External evaluation - Inclusive Education Project in Vietnam

1.1 The Vietnamese Context

Vietnam has known since the economical reforms in 1986 (Doi Moi) an impressive economic growth and poverty reduction. Vietnam has become a lower middle income country, with according 14.5% of the population living under the poverty line in 2008 . The poverty rate is higher among people living in remote and rural areas. It is mainly in these areas where most people from ethnic minority groups live, which is reflected in a poverty rate of 61% of ethnic minorities in 2004 . Vietnam is particular vulnerable for natural disasters and the effects of climate change, which is likely to affect mainly the poor population.

Vietnam is making fast progress towards the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, and it is highly likely that Vietnam will achieve universal primary education (goal 2) . According the Vietnam Household Living Survey of 2008, there is a net attendance rate in primary education of 90%. Of the 10% of the children who are not going to school, 11.7% mentions disability or illness as main reason for not going or dropping out. Other reasons were: not having a permanent residence (2%), not being able to pay the tuition fee (2.9%), work (4.7%) and other (78.7%). Now Vietnam’s economical status has moved from low income country to middle income country it has to face particular challenges. The objective is not only to achieve high enrollment rates, but also to provide quality education for those who are enrolled . Vietnam is currently adjusting it’s Education Strategy Plan and Education For All National Action Plan to address these new challenges.

Up till now there has not been a national survey on disability, which results in a lack of reliable statistics on people with disabilities in Vietnam. In 2006 MoLISA estimated that 6,43% of the population in Vietnam has a disability, which is considerably lower than the estimated 15% of the World Health Organization worldwide. It can be assumed an important number of people with disabilities are not identified yet. Furthermore according to MoLISA (2006) 87% of the people with disabilities live in rural areas where the poverty rate is higher and 37% of the people with disabilities is literate (compared to 90% in the general population). The Vietnamese government commits to address the needs of people with disabilities by signing the UN Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities and the Vietnamese Disability Law (2010).

1.2 HI Federation and Inclusive Education Handicap international promotes worldwide the inclusion of children with disabilities and disadvantaged in mainstream schools. It is thereby guided by the following principles: - Children with disabilities have the right to access a quality, inclusive education. - Learning environments must respond to the physical, social, emotional needs and personal aspirations of individual children and young people. - Education policy and practice must reflect and respect the diversity of learners, especially children with disabilities. With as overall goal: “to ensure quality education for children with disabilitiesin the public inclusive education system”

Based on its expertise HI focuses within its inclusive education project on children with disabilities. It is recognized that children with disabilities are among the most vulnerable and excluded learners. The child centered teaching pedagogy, which is promoted through the HI inclusive education projects, improves however the quality of education for all learners.

1. Project information

2.1 Project summary

Title Towards Rights-Based Inclusive Education Access for Children with Disabilities and Out of School Children in the Bac Kan Province, Vietnam Program Duration 1th of January 2009 to 31th of December 2011 Location Vietnam Bac Kan province: Bac Kan town and Cho Moi district Partners Consortium partner: Save the Children in Vietnam Institutional partners: Bac Kan Provincial People’s Committee Bac Kan Department of Education and Training (through which access to the Provincial Disadvantaged Children Education Centre and 30 pre and primary mainstream schools) Short term partners: Bac Kan Youth Union Bac Kan Association of People with Disabilities and Orphans Vietnam Institute for Education Science Project Objectives General objectives: - Improve the social integration of disabled and disadvantaged children with special educational needs (SEN) in the Bac Kan province through the promotion of rights-based inclusive education in accordance with the National Action Plan for People with Disabilities, 2006-2010 - Facilitate the involvement and participation of parents and their network in the education of children with disabilities, which will lead to the development of organisations that represent the civil society - Strengthen the capacity of the Bac Kan Provincial DoET in inclusive education, within the framework of the inclusive education strategy from the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET)

Specific objective: - Disabled and disadvantaged children with SEN of preschool and primary school age (3 to 14 years) have access to an inclusive education tailored to their specific needs and with respects to their rights, in the pilot schools in the districts of Bac Kan town and Cho Moi and in the Disadvantaged Children Education Centre of Bac Kan. Expected Results ER1 – Disabled and disadvantaged children are identified and assessed to establish a strategic action plan developed by Bac Kan DoET including the development of individual education plans (IEP) to include disabled children in the educational system, with a respect to the individual needs of the children ER2 - An inclusive education team, consisting of qualified personnel of the DCEC and DoET is created to coordinate the quality of the inclusive and special needs education in the province and provides technical assistance for the 30 schools in the pilot districts ER3 - 30 pre- and primary schools in the target pilot districts are able to include disabled and children with special educational needs in their classrooms and school activities and provide appropriate education ER4 - Parents, family members of disabled children with SEN and communities have an increased knowledge about disability issues, and are therefore better able to support disabled children with SEN to go to school and ER5 - Good practice and lessons learned from the project are documented and distributed through the IE team that participates in the disseminating of the National Action Plan on IE

2.2 Approach and Methodology of the Project

The strategy adopted for project implementation was based on different approaches:

• A rights-based approach: the basic principle of our action is the right of children to attend school to ensure integration into society and become actor of their own development.

• The participatory approach is used throughout the project cycle and involves the actors in the design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of the project.

• Child-to-child approach "a system of child peer educators" or "a system of twined friends" which includes disabled and non-disabled children.

• Comprehensive and integrated approach among all the stakeholders in inclusive education, including governmental agencies at province level, inclusive education is considered as a crosscutting issue.

• Partnership and Capacity building for local institutions and structures: The action will be implemented through the partnership that has existed, since 2001, between HI and the DoET of Bac Kan and since 2007 between SCS and the DOET of Bac Kan. The ultimate goal is to ensure that our local partner, the DoET, has capacities to provide support to disabled children in their province and gain experience to replicate the action.

• Networking to share experiences, see what works elsewhere (or works less well), what could be replicated, tested or innovated. The study tours, training in Hanoi, the networking among provincial structures working on IE and with national institutes contribute to the success of this objective.

• Raising community awareness on disability issues: the community awareness on the importance of inclusive education and social integration for disabled children through meetings, information sharing and training activities contribute to changing the perceptions on disability and increasing the recognition of the specific needs of disabled people.

In order to achieve the expected results, the following activities were developed: - Data collection: o Training of 15 surveyors o Collection of data at village level, set up of a database, input data and writing of survey report; o Workshop with representatives from DoET for the release of the survey results o A strategic action plan is initiated with the DOET based on the survey results to integrate at least 50% of out of schools o Reintegration plan of children with low disability currently attending the DCEC and its follow-up in regular schools - Capacity building: o Support to 13 professionals to attend training for 6 months on IE in the Faculty of Hanoi Teacher Training University o Organisation of study tours for 13 DCEC and DoET staff members to 3 provinces which have experience in IE o Support for the training of 30 directors of schools districts in IE policies and practices o Support the training of 3-4 teachers per school in IE o Specific trainings to parents and families on disability issues o Supporting the creation of Clubs of Parents - Equipment support: o Support the IE team (DCEC and TTC) IE materials and documentation o Supporting the adaptation of the existing national IE curriculum to the Bac Kan local context o Provision of teaching and learning resources to target schools o Improving accessibility in schools - Awareness raising: o Awareness raising campaigns at commune level through mass media, posters, leaflets o Support the inclusion of disabled children into community and schools events on special occasions o Production and distribution of the documentation of the project on IE during workshop and seminars - Monitoring: o Creation of the tool "Quality Control" in Bac Kan Province to evaluate the quality of the IE in Bac Kan for and in 30 schools is developed and tested o Monitor visits by MoET and the Hanoi University - Capitalization: o Dissemination workshop of the results of the project, lessons learned and experiences on the challenges in implementation of IE at province level o Production and publication of a report to a wider audience

1. Objective of the evaluation The objective of this final evaluation is twofold:

 To make an informed assessment on the performance of the project which will provide AFD, EU, HI F and Save the Children with sufficient information regarding the relevance, the effectiveness, the efficiency, the impact and the sustainability of the project  To provide HI F and Save the Children with practical recommendations for improving existing tools and approach for the next phase of the project

In particular, the consultant will assess the following dimensions (please note the list is indicative):

Relevance: - Did the project answer to the needs of the target population? - Was the project design appropriate to the specific context of Bac Kan? - Are the mechanisms and approaches developed in coherence with the priorities of the Government as defined in the Vietnamese law on Disability (2010)? - Are the mechanisms and approaches in accordance with standards set by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities?

Efficiency: - Can the results achieved be considered adequate for the budget spent? - Was the allocation of resources among different aspects of the project (training, equipment provision, awareness raising, tool development, human resources …) appropriate to achieve results?

Effectiveness: - Which outcomes (intended and non intended) can be identified? - To what extend did the project achieve the expected results? - To what extend did the project team implement all initially planned activities? - How did the project team adjust the project and its methodology to the constraints faced during the implementation phase, if necessary to achieve expected results? - Were the methodologies and tools appropriate to meet the project’s objective? - Did the project address the needs of all target groups (children with disabilities and out of school children)?

Impact of the project: - To what extent did the project improve the access and quality of education for children in general and more specific for children with disabilities and out of school children? - To what extend did the project have an impact on the general teaching methods of the teachers in the pilot schools? - How did the set up and work of the Inclusive Education Support Team contribute to improved access and quality of education for children with disabilities and out of school children? - To what extend did the mainstream and special school teachers improve their knowledge and skills in teaching children with special educational needs? - To what extent did awareness raising change the attitudes of both communities and local stakeholders towards persons with disabilities and inclusive education? - To what extend did parents improve their knowledge and skills in supporting their children with disabilities? - How did the project strengthen the Education Authorities (DoET – BoET) in Inclusive Education? - To what extend are the indicators set in the logical framework achieved? - Did the project have any negative effects or is likely to have in the future?

Sustainability of the project - Was the project methodology culturally appropriate? - What is the level of sustainability? Are the results achieved of long-term, mid-term or short term sustainability? Describe how you see them continue to have positive influence A) on the lives of persons with disability, B) on the implementing partner and C) towards the other stakeholders in the districts/province or at national level? - Are the new teaching styles and support to children with disabilities expected to be maintained at the end of the project support? - Are the tools and communication materials developed during the project likely to be used after the project ends? - Analyze the degree of commitment and involvement of all parties involved, such as partner, DoET, BoETs, Youth Union, DCEC and other related stakeholders, etc - To what extent can the methodology be replicated by the local partners (DCEC, DoET/BoET) in other districts? - Can the project be promoted to a higher level, and if so which components in particular?

1. Expected Results of the Evaluation
2. An assessment of the overall project results and approach is carried out taking into account the context, proposal and monitoring and evaluation framework of project.
3. Practical recommendations are formulated regarding the methodology, tools and approaches used by the project to 1) improve the quality of life of beneficiaries, 2) increase the partner’s and beneficiaries’ capacities

4. Strengths and weakness of the project’s methodology and implementation procedures are identified and analyzed to improve the implementation of the 2nd phase of the project

5. Methodology The expert (or the team of experts) shall propose a participatory evaluation, addressing main project stakeholders as well as beneficiaries. Activities are expected to include: • Review existing project documentation • Secondary data collection • Meet with relevant stakeholders • Carry out field visits to: o interview key informants and/or o hold focus group discussions o make observations during school and family visits • Presentation of the key findings • …etc

The total duration of the study is estimated on 18 days. The report should be sent to HI latest on 9th of December 2011. Travels in the Bac Kan province (Bac Kan town and Cho Moi districts) will be necessary to perform field visits and is expected to be conducted between the 23rd and 30th of November 2011. HI and Save the Children will provide the consultant with all necessary documentation available, to achieve the objectives and expected results as mentioned in these terms of reference.

1. Deliverables The consultant in charge of the assignment will produce: • A draft report, • A final report including at least: o Summary of findings o Introduction to the context o Detailed findings o Recommendations o Tools developed for evaluation purposes o List of persons met during the evaluation process and salient points of the meetings The final draft report should be delivered the latest to HI F on 9th December 2011

2. Expertise required The expert (or team of experts) who will undertake this assignment should have the following skills, experience and knowledge:

   • Experience in project evaluation and related methodologies, preferably in the Vietnamese and/or South East Asian context.
   • Experience in conducting participatory (qualitative and quantitative) evaluation techniques
   • Experience in the field of inclusive education in developing countries.
   • Experience working with persons with disabilities
   • Practical knowledge of rights-based approaches in education
   • Familiarity with Vietnamese culture is an asset.
   • Excellent spoken and written English

3. Application procedures Candidates should submit the following information with their application:

4. Brief cover letter

5. Curriculum vitae and list of previous assignments, highlighting those focus on (inclusive) education projects evaluation.
6. Two references
7. One example of published work,
8. A proposal of the detailed methodology in accordance with the terms of reference,
9. A tentative work plan and time schedule,
10. A budget breakdown for the consultancy including fees, travel, accommodation etc.

Please send your application to Marieke Stevens, Inclusive Education Project Manager, Handicap International (HI) Federation at the following email address: pm.ie@handicap-international.org.vn Applications submitted should indicate as subject: IE final evaluation / application

Deadline for submission of applications: 23th October 2011, 5.00 pm: Handicap International (HI) Federation. Applications submitted after the deadline (day or hour) will not be considered.

The selection will be done by HI Federation in early November 2011. Selected applicants will be invited for a (phone) interview mid November 2011.