activities for expansion of awareness, knowledge of girls in STEM and TVET to stimulate interest.
Output 2.2: Improved provision and access to counselling, career guidance, mentorship services and access to Role Models, within the project localities. The activities will involve supporting girls with interventions that improve their performance, support entry into STEM, activities, transition into University and TVET and building capacity of teachers to deliver these.
Output 2.3: Improved capacity of teachers in pedagogy, STEM, GTE and TVET, within the project localities. These activities will link teachers with opportunities to enhance capacity to deliver on focus areas of the project.
3. Purpose and Objectives of the study
- Purpose:
To generate baseline values of the project indicators that will facilitate setting of project targets and serve as benchmarks for measurement of project progress and performance.
Specific Objectives:
1.Girls access to scholarships, school and participation
- Identify existing scholarship programs, their reach, and their criteria to understand gaps and opportunities for improvement.
- Establish current levels of girls’ access, enrolment, retention, completion and transition rates in secondary, tertiary and technical and vocational education and training (TVET), specifically in STEM disciplines
2.Girls’ enrolment, retention and participation
- Establish girls and women’s enrollment, retention, participation and performance in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects.
- Assess current academic performance to set improvement targets and strategies.
- Determine the existing levels of participation to inform strategies for improving enrollment.
- Analyze current supportive interventions (e.g., mentorship programs, tutoring, childcare) aimed at helping girls and women complete their education.
- Identify specific challenges (e.g., financial, social, cultural) that girls face, providing a clearer picture of the support needed.
- Identify factors contributing to dropout rates, and potential enabling interventions to improve retention.
- Explore prevailing opportunities that can be leveraged to enhance girls’ access to education, enrolment, retention, and transition.
3.Teachers’ capacity strengthening in pedagogy, STEM, GTE and TVET
- Understand existing institutional frameworks and their impact on girls’ and women’s educational experiences.
- Identify specific barriers to participation in STEM, such as lack of resources, societal attitudes, and educational support.
- Assess existing opportunities to enhance teachers’ capacity to deliver on the project.
4. Scope of Work
The baseline study will be conducted in 3 countries, Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda. The project will be implemented in Rwanda in two districts per region as follows; Musanze and Gicumbi in the Northern province, Rubavu and Ngororero in the Western Province, Kamonyi and Muhanga in the Southern Province, Kayonza and Bugesera in the Eastern Province, as well as Kicukiro and Nyarugenge Districts in the City of Kigali. In Malawi, the project will be implemented in Balaka and Machinga and in Zambia the project will target 4 districts of Central Province, Kabwe, Kapiri Mposhi, Chitambo, and Serenje.
The baseline study is expected to be completed by 31st July 2025.
The partners involved in this baseline study include Concerned Youth Organisation (CYO) in Malawi, YWCA Rwanda and YWCA Zambia working collaboratively with government agencies and ministries, civil society partners, girls and young women, schools and broader community stakeholders.
Oxfam – through Oxfam Great Britain (OGB), Oxfam in Africa (OiA), Oxfam in Malawi and Oxfam in Zambia. OiA is the regional entity and is providing overall coordination of the project among the three countries involved in delivering the project, albeit with a more technical and direct role of supporting in Rwanda and collaborating with YWCA Rwanda. Oxfam in Malawi is focusing on delivering in Malawi and working together with CYO, while Oxfam in Zambia is working closely with YWCA Zambia. OGB is responsible for donor contract/grant management and providing programme management support.
5. Study Methodology
The consultant is expected to define the research design and approaches that will be applied during the study. He/she is also expected to provide a justification for the suggested study design. It’s anticipated that methods chosen should be sensitive to the target population (unit of analysis), and robust enough to provide adequate responses to the stated study questions/research hypotheses. Overall, the methodology section should cover details of study design and approaches, sampling, sample size determination, data collection methods/instruments, data analysis techniques, plan for dissemination of study findings and a statement on quality assurance and ethical considerations during the study. The suggested research design and approaches should be described in enough detail to ensure that the study can easily be replicated by any other researcher in case of need.
6. Study Outputs/Deliverables
This baseline study will have key deliverables summarized below:
-
Inception report for the study: This will provide preliminary understanding based on document review, rationale and a detailed description of the methodology and study instruments, analytical methods, budget with a breakdown of costs and detailed work plan for the entire exercise, the study team competences, and the workplan for the study, among others.
-
Interview Notes and List of Resource Documents: The Consultant shall provide Oxfam with summaries/transcriptions of all key meetings, and discussions conducted during the course of the baseline study and copies of any relevant documents and reports gathered during the study by the end of the 30th working day assignment.
-
Data collection tools developed/used by consultants made available to Oxfam.
-
Summary Presentation of Findings to Oxfam, partners and Stakeholders: The Consultant shall present initial findings to Oxfam and partners for review, comment and feedback by the third week from the day of engagement.
Baseline final report in both the hard copies and e-copy (not more than 50 pages excluding annexes) as per the following table of content: Executive Summary; Background; Introduction; Methodology; Findings; Conclusions and recommendations; Annexes (Data collection tools, Key data sets, including interview transcripts, and List of key informants);
-
Updated project Indicator Tracking Table with baseline values from the study.
-
Terms of reference
All written documents are to be submitted in English using Microsoft Word with spacing of 1.5. All primary data collected and analysis conducted for the purpose of the baseline will remain the property of Oxfam and must be submitted electronically and in a clear and comprehensible format in Microsoft Excel and/or Word. Submission should include complete clean dataset that supported for the quantitative study.
7. Timeframe and estimated working days
The assignment will be undertaken within 30 working days from the date of signing the contract between 20th May to 31st July 2025.
Qualification and experience of the consultant/team
- Advanced degree in a relevant field of work related to development studies, education, social science, and human rights, project management, monitoring and evaluation.
- Understanding of the assignment and quality of the expression of interest and work plan.
- Demonstrable expertise and knowledge of projects in the field education for girls and women, in relation to similar programmes is an added advantage.
- Track record in developing and conducting various types of research and baseline studies using qualitative and quantitative approaches and (statistical) data analysis.
- Research experience including data collection and analysis using participatory methodologies.
- Demonstrated excellent report writing and communication skills in English. A working knowledge of the French language will be an added advantage.
- Applicants will have experience of working with multicultural teams.
9. Proposal study Criteria
The technical proposal will be evaluated based on the Quality Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) Criteria:
- The individual general reliability as well as experience and capacity in the carrying out the assignment (25%).
- The approach in responding to the TOR and detailed work (50%).
- The qualifications and competencies of the proposed personnel for the assignment (25%).
Proposals obtaining more than 70% of the technical points will be considered technically suitable and qualify for financial assessment.
10. Supervision/management of the assignment
The consultant (s) will be supervised by the program MEAL Expert whom they will closely work with to ensure that all processes are adhered to. The Project Management Unit (PMU) together with partners will provide additional support in ensuring the study is delivered effectively.
11. Payment
The consultant will be paid 30% upon approval of the inception report and 70% upon submission and approval of final report and any agreed upon products of the study. The technical fees will be subjected to statutory requirements like Withholding Tax.
12. Submission of Technical and Financial Proposal:
Interested applicants are expected to submit the following not later than 28th April 2025;
- Technical proposal
- Financial Proposal should provide cost estimate for services to be rendered including consultancy fees, transport, accommodation and living costs, stationeries and supplies needed for data collection etc.
How to apply
To view the full TOR please click here .
Send your proposal with a subject marked ***“Baseline study: “Girls’ Initiative for Resilient Learning and Support in Malawi, Rwanda, and Zambia”***to SSC.Consultancy@oxfam.org by 5:00pm 28th April, 2025.