State Consultant – WASH in Schools and Anganwadi Centers via DevNetJobsIndia

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANTS AND CONTRACTORS

Title: State Consultant – WASH in Schools and Anganwadi Centers (AWCs)

Funding Code

Type of engagement

Consultant 

Duty Station: Patna, Bihar

Purpose of Activity/Assignment:

The purpose of the assignment is to strengthen the implementation of Bihar Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar to be able to bring Schools on par with the benchmarking system in phased manner. The technical assistance is to integrate Climate Change & Environmental sustainability agenda in the regular WASH in Schools Programming. The technical assistance is also to help bringing in necessary guidelines for improving WASH services in schools and AWCs as well.

Scope of Work (Include Background/Rationale/Key Objectives of the Assignment):

The Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) emphasizes that education is the most important tool for social, economic, and political transformation and a key instrument for building an equitable society. A well-educated population, equipped with the relevant knowledge, attitudes and skills is essential for economic and social development in the twenty-first century. Quality is the cornerstone of the Right of Children to Free & Compulsory Education Act (RTE), 2009. Achieving quality education requires adopting a holistic approach and process which cannot be achieved in isolation. Quality in education would be a manifestation of many factors including the presence of an enabling learning environment, child participation and quality of content. water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) plays a vital role to create the enabling environment in the school.

WASH in Schools play a significant role in determining the health of children, attendance, dropout rate and learning outcomes. The provision of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in school secures a healthy school environment and protects children from illness (including COVID-19) and exclusion. It is a first step towards a healthy physical learning environment, benefiting both learning and health. Children who are healthy and well-nourished can fully participate in schools and get the most from the education being imparted. The COVID-19 pandemic re-emphasized the significance of handwashing with soap and personal hygiene for prevention of diseases. It is important that the schools have adequate water supply, functional gender segregated toilets, handwashing facilities, environmental cleaning, solid and liquid waste management, physical distancing measures etc. in the context of COVID-19. These protocols need to be institutionalized in the school administration as a daily routine to address any such emergencies in the future. Provision of drinking water and toilet facilities in schools in Bihar has steadily increased over the last few years, however, considering the importance of WASH in Schools and the COVID pandemic, it is essential to critically assess their adequacy, quality, and appropriateness for children of different ages as well as the capacities of stakeholders to ensure the effective and sustained operation, maintenance and use of school WASH facilities.

The Department of Education, Government of Bihar has been instrumental to provide functional water sanitation and hygiene services in Schools. UNICEF has been extending critical TA support for planning, implementation and scaling up of the WASH in Schools programme across the State. To compliment the efforts so far, Government of Bihar in collaboration with UNICEF has developed Bihar specific WASH in Schools Benchmarking system and award guidelines under the name of Bihar Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar. It also emphasizes the importance of water conservation, grey water management and plantation as mandated by the State flagship program Jal – Jeevan – Hariyali Mission. The State benchmarking system enables the schools to critically review the WASH indicators and take necessary steps to make them WASH compliant. The BSVP has been launched by the Hon’ble Minister Education, Government of Bihar in the year 2021 has been implementing successfully for the last two consecutive years. However, the BSVP 2021-22 data revealed that more than 50% Schools are at 1- & 2-star rating and consistent efforts needed to bring all these schools on par with BSVP benchmarking system to be able to create safe and hygienic environment for children in Schools. In addition, it is equally important to promote climate change and environmental sustainability interventions in Schools to make them climate smart. 

The Anganwadi Centres have been repositioned as a “vibrant child-friendly Early Childhood Development Centre” with adequate infrastructure and resources for ensuring a continuum of the ECCE in a life-cycle approach and child-related outcomes. Apart from children, the Anganwadi Centre is frequently visited by pregnant and lactating women, who have higher chances of contracting an infection during this vulnerable period, hence it is imperative that the environment of the Centre and its nearby areas are kept in hygienic condition so as to protect the children and women from infections. Therefore, ICDS needs to develop and roll out a comprehensive guideline for benchmarking of WASH facilities and services in the Anganwadi Centres on the lines of the school benchmarking system.

Key Objectives

• To support the Government in strengthening the implementation of WASH in Schools program in the state under the National and State Government flagship programs such as Swachh Bharat Swachh Vidyalaya / National Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar / Bihar Swachh Vidyalaya Puraskar.
• To support the Bihar Education Project Council and selected District authorities in making schools WASH compliant and Climate resilient. 
• To support the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme (ICDS) and selected District authorities in making Anganwadi centers WASH compliant and Climate resilient. 
• To coordinate with concerned departments, partners and other stakeholders to enable and finalize education sector preparedness for WASH in Schools emergency response plan at state and district level.
• During emergencies, provide technical support to State and districts to assess damage and loss to WASH sector, particularly to prepare the recovery plan and to monitor and coordinate implementation of WASH response from Government and other stakeholders in mega camps and affected villages.

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