ToR for Assessment on Safety and Protection in Conflict-Affected Schools with a Focus on Girls’ Specific Risks and Vulnerabilities at National level particularly in Tigray and Amhara Regional States

Background

The Network of Ethiopian Women’s Associations (NEWA) is non-partisan, non-for-profit and a non-governmental national network established in 2003. NEWA strives creating a stronger advocacy voice for women’s political, socio-economic, and legal advancements. NEWA has a twofold goal: synchronizing the individual efforts of women’s associations into an integrated collective agency and synergy to realize their common aspirations for gender equality, through a vigorous public campaign, promotions, advocacy, and lobbying for Empowering and redressing the needs, asks of the girls and young women (GYW), and the creation of space for this underprivileged section of society, and women’s rights, NEWA wants to achieve among others. NEWA is a membership coalition, with 50 member associations and organizations, operating in all over the country engaged to contribute in national development, governance and democratization processes.

NEWA is currently implementing varied projects/Programs under its thematic areas. Among others, with the support from the Malala Fund and collaboration with the Education Champions Networks, NEWA is implementing a project entitled “Enhance Girls’ Education through promoting Safe school Declaration in conflict affected regions of Ethiopia (Amhara and Tigray)”. Years of conflict in the Amhara and Tigray regions have disrupted education systems, destroyed school infrastructure, and exposed children to severe protection risks. Girls, in particular, face heightened vulnerabilities, including gender-based violence (GBV), early marriage, sexual exploitation, abduction, trafficking, and loss of access to safe learning environments. And also, it is well known that Ethiopia is one of the countries that has not endorsed the Safe School Declaration that was popularized in 2015. Safe School Declaration is an intergovernmental declaration states that protect schools and universities from attacks and threats of attack during armed conflict, ensure that education continues during war and crisis by supporting continuity plans and recovery efforts, implement the guidelines for protecting schools and universities from military use during armed conflict.

NEWA require an updated, evidence-based understanding of the safety and protection conditions for schools and students, especially girls within conflict-affected schools. This assessment will inform risk mitigation measures, and advocacy for safer learning environments.

Despite ongoing recovery efforts, significant gaps remain in understanding the current safety and protection environment within schools, including:

• Exposure to conflict-related violence
• Risks of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV)
• Barriers to school access and retention for girls
• Availability and functionality of school-based protection services
• The overall physical and psychosocial safety of learning environments
• Protection of Education from attack
• Restriction on use of school for military purpose

To inform programmatic interventions and strengthen safe learning for girls, a comprehensive assessment is required.

2. The context

Education is a transformative force, representing the most reliable investment in dismantling social and economic disparities, addressing gender-based inequalities, and advancing towards the objectives of the AU 2030 Agenda and for Sustainable Development. Sustainable Development Goal 4 advocates not only for universal access to education but also for inclusive, equitable, and quality education for all. These and other local legal frameworks require educational policies to prioritize gender equality through gender-sensitive plans, strategies, and policies. Achieving this goal necessitates ensuring that both girls and boys benefit equally from educational opportunities. Girls’ education not only enhances personal well-being but also significantly contributes to societal welfare and social justice.

Ethiopia, as a signatory to numerous international human rights and gender equality conventions, has demonstrated commendable political commitment to achieving gender parity in education and other socio-economic sectors. The country has embedded gender equality in its domestic legal frameworks, policies, strategies, and plans, leading to notable advancements in girls’ and women’s rights over the past decade. Despite this progress, disparities in gender parity indices persist, particularly between emerging and non-emerging Regions (MoE, 2021). In the education sector, the Emergency responses have acknowledged that extended school closures due to these crises have heightened safety and security risks such as teenage pregnancy, early marriage, child labor, sexual exploitation, and abuse among school girls (MoE, 2020). In addition, evidence from the discussion with girl students (NEWA, 2023) and Girls Manifesto (2024) revealed that the militarization of those conflict and post conflict areas, coopting schools as military bases are with a potential risk and fear, and it is inevitable to restrict girls’ participation and going back to schools.

The Safe Schools Declaration is an inter-governmental political commitment that provides countries the opportunity to express political support for the protection of students, teachers, and schools during times of armed conflict; the importance of the continuation of education during armed conflict; and the implementation of the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict. As of January 2024, 119 states had endorsed the declaration, including the majority of Ethiopia’s fellow members of the African Union. Ethiopia has not endorsed the declaration. However, many activities related to the Safe Schools Declaration are being implemented indirectly in conflict areas. The Ministry of Education has also called the Ethiopian government to endorse it.

The five-year (2025-2030) Malala program in Ethiopia, will focus on advances the right to education for millions of adolescent girls in Ethiopia, unlocking their full potential and amplifying their voices.

Currently the Malala fund works in Ethiopia for the next five years will focus on strengthening policies that promote the right to education for adolescent girls in conflict-affected areas, ensuring that schools are safe, education is protected from attack.

The context, therefore demands concrete actions to safeguard the rights of girls and access to safe, free, quality education. This will ensure requirement by (Malala Fund, 2028 in Ethiopia). And is also of NEWA;

• Advocate for the Endorsement and implement the Safe Schools Declaration and ensure that education is protected from attack, schools are not used for military purpose and all learners and educators can learn and teach in safety, security and dignity.
• Ensure these are accompanied with periodic, gender-responsive and publicly available monitoring frameworks to ensure effectiveness and accountability.

3. Description of the project

General Objective

The project aims to federal and regional governments to endorse and implement provisions of the Safe Schools Declaration to protect girls’ education in regions affected by conflict. The logframe also describes the following goal and outcomes:

Goal

Secure national and regional government endorsement and effective implementation of the Safe Schools Declaration, ensuring the protection of girls’ education in conflict-affected regions.

Major outcome

• Endorsement and integration of SSD in the national and regional education framework
• The policy makers, regional government, schools communities and leaders informed on the importance of protecting schools and girls’ education in Tigray, Amhara and national level
• Safe and Protected school environment for Girls’ during and post conflict Strengthened.

4. Purpose of the Assessment

The overall purpose is to identify the safety concerns, protection risks, and vulnerabilities of girls and factors limiting their safety, access and continued enrollment of in schools affected by conflict- target regions are Amhara and Tigray and looks in to the frameworks that promote the safety and security related to education and respective regions and national level.

5. Specific Objectives of the Assessment The objective of this assessment is to highlight that the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD) aims to protect education from attack, not use schools for military purpose, strengthening effective accountability mechanisms, and promoting measures that ensure the safety, continuity, and integrity of learning environments during armed conflict.

• To identify risks and infrastructure gaps, and to broaden child protection and safeguarding by assessing the availability of safety and protection mechanisms that protect schools, students particularly girls, teachers, as well as the accountability frameworks in place at the national, regional, and selected woreda/school levels.
• To assess the ministry of Education, regional education bureau, school administrations, teachers’ and school administrators’ capacity to prevent, identify, and respond to safe school and protection of education from attack.

6. Scope of Work

6.1 Geographic Coverage

• Tigray Region: Selected conflict-affected zones, that are Mekelle and Adigrat, with at least four schools to be selected in each zone (to be finalized in consultation with stakeholders).
• Amhara Region: Selected conflict-affected zones, that are Bahir Dar and Dessie, with at least four schools to be selected in each zone.

The assessment will include a representative sample of secondary schools in rural and urban areas.

6.2 Target Groups

• Girls and boys enrolled in school
• Out-of-school girls
• Parents and caregivers
• Teachers and school administrators
• School management committees (PTSA,…)
• Community leaders
• Women organizations or associations operating in these regions
• CSOs, INGOs
• UN Agencies working on Education as development and humanitarian response
• Relevant government offices (Education, Women and Social Affairs, Law enforcement, Police, Justice) at national and regional

7. Methodology

The design of the method and methodology is the responsibility of the consultant. However, NEWA will recommend to be used mixed approaches both quantitative and qualitative. And also, NEWA want the process to follow participatory manner where the major stakeholders will be directly engaged. The relevant government institutions from federal level to regional levels, civil society organizations working on girl’s education, organizations in humanitarian response programs will provide inputs and help strengthen outcome of the assessments.

The evidence collection needs to include: (Qualitative and quantitative, primary and secondary as appropriate)

• Desk and document review, including the safe school declaration, existing similar assessments and researches, school safety policies and frameworks, regional education reports, CPIMS data, GBVIMS data, etc.
• Collect primary data through questionnaires, interviews (KII) and FGDS as appropriate to substantiate and triangulate the findings of the secondary data
• Analyze data and organize systematically and the methodologies for assessing the safety and protection concerns of schools in conflict affected areas with focus on girl’s specific risks and vulnerabilities. Consider the following factors or requirements.
• National and international standards of data organization and documentation shall be applied.
• The primary data will be collected by conducting interviews with relevant offices (such as the Ministry of Education), CSOs, and INGOs, and individuals at the national level.
• The data collected shall be timely/latest and shall cover all the current context of the education policy.
• Data shall be explained and presented in a clear and in a ready for use manner.
• For the purpose of credibility and legality, every data shall be supported and provided with evidence of its sources (references, written consent).
• The data collection process will adhere to considering ethical standards, including adherence to child safeguarding and GBV ethical guidelines, informed consent/assent, confidentiality and secure data handling, referral pathway ready for disclosure of SGBV or protection concerns.

8. Deliverables

The main deliverable is an assessment on the safety and protection schools in conflict-affected areas with a focus on girls’ specific risks and vulnerabilities. In line with this, the consultant is required to produce the following deliverables within the agreed time frame:

• Submit technical and financial proposal following the ToR, and call for expression of interest.
• An inception report, with detailed and clear methodology and methods, preliminary findings and structure and outline of the report and the data sources with a work plan within 5 days from the announcement of the winner of the bid. NEWA will review and share comments, if any, in writing and discuss these with the consultant before proceeding to the implementation of the assignment.
• Draft -Assessment Report: this document shall be submitted no later than 45 days before the end of the period of implementation of tasks.
• Final Assessment Report: with the same specifications as the ToR and signed contract, and incorporating any comments received from NEWA on the draft document. The deadline for sending the final document is 5 (five) days after receipt of comments on the draft final document.
• Policy Brief: following the assessment, the policy brief will be produced.

A work plan or schedule of deliverables.

• The total working days for this assignment are 30 working days
• Produce the analyzed and systematically organized assessment on the safety and protection assessment in conflict-affected schools with a focus on girls’ specific risks and vulnerabilities
• Present updates and finalized draft organized data to the NEWA staff as required by NEWA
• Prepare PowerPoint presentations for validation workshop on the assessments finding with all relevant stakeholders to validate and collect further inputs to the report
• Produce the final assessment report on the safety and protection assessment in conflict-affected schools with a focus on girls’ specific risks and vulnerabilities, by incorporating the comments provided at the validation workshop
• Submit the final report of the data report, that incorporates all the inputs and comments, to NEWA both in hard and electronic copy as per the time frame provided in the agreement.

9. Expertise Required

The research team should have the following educational background & work experience:

• Master’s Degree or higher in education, gender studies, law, development studies, sociology or relevant social sciences field;
• At least the two core members of the research team should have 10 years of professional experience working in the field of research, gender responsive policy, plan and strategy analysis, or similar assignments especially in relation to specialized education, gender issues; make sure that the team ensures gender composition
• The lead researcher should be women with relevant work experience and studies
• Proven experience conducting protection assessments in emergency/conflict contexts
• Language: Excellent writing and communication skills in English and Amharic Language, knowledge of Tigrinya is an asset.
• Excellent report writing skills and a track record of producing analytical publications
• Advanced knowledge of gender equality gaps and national and international policies

10. Evaluating Criteria for Selecting Consultant

A two-stage procedure will be utilized in evaluating the proposals, with an evaluation of the technical proposal being completed prior to any financial proposal being opened and compared. The financial proposal will be opened only for submissions that passed the minimum technical score of 70% of the obtainable score of 100 points in the evaluation of the technical proposal. The technical proposal is evaluated based on its responsiveness to the Term of Reference. In the Second Stage, the financial proposal of all bidders, who have attained a minimum 70% score in the technical evaluation, will be compared with a score of 30%. The contract will be awarded to the successful bidder following completion of all evaluations including negotiation (only in exceptional cases), if necessary. The successful bidder should sign a contract with the NEWA to undertake the assignment.