Overview
DateDeliverable / Output
Title: Consultancy to support the implementation of webinars, regional meetings, and events on Harnessing Education Technology in response to COVID 19 in Africa.
Location: Anywhere globally (Ideally in Africa)
Type of contract: Anywhere globally (Ideally in Africa)
Type of contract: Short term consultancy
Duration of contract: 66 days stretched over a period of 11 months with an average level of effort of 5 days’ work per month. Consultancy report due 31 July 2022
Reports to: GCE Senior Programme Manager

Deadline for applications: Friday, 10 September 2021

1. About GCE

The Global Campaign for Education (GCE), founded in 1999, is a global civil society movement working for the full realization of the human right to education, in particular for children, women, and those from excluded communities.

GCE members bring together civil society organisations, NGOs, teacher unions, child rights activists, parents’ associations, young people, and community organisations, who work together in coalition in more than100 countries. GCE promotes education as a basic human right and mobilises the public to put pressure on governments and the international community to fulfill their promises to provide free, compulsory, high-quality public education for all.

GCE provides core support to its members’ work on education advocacy and campaigning all around the world, and represents civil society organisations in education at the highest level.

2. Background

Before COVID-19 hit, the world was already experiencing a learning crisis. “258 million children of primary- and secondary school age were out of school, and the Learning Poverty rate in low- and middle-income countries was 53 percent – meaning that more than half of all 10-year-old children could not read and understand a simple text. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the figure was closer to 90 percent.”[1] “At the peak of school closures in April 2020, 94 percent of students – or 1.6 billion children – were out of school worldwide, and, still, around 700 million students today are studying from home, in a context of huge uncertainty and with families and schools having to navigate across options of blended and remote learning, or no schooling at all”[2]

The adoption of online learning appears to be a partial solution and will continue to persist post-pandemic. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was already high growth and adoption in education technology, with global edutech investments reaching US$18.66 billion in 2019 and the overall market for online education projected to reach $350 Billion by 2025. Whether it is language apps, virtual tutoring, video conferencing tools, or online learning software, there has been a significant surge in usage since COVID-19[3]. Industry experts believe that a new hybrid model of education will emerge, with the integration of information technology in education is further accelerated and online education becoming an integral component of school education.

The pandemic has however widened the digital divide and exacerbated inequality compromising equal access to education. Key challenges relate to a lack of reliable internet access or access to technology; a gap seen across countries and between income brackets within countries. In Africa, in addition to school closures, this lack of access to technology is the greatest barrier for learning during the pandemic with learners in rural communities being the most disadvantaged. Early childhood and primary level students are reported to be the least likely to access the technologies required for learning, where educational TV and radio are seen as the most important technologies at the primary level[4] and online learning at the secondary school level.

3. Objectives and purpose

GCE is looking for a consultant to support the implementation of webinars, regional meetings, and specific events on Harnessing Education Technology in Africa.

In the work plan of the “Harnessing education technology as a response to COVID-19 in 8 African countries,” a number of activities are planned in tandem with the development of a scoping study which will be presented to various stakeholders. The overall outcome of which will lead to an Africa-wide regional campaign on edutech. A series of workshops and webinars are to be implemented that will warrant the smooth delivery of all planned outcomes. The operational efficacy of these dovetailed activities will require the work of a consultant who is familiar with operations, workshop design, and asset storage on the GCE Knowledge Hub.

4. Deliverables for the Assignment:
  • Implementation of a Webinar for all Partner Organisations with support from DIAL on digital principles (October 2021)
  • Link with UN and other regional and global agencies engaging in similar topics and themes on expanding edutech
  • Publishing good practice examples on GCE’s knowledge hub
  • Run a serie of Webinars in cooperation with teacher unions targeting particularly teachers as edutech users in 8 African countries
  • Prepare and organize a regional design conference presenting the outcomes of 8 coalitions led programmes to regional stakeholders (AU, international ISPs, MoEs etc).
  • Assist the SPM in preparing the Outcome Harvest Report
  • Liaise with Edutech Campaign Manager and GCE Campaign Manager in preparing Launch of the Campaign in Q2 2022
5. Timelines:
DateDeliverable / Output
15 September 2021 Start work on preparing the first regional webinar
1 October 2021 Implementation of webinar/events programme on Harnessing EduTech in Africa
1 October 2021 – 31 July 2022 Link and engage UN and other multilateral and regional stakeholders
1 October 2021 – 31 July 2022 Publish good practices on the GCE Knowledge Hub
1 March 2022 – 31 July 2022 Webinar Series targeting teacher unions and coalitions in 8 African countries
15 July 2022 Organize Final Regional Conference using results from up to 8 national programmes and recommendations of a scoping study
29 July 2022 Report on all Webinars and Events
6. Required skills and experience

The consultants’ work will be stretched over a period of 11 months allowing for 5 days of full-time engagement per month stretched over a 6 months period. A different calendar of consultancy days may be considered as long as the overall amount of 66 days is respected.

The candidate will need the following competencies:

  • Academic Qualifications: Degree in education, law, political science, international relations, social sciences, development, or other disciplines related to the mandate.
  • Experience: Knowledge/experience of issues relating to digitization of education, experience in workshop and event organisation.
  • Language: Fluency in English is required. French is an asset
  • Experience of working with coalitions and teacher unions, including cross-cultural, cross-movement sector coalitions; including making and maintaining effective contacts and relationships, with local partners
7. Submission of Applications:

Eligible applicants are invited to apply by submitting the following documents on or by end of day on Friday, 10 September 2021 to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

  1. Consultant’s CV/Resume including relevant experience of personnel/Previous projects of similar nature.
  2. A brief technical proposal outlining the approach to the consultancy.
    • A cover letter, confirming availability for the dates outlined and including a financial proposal.

Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the advert may be withdrawn at any time from sites without notification.

Requests for clarification should be made in writing and sent to the SPM, Wolfgang Leumer to the following email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.


[1]https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/immersive-story/2021/01/22/urgent-effective-action-required-to-quell-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-education-worldwide

[2]https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/immersive-story/2021/01/22/urgent-effective-action-required-to-quell-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-education-worldwide

[3] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-education-global-covid19-online-digital-learning/

[4] http://www.guninetwork.org/publication/effect-covid-19-education-africa-and-its-implications-use-technology

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The Global Campaign for Education (GCE) is a civil society movement that aims to end exclusion in education. Education is a basic human right, and our mission is to make sure that governments act now to deliver the right of everyone to a free, quality, public education.