Request for proposal for consultancy services on " Impact of violence in school on girls’ education" (Focusing on northern Nigeria)

 

UNICEF Nigeria

TERMS OF REFERENCE:

Research on the impact of violence in school on girls’ education.

 (Focusing on northern Nigeria)

Requesting Section: Basic Education

Date:   March 2018   

Period of Consultancy:  Four months in 2018

Programme Area and Specific Project Involved: Education Programme; Girls Education Project Phase 3 (GEP3) being implemented in Bauchi, Niger, Katsina, Kano, Sokoto and Zamfara states in Northern Nigeria from 2012 to 2020.

1.       Purpose of Assignment

The purpose of the consultancy is to conduct a study on the nature, causes and impact of violence on children, especially girls’ enrolment, retention and completion in primary schools. The study will aim to provide insight into the impact of violence on children’s participation in education and how boys and girls are impacted differently. It will have a special focus on school related gender-based violence (SRGBV) within the schools and its impact, especially on girls. It would also consider actions being taken to prevent, report and respond to violence against children in schools. In summary, the study will focus on three key areas:

-          The nature and impact of gender-based violence in schools on children, especially girls’ participation in education,

-          The causes/drivers and perpetrators of violence in schools,

-          Mechanisms for prevention and nature of actions being taken, and their effectiveness in preventing, reporting and responding to violence in schools. 

UNICEF Nigeria is looking for a research institution or a professional organization to support this exercise through an institutional contract.

2.       Scope of Work

Background

Nigeria’s National Policy on Education (2004 and 2013) which calls for a free and compulsory nine years of schooling, was an important step in increasing access to basic education in Nigeria.  However, 10.1 million children aged 5-14 who should be in the primary or junior secondary are not in school in Nigeria[1]. The number of out-of-school children is not evenly distributed, and northern Nigeria has a higher proportion of children out of school than the rest of the country. There are many reasons for this but it is significantly driven by the north having more children of school age, by poverty and financial constraints of households, by social attitudes towards ‘western’ education, and by difficulties experienced by government providing educational services in predominantly rural Local Government Authorities (LGAs).

When looking at the out-of-school population, children dropping out of school, while an important problem, is less of an issue than children who never entered school at all.  Of primary-aged out-of-school children at the national level (6 to 11 years of age), 74 per cent are expected to never enter school while only 5% are classified as dropouts. Twenty-one per cent are expected to enter school late. At the junior secondary level, the situation is much the same with 76.9 per cent expected never to enter school while 22.1% drop out of school[2]. A higher portion (77.7 per cent) of out-of-school girls are ‘never expected to enter’ school at primary level compared with boys (69.8 per cent). Gender disparity is more prevalent in the northern regions than the rest of the country (NEDS 2010). In Sokoto state which lies in the north-western corner of Nigeria, there are twice as many boys in school than girls. In contrast, girls and boys have equal access education in southern states.

The reasons why children and especially girls are out of school in northern Nigeria are varied and rooted in the socio-cultural and economic environment which constructs barriers and bottlenecks to the educational success of girls and boys. Some of these barriers impact particularly on girls and their ability to enrol in school while others prevent both girls and boys from attending school regularly and becoming successful learners, ultimately resulting in them dropping out of school. Barriers such as the cost of education, negative perceptions of formal education and the low value placed on girls’ education by society influence the demand for education by parents and children and the educational choices they make.

In the same vein, different forms and levels of violence against children including school related gender based violence have been recognized as affecting millions of children and adolescents worldwide and violating their right to education. The 2006 UN World Report on Violence against Children (Pinheiro, 2006) identified violence against children – including in school settings – as a global phenomenon. In Nigeria, almost a decade later we still do not know the full scale and impact of gender-based violence in schools. A very recent study on violence against children in Nigeria by Xiangming Fang, Xiaodong Zheng, and Marie Parker (The Economic Burden of Violence Against Children in Nigeria, 2017) highlighted more of the economic issues that result from the violence against children. In addition, most research on violence against children in schools has neglected to explore the role of gender, yet most forms of school violence are deeply rooted in unequal gender relations, gendered social norms and discriminatory practices. We need to understand the nature and extent of the problem within our programming context. We need to know why it happens and with what consequences. The findings will support the development of strategies that will provide the direction of support to girls towards increased retention in schools.

3.       Focus and Scope of the Research

The research requires an institutional contract and will involve four key phases: inception/design, field work, data analysis/report and dissemination. The details of each phase are outlined under major tasks and steps of the consultancy. The focus of the research will be the six states in northern Nigeria where UNICEF is currently being implemented. The six states generally share some common characteristics, including, large number of out-of-school children and wide gender disparities due to socio-cultural practices that do not embrace girls’ education. Due to the similarity of context the study could cover three states and it will not be necessary to include all the six states. The three proposed states are Katsina, Zamfara and Bauchi. The scope of the study will be guided by a study design and methodology to be discussed and agreed at the inception phase.

Research questions the assignment will require the consultancy to investigate at least the following research questions:

a)                   How does violence constitute a barrier to access and retention of children, especially for girls in school?

-          What forms of violence (including norms and behaviours that are learned at home and in the community, that are played out in school) are perpetrated against children, especially girls in school?

-          How does violence affect children’s, especially girls’ participation in education?

-          How do different forms of violence affect boys and girls in school?

-          To what extent does violence in school contribute to non-school enrolment and attendance, especially for girls?

-          At what stage of schooling (age) are girls’ school attendance most affected by violence in or on the way to school?

-          What specific actions at school level constitute violence against children especially girls? How do we define violence against children in school?

-          How do these forms of violence affect the boys and girls differently?

-          How does school related gender-based violence impact factors such as children’s, and especially girls’ experience about school, participation in class, motivation to learn and confidence as a learner.

b)                  Who are the perpetrators of violence against children, especially girls, at different scenarios (in and outside school) and what specific roles do they play that affect children’s active participation in school?

-          What are the drivers of violence against children, especially girls?

-          What are the gender dimensions in the different forms of violence against children at different scenarios within the school?

c)                   How does perception of violence in school differ between education officials, teachers (male and female) girls, boys, and parents?

d)                  What is being done (at the national/federal, state/LGA and school levels) to prevent and respond to violence against children in schools?

-             How and in what ways are schools prepared to address violence in schools, especially SRGBV?

-             What actions are specifically taken by schools to address violence in schools and SRBGV?

-             What are the measures and how effective are violence prevention actions adopted by schools?

- How are these preventive measure actions adopted by schools?

- How do these preventive measure actions protect /affect boys and girls differently?

- To what extent are schools required and held accountable for not taking action against violence in schools and SRGBV?

- What actions should be taken towards stopping all forms of violence against children and SRGBV?

 

e)                  What sustainable and effective strategies, including strategies in schools, are needed to address all forms of violence against children, especially girls in northern Nigeria?

-          What short and long term strategies should be implemented to address all forms of violence against children?

-          What are the specific strategies, including policy related options, to address the violence against children and SRGV?

-          What are the key prevention and response mechanisms which should be implemented by schools and other relevant authorities?

4.       Methodology

The research method will involve a mix of quantitative and qualitative approaches, with data collected from primary and secondary sources. Primary data collection will be conducted through a participatory and consultative process involving stakeholders at the national, state/local government, community and school levels in northern Nigeria, in three states. A desk review will be undertaken to examine relevant literature, with a focus on the effect of all forms of violence against on enrolment and retention of children especially girls in schools, key perpetrators of actions that constitute violence against children that result in denial of their right to education in rural communities in the targeted states as well as strategies that have been successfully used to stop all forms of violence that hinder children’s access and retention in schools.

The consultants will produce a sampling plan that will include: 

·       Sample size that will allow robust measure of the impact of all forms of violence against children especially on girls’ enrolment and retention;

·       Sampling frame and plans for primary data collection;

·       Clearly defined criteria for selecting respondents;

·       Coding strategy;

·       Sampling weights to be used in the data analysis;

·       Choice of design adequately defended.

5.       Major Tasks and Steps of the Consultancy

1)            Desk Review and Context analysis: Examine the global and specifically regional evidence and research on violence against children especially girls and its impact on the enrolment and retention of children especially girls.

Analyse available national and subnational research undertaken on violence against children in Nigerian context particularly focusing on the impact of violence on girls’ and boys’ enrolment and school attendance. Identify existing gaps in evidence which can also guide the final research focus and questions. 

2)            Planning of the overall research process, methodology and approach and development of an Inception Report.

Develop an in-depth research process, appropriate methodology, tools, data collection approach and plan. The plan should be presented in form on a draft inception report for UNICEF’s review and approval after which it will be finalized (final inception report) to guide the research. The inception report will include data collection and field work plan and schedule.

3)      Develop data collection instruments, field test instruments and manage data collection.

Ensure that the tools and guides are appropriate for the data collection and develop them in advance of the field work. Testing of the instruments is also important to ensure they are suitable. Plan and manage data collection.

4)      Data analysis and preparation of the draft report

Carry out data, cleaning, analysis and drafting of report. A draft report will be presented to UNICEF and other partners for comments and adjustment will be made to it based on the feedback.

5)      Validation of the draft final report with stakeholders

Organize an appropriate exercise for validation of the research findings, e.g. through a national (and state level) meetings with the key informants and stakeholders.

 

6)      Preparation of the final report and policy brief

The final report will be prepared based on comments from UNICEF, DFID and various stakeholders through review and the validation exercise. The final report will include fact sheets and policy brief (key findings and recommendations for advocacy).

 

7)      Presentation of the final report and key findings and recommendations in a national forum

This includes preparation of the Power Point presentations of the final report, its key findings and recommendations that will be shared with UNICEF in advance and which will be left with UNICEF for further use, as needed.