Rationale
The Government School Support Programme (GSSP 4) has been financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by the Aga Khan Foundation Afghanistan (AKF-A) since December 2014 with the aim of creating a holistic model of school improvement that can actively address challenges experienced by students and education stakeholders in the secondary government school system. GSSP 4 provides comprehensive interventions at the secondary schooling level to increase student enrolment, retention, and quality by strengthening the Ministry of Education (MoE)’s capacity to improve the quality of secondary schooling and promote improved school environments at the national, provincial, and district levels.
AKF-A programming is rooted in the needs on the ground and the ability to identify best practices that are replicable, and responsive, generating impact at the policy level that extends beyond the limitations of a project’s geography and timeframe.
As a result AKF-A will focus the research on two main research themes; first will be examining the best practices under GSSP 4, which are replicable and are able to be adapted for up-scaling at a national level. In addition, the first research theme will examine both negative and positive lessons learnt that can be shared widely to improve best practices nationally. The second research theme will focus on the MoE system and reflect through qualitative and quantitative methods, where the MoE could benefit further from interventions.
Research supported by GSSP 4 project will provide a platform to examine the best practices of the project and what the MoE would need to sustain these post project.
Theme One (Best Practice): Under GSSP 4, AKF-A introduced a pilot programme for a more effective teaching practicum conducted in the Bamyan Core TTC, in an effort to address the very important area of teacher training. AKF-A received pre-approval from the TED department to conduct a pilot programme, which will be utilized across the TTC system and ultimately contribute to improving the TTC system throughout the country. By the end of the project, a total of 140 TTC student teachers will be trained in the new program.
Theme Two (Government Systems): Retaining girls in school for the entirety of their educational career remains a challenge. Qualified teachers are scarce, female teachers even scarcer still, in a context that requires female students to be taught by female teachers. The lack of female teachers causes a vicious circle in which girls cannot complete their education without female teachers which in turn limits the potential pool of qualified female teachers. One of the goals of the teaching practicum is to empower young female teachers to continue their careers as educators. However, only a small percentage of female teachers are able to find permanent teaching positions in government schools. In order to improve female teacher’s chances at attaining long-term positions, we need to understand what types of barriers they face and reform policies that support more female teachers in government schools, especially in rural areas.
Objective
Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Bamyan TTC pilot teaching practicum and their contributions to the capacity building process of pre-service student teachers (against a control group) and the TTC system. Also, identify the strengths and weaknesses of the local (Bamyan, Baghlan, Badakhshan) and national (Kabul) government systems in place to support female teacher job prospects in government schools.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
Qualifications Required
Deliverables
Work Location
The consultant(s) will be based in Kabul Afghanistan, with extensive field travel to AKF-A field offices, schools and teacher training colleges in Kabul, Bamyan, Baghlan, and Badakhshan.
Schedule
Application:
Applicants meeting the above requirements are requested to submit a cover letter along with their CV and the names of three references electronically to jobs.afghanistan@akdn.org, no later than March 7th, 2017 or submit hard copy to AKF, National Programme Office House No 41 Street No. 2, Qala-e-Fatullah, Kabul, Afghanistan
Important Notes:
Please quote the Vacancy Number as the Subject of the e-mail when sending your application.
Supporting documents, e.g. diplomas, recommendation letters, identification card(s) etc., are not required at this stage, therefore not to be sent along with the application.
Only short listed candidates will be contacted for further assessment.
Aga Khan Foundation – Afghanistan is an equal opportunities employer. Women are encouraged to apply.
Aga Khan Foundation – Afghanistan recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to the safeguarding of children from abuse.
The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is a non-denominational international development agency established in 1967 by His Highness the Aga Khan. Its mission is to develop and promote creative solutions to problems that impede social development, primarily in Asia and East Africa. Created as a private, non-profit foundation under Swiss law, it has branches and independent affiliates in 19 countries.
AKF seeks to provide sustainable solutions to long-term problems of poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and health. In Afghanistan, AKF works with rural communities in mountainous, remote or resource poor areas to improve quality of life in the areas of natural resource management, market development, governance, education and health.
The Aga Khan Foundation, Afghanistan (AKF (Afg)) is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) www.akdn.org , a group of international, private, non-denominational development agencies working to improve living conditions and opportunities for people in some of the poorest parts of the developing world. The Network’s organizations have individual mandates that range from the fields of health and education to architecture, rural development and promotion of private-sector enterprise and institutions that seek to empower communities and individuals, usually in disadvantaged circumstances, to improve living conditions and opportunities.
