Request for Expression of Interest for the Engagement of Independent Verification Agent (IVA) for Multi-Year Verification of Tess Program Results on a Rolling Basis at the Federal Ministry of Education

Posted by Kordinichi on Thu 30th Jan, 2025 - nigeriantenders.com

The Federal Ministry of Education invites competent and experienced contractors to Express their Interests for the Engagement of Independent Verification Agent (IVA) for Multi-Year Verification of Tess Program Results on a Rolling Basis in Oyo, Adamawa and Katsina States. Interested contractors should possess relevant qualifications and experience.

The Federal Ministry of Education invites competent and experienced contractors to Express their Interests for:

Title: Request for Expression of Interest for the Engagement of Independent Verification Agent (IVA) for Multi-Year Verification of Tess Program Results on a Rolling Basis

Locations: Oyo, Adamawa and Katsina

Introduction

The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) has received a $125m Education Sector Plan Improvement Grant (ESPIG) from the Global Partnership for Education (CPE) to support the implementation of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Program in Nigeria and build on the gains of the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) program.
The Program is designed to create stronger education systems capable of delivering improvements in equity and learning, as well as ensuring stronger quality standards for educational planning, programming and monitoring by providing specific incentives to focus resources on achieving improved performance in equity, efficiency and learning outcomes.
The National Project Coordination Unit (NPCU), intends to engage the service of an Independent Verification Agent (IVA) for the BESDA-AF Project.

Objectives

The objective of the assignment is to verify and validate the achievement of the Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIS) against agreed targets, measured by specific Disbursement Linked Results (DLRS) for Oyo, Adamawa and Katsina States, in accordance with the approved verification protocol approved by the World Bank and contained in the program documents. The assignment is expected to commence and continue on a rolling basis.

Scope of Work
The Consultant will undertake the following activities:

The Independent Verification Agent (IVA) will conduct desk review and on-site field performance assessment of key deliverables to establish the status of achievements of the unverified components of Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIS) and provide evidence of compliance with the protocols stipulated in the Program Paper towards the achievement of the remaining underlisted Disbursement Linked Results (DLRS) till the end of the TESS program operation in OAK States.
The IVA will review and confirm that:
- The list of primary schools included in the approved network package and infrastructure plan are from among the schools with the highest infrastructure needs. It is recommended that rural schools with students-classroom ratio above 70 and without proper drinking water and toilet facilities are prioritized for infrastructure support.
- Primary schools selected for infrastructure upgrading are from among schools with the highest infrastructure need. Schools with students-classroom ratio above 70 and without proper drinking water and toilet facilities should be prioritized.
- Primary schools selected for expansion to include junior secondary level should meet the criterion of not having a JSS within 3 KM radius with enrollment of at least 240 primary 1 to primary 6 students. It is recommended that there are at least 60 primary 6 students from all potential feeder primary schools to transit to JSS.
- A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between School-Based Management Committee (SBMC) of the selected primary school and SUBEB which confirms that the SUBEB will provide funding for the agreed primary school infrastructure upgrading or expansion of existing primary school to include junior secondary level according to an agreed School Infrastructure Plan (SIP) with required infrastructure and adheres to specific standards provided by the project/timeline of the project.
- The construction grant has been disbursed to SBMCs of selected schools.
- The construction has been completed adhering to the minimum standard for infrastructure development as outlined by the UBEC and inclusion of the following:
  - At least three additional classrooms.
  - Upgrading or addition of drinking water facility.
  - Gender-friendly sanitation facilities. (including separate toilets for girls)
  - Installation of solar panels in areas without access to a reliable power grid.
  - Newly constructed structures are accessible for children and youth with disabilities and are in a location deemed safe by the community.
The IVA is expected to verify the renovation and/or construction of 550 schools across the OAK States: Oyo State- 190 renovations & 25 constructions; Adamawa-70 renovations & 25 constructions; Katsina-240 renovations.
The IVA will review and confirm the establishment of a digital platform with, at a minimum, a database managed by the SUBEB (EMIS) which has information on teacher training, including teacher name and identifying information, the number/type of modules completed and related information on schools i.e. their type and location.
The IVA will review and confirm:
- The establishment of a digital platform with, at a minimum, a database managed by SUBEB (EMIS) which includes information on the number of termly student assessments undertaken by teachers and focus of assessment by grade/subject.
- Database of student enrolment by class.
- The number of teachers completing the minimum number of training modules required (three) and the number of termly assessments conducted by teachers. In addition to reviewing the databases managed by SUBEBS (EMIS) in each State.
- The IVA will conduct interviews of a representative sample of participating teachers stratified by State to confirm their participation in training, completion of modules and number of student assessments undertaken.
The IVA will review the State's/school personnel records on teacher deployment/appointment and/or transfer to confirm that newly recruited teachers and teachers from schools with low PTRS (below 30) have been deployed to rural schools with high PTRS (above 70).
The IVA will review and verify:
- The state has produced and made publicly available a report which includes 2022 and 2023 annual state education budget and expenditure data recorded by the State General Accountant's office.
- The 2022 and 2023 SUBEB budget and expenditures, and confirm that the budget and expenditures are reported by UBE programs.

Closing Date
12:00 Noon on February 17th, 2025.

Method of Submitting the Expression of Interest (EOI)

Interested Consultant should submit Expression of Interest detailing the following information as basis for pre-qualification/shortlist:
- Profile of firm/consortium including technical and managerial capacities of the firm (managerial and organizational structure, office equipment, etc.), with full contact details of each firm, prove of the legal name, as well as understanding of the assignment.
- Prove of valid registration (i.e certificate of incorporation with CAC) in the last 5-10 years plus; PenCom, ITF, NSITF, Tax clearance IRR valid till December 2024. This is required only from local consultant and not from international consultant.
- Sworn affidavit disclosing whether or not any officer of the relevant committees of the BESDA-AF Project National Project Coordinating Unit (NPCU) or the Federal Ministry of Education is a former or present Director, shareholder or has any pecuniary interest in the bid and to confirm that all information presented in its bid are true and correct in all particulars.
- Possess extensive knowledge of, and experience in Nigeria's education sector, including policy advice, formulation and implementation and the team should have competency and experience in carrying out evaluation/validation surveys, data analysis, statistics, in addition to relevant experience in educational development and management.
- Demonstrated expertise in designing and conducting sample-based surveys, including developing a representative sampling methodology, drawing samples from a defined framework, applying appropriate sampling weights, and analyzing survey results with robust statistical techniques.
- Have a minimum of two (2) similar assignments in the last five (5) years. Familiarity with result-based operations will be an added advantage.
- The full Terms of References (TORS) for this assignment can be accessed through the link below: http://bit.ly/4gZe1JF Alternatively , you can visit our website on http://gpetess.gov.ng , proceed to publications, then resources to download the Terms of Reference and guidance for application.
Interested consultant(s) may associate with other firms in the form of a joint venture or a sub consultancy to enhance their qualification. The consultant will be selected in accordance with the Consultant Qualification Selection (CQS) method set out in the Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers dated July 2016 and revised November 2017, revised August 2018 and November 2020, available on www.worldbank.org/procure
Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours; 9.00am to 4.00pm Monday through Friday.

Expression of Interest shall be in English and should not be more than thirty (30) pages and must be submitted in four (4) hard copies (One original and three copies plus one flash drive /CD Rom), in a sealed envelop clearly marked "Expression of Interest as BESDA-AF Independent Verification Agent (IVA) for Multi-Year Verification of TESS Program Results on a Rolling Basis". Expression of interest must be delivered to the address below in person or by courier mail, not later than 12:00 Noon on February 17th, 2025.
The National Project Coordinator,
Better Education Service Delivery for All Additional Financing (BESDA-AF),
Federal Ministry of Education Annex,
4th Floor, Plot 245, Samuel Adesujo Ademelegun Street,
Central Business District, Abuja, Nigeria
Attention:
Phone Number: +234-806 590 6984
Email address: Fme@gpetess.gov.ng , copy: fmegpe2@gmail.com

Note / Disclaimer

NPCU shall verify any or all documents and claims made by applicants and will disqualify bidders with falsified documents and claims.
If it is determined that submitted documents and claims have been falsified, the bidder may face prosecution in a court of Law.
NPCU shall not be held responsible for any disqualified proposal because of any omission or deletion relating to the submission guidelines.
The advertisement shall not be construed as a commitment on the part of NPCU to award a contract to any Contractor, nor shall it entitle any Contractor submitting documents to claim any indemnity from NPCU.
NPCU is not bound to shortlist any bidder and reserves the right to annul the bidding process at any time without incurring any liabilities.
Only short-listed Consultant will be contacted.