U -- Girls Education Program

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Egypt intends to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) in anticipation of entering into a contract to implement the Girls Education Program (GEP) described below. The GEP aims to improve learning outcomes in K-9 in at least 300 schools, which will be constructed by the Government of Egypt (GOE) in USAID seven focus governorates of Aswan, Beni Suef, Qena, Minya, Fayoum, Alexandria, and Cairo. Through USAID-GOE joint efforts, the GEP will achieve the following: 1-Expand access to K-9 education, especially for girls, in remote and deprived areas, in the seven targeted governorates; 2-Improve the quality of teaching and learning; 3-Strengthen the management and governance of education in targeted districts in the seven governorates; 4-Strengthen the organizational and institutional capacity of the General Authority for Educational Buildings (GAEB) The relative emphasis of interventions will be tailored to the needs of communities in less privileged parts of the targeted governorates. In terms of school construction, the program will need to be responsive to the needs of GAEB at the central and governorate levels to effectively plan and manage school construction using various and innovative approaches. The main areas of intervention include: 1-Expanding Equitable Access to Education for Girls: The GEP will assist the local government (the governorates) and the GAEB to use innovative approaches and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of school construction and maintenance, increase community participation; and decentralize the management functions of school construction and redefining roles and responsibilities at central and local levels. The GEP will provide the non-construction components, such as training, classroom furniture, lab equipment and computers to the 300 schools that will be constructed by GAEB in the seven targeted governorates. The average number of classrooms in targeted schools will range from 8-24. GEP will provide basic information technology (IT) equipment to each school, along with teacher training on how to use and integrate IT in teaching and classroom activities with the clear intent of sustaining improvements in learning outcomes. GEP will introduce and sustain a locally affordable approach for standard-based school maintenance system. 2-Improving Educational Quality: GEP will focus on the following key factors: (a) active and meaningful student learning and assessment; (b) responsiveness to learning and developmental needs of girls through introducing girl friendly educational materials and pedagogical practices; and (c) continued school improvement to achieve standard-based accreditation. The GEP will provide training and professional development for teachers, supervisors, trainers and school administrators in active learning and modern pedagogical practices, teaching methodologies, student assessment and educational leadership. Support will be provided to all targeted schools, with the school as the unit of action, in preparation for school accreditation. In addition, the sustainability of quality improvements at the school and classroom level, measured by improved students learning outcomes, will be institutionalized and mainstreamed at the governorate level by GEP. 3-Management and Governance: the program will actively engage community members in planning for and supporting girls education, as they are intended to become the primary actors for sustaining the program. Support and training will be provided to help the communities form Boards of Trustees (BOTs) through free and democratic elections. Moreover, BOTs are expected to strengthen school-community relationships, and improve the accountability and transparency of school operations, planning and improvements. The program will also provide technical support to school and Idara (the education department at the district level) management in targeted governorates and build their capacities as educational leaders. 4-Organizational development of the General Authority for Educational Buildings (GAEB): GEP will assist GAEB decentralizing some of its functions, improving its efficiency and effectiveness and institutionalizing best practices related to school construction and maintenance. Also, Technical support will be provided by GEP to build GAEB ability managing school construction and maintenance through using the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) approach. Qualification requirement of offeror: 1-Demonstrated understanding of the education system and the constraints and obstacles facing increasing access to quality education in developing countries. 2-Ability to articulate technically sound and innovative approaches to increasing access and retention rates of girls in school preferably elementary education. 3-Demonstrated knowledge and experience in adopting comprehensive approaches for educational quality improvements, school-based reform and community participation. 4-Demonstrated knowledge and experience in organizational and institutional development of governmental school construction entities. 5-Demonstrated knowledge and experience with adopting Private-Public Partnership approaches in school construction and maintenance in developing countries. This is a full and open competition and the procedures set forth in FAR Part 15 shall apply. The authorized geographic code for this activity is 000 (U.S.). USAID anticipates awarding a single contract with a period of performance of around three and a half years with a total estimated cost ranging from $35 to $38 million. The RFP will be posted on the FEDBIZOPPS web page (www.fedbizopps.gov) not less than 15 days after this notice is issued. In accordance with FAR 5.102(d) availability of the solicitation is limited to this electronic medium only. Requests for other copies of the RFP will be disregarded without notice to the requestor. No phone requests will be accepted, no RFP will be available for pick-up, and no walk-ins will be allowed.