Individual International Consultancy to support the Elementary and Secondary school Department to establish a Non-Formal Education Directorate in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)Province

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For every child, Education!

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is one of Pakistan’s most populous provinces, facing critical challenges in ensuring equitable access to quality education. The KP government is committed towards education for all children and global commitments to SDG 4 and 5. This is evident from the fact that various legislative bills have been passed, enacted and policies are formulated that address inequalities among children and ensure basic right to access education is met. KP policy and strategic context has shown strong commitment to improving education outcomes through the KP Education Sector Plan (2020-2025) that prioritizes addressing out-of-school children (OOSC) and expanding Non-Formal Education (NFE) programs. The Global Partnership for Education (GPE), System Transformation Grant (STG) and System Capacity Grant (SCG) programmes further support targeted interventions to improve education governance and access, including NFE. Despite these significant efforts, key challenges persist, and the province has a substantial number of out-of-school children (OOSC). An estimated 4.9 million remain out of school as per 7th National population census 2024. Domestic financing for education sector has shrunk considerably (budget figures) as per last 5-6 years trend and recurring cost has increased significantly. The province lags behind in education sector financing which is imperative to reach milestone of education share up to 4% of the provincial Gross Domestic Product GDP. Moreover, gender disparity remains high with 61% of OOSC being girls, indicating significant gender inequity. Age Distribution and age-appropriate learning remains a challenge too with more children in middle and secondary school remaining OOSC. OOSC profile has a geographical distribution parameter with highest rates of OOSC being in southern districts (e.g., Kohat, Bannu, and Dera Ismail Khan) and newly merged tribal districts, where education access is constrained by infrastructure gaps, insecurity, and cultural barriers. Non-Formal Education plays a critical role in addressing the educational needs of OOSC by providing flexible, accessible, and community-based learning opportunities. However, the NFE sector in KP faces several challenges including fragmented efforts and multiple programs by government, NGOs, and development partners lacking coordination and synergy; limited coverage of current programs that reach only 10-15% of the OOSC population; funding constraints caused by insufficient budget allocations to expand NFE services sustainably. The latter has also hampered the prioritization of programs for Out of school children and more investments in innovative and flexible programs to provide OOSC access to education, especially in merged districts and girls. This also demands establishing governance structures to ensure sustainability of the results. Accordingly, there is an urgent need for comprehensive mapping of NFE initiatives, strengthened governance structures, and alignment of funding with strategic goals to maximize impact.

How can you make a difference? 

The purpose of these TORs is for engaging an expert as an individual consultant to conduct a comprehensive Mapping of NFE strategy and ongoing existing initiatives and support the Elementary and Secondary school Department in the review and analyses of the current NFE programmes in the province, map budgetary allocations to NFE and support the E&SED to prepare a roadmap for establishing a Non-Formal Education Directorate

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Remarks:  

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