Mission and objectives

UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children’s rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children. UNICEF insists that the survival, protection and development of children are universal development imperatives that are integral to human progress. UNICEF mobilizes political will and material resources to help countries, particularly developing countries, ensure a “first call for children” and to build their capacity to form appropriate policies and deliver services for children and their families. UNICEF is committed to ensuring special protection for the most disadvantaged children – victims of war, disasters, extreme poverty, all forms of violence and exploitation, and those with disabilities. UNICEF responds in emergencies to protect the rights of children. In coordination with United Nations partners and humanitarian agencies, UNICEF makes its unique facilities for rapid response available to its partners to relieve the suffering of children and those who provide their care. UNICEF is non-partisan and its cooperation is free of discrimination. In everything it does, the most disadvantaged children and the countries in greatest need have priority. UNICEF aims, through its country programmes, to promote the equal rights of women and girls and to support their full participation in the political, social and economic development of their communities. UNICEF works with all its partners towards the attainment of the sustainable human development goals adopted by the world community and the realization of the vision of peace and social progress enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

Context

Sri Lanka, a lower-middle-income country, is emerging from a severe economic crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and other compounding factors, which have stalled progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Despite notable advancements in children’s welfare over the past decades, significant inequalities remain, particularly affecting urban daily wage laborers, and families in the estate sector, rural areas, and conflict-affected regions. These inequalities have been further aggravated by the ongoing economic crisis, disproportionately impacting the standard of living for many children across the country. With a child population of 6.2 million, Sri Lanka faces challenges in providing equitable access to quality education. While there has been progress in gender parity and access to primary and secondary education, the digital divide, marked by limited connectivity and access to devices has worsened learning disparities, especially for vulnerable groups in rural and estate areas. These disparities compounded by the economic crisis, have further disrupted schooling, resulting in increased learning losses and dropouts. Although the country has a low student-teacher ratio, gaps in subject-specific teacher availability, training, and technological integration persist, hindering educational quality and outcomes. English language skills among school-going children in Sri Lanka vary significantly, with a noticeable divide between urban and rural areas as well as between students in private and public schools. While urban students and those in private schools generally exhibit higher proficiency, many rural and public-school students struggle due to limited resources and a shortage of qualified teachers. The emphasis on rote learning for exams rather than practical language use further hinders effective English language acquisition. Despite these challenges, ongoing government and certain development partner initiatives aim to improve English education, recognizing its importance for students’ future opportunities. In response to these challenges, UNICEF has partnered with the Ministry of Education to support reforms and strengthen educational systems through programmatic interventions. These efforts focus on enhancing curricula, teacher capacity, foundational literacy, numeracy, and digital skills development. Despite these efforts, approximately 12% of children still face significant barriers to education, particularly those with disabilities or living in poverty. To close these gaps, continued support is essential for expanding digital learning opportunities, improving teacher training, and upgrading school facilities, ensuring that all children in Sri Lanka have access to quality education and a more equitable future.

Task Description

Under the overall guidance of UNICEF Sri Lanka Education Specialist (Colombo) and Education Officer (Trincomalee) in collaboration with ICT/T4D Unit, the UNV will carry out the following key tasks: 1. Oversee/manage the implementation of the pilot of the Akelius programme to improve English language teaching for children in formal primary grades and assess scalability. a. Re-assess and document each school’s technical infrastructure, including internet connectivity, availability of devices, and classroom setup etc, against project indicators. Establish a baseline for the selected schools in terms of readiness. b. Contribute to follow-up the procurement and distribution of hardware equipment and facilitate the installation of the set up in each school and its maintenance. c. Contribute to project launch and orientation. Support organization of an initial kick-off meeting with key stakeholders. Develop and present a detailed project roadmap, aligning all stakeholders on objectives, timelines, and expected outcomes. d. Organize orientation sessions for all participating schools, introducing the Akelius program’s purpose, structure, and expected benefits. e. Collaborate with UNICEF colleagues, provincial authorities and national officials to understand and support curriculum integration and lesson planning related to Akelius content. Collaborate with curriculum experts to align the Akelius app content with the existing English language curriculum for primary grades. Consult with teachers to develop lesson plans that incorporate Akelius app activities into their regular teaching schedules. 2. Teacher training and capacity building: develop a training schedule and adapt Akelius program materials to national context, develop other necessary training materials focusing on app navigation, teaching methodologies, and classroom integration. Conduct hands-on training workshops for teachers in Sinhala and Tamil languages, covering both technical aspects (using the app) and pedagogical techniques (blending the app into English language instruction). a. Set up a support system or helpline for ongoing teacher assistance and troubleshooting throughout the pilot phase in collaboration with Providential Ministry of Education – EP. Conduct regular check-ins with teachers and school administrators to gather feedback on app functionality, student engagement, and any implementation challenges. Troubleshoot and resolve technical or logistical issues promptly, coordinating with Akelius technical support as necessary. 3. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework development: design a M&E framework to track both qualitative and quantitative metrics, such as student engagement, learning progress, and teacher satisfaction. Define baseline indicators and success metrics, including app usage rates, student assessments, and feedback from teachers and students. Establish data collection protocols, including pre and post-pilot surveys, classroom observations, and periodic app usage reports. a. Scalability assessment: analyze pilot data to assess the feasibility of scaling the program to additional schools, considering factors like resource requirements, teacher readiness, and school infrastructure. b. Final reporting and recommendations: compile a comprehensive final report summarizing the pilot outcomes, including an evaluation of student learning gains, teacher feedback, and resource utilization. Provide a set of recommendations for scaling the program, including cost estimates, suggested improvements, and potential adaptations for diverse school contexts. Present the report and findings to key stakeholders, facilitating a discussion on the next steps, including potential expansion or adaptation of the Akelius program in other regions. c. Stakeholder engagement and communication: act as the primary point of contact for all stakeholders, including school leadership, teachers, and local government officials. Establish clear and consistent communication with school administrators and staff, providing updates on project progress, addressing concerns, and ensuring alignment. Organize regular project meetings and reporting sessions with the Provincial Department of Education, Ministry of Education and other partners. Provide regular progress updates to the donor (i.e. monthly updates) and support the development of reports, communication materials etc. Strengthen coordination mechanisms at both provincial and zonal levels which involve liaising with ITDLH, PDC, and external IT entities to ensure harmonized collaboration and knowledge sharing, including across provinces. d. A significant amount of time would have to spent in the field with the schools, teachers, education officers etc. to support and guide them on the key activities. 4. Provide administrative and technical guidance to Ministry of Education, Provincial Departments of Education, schools etc. to plan, implement and monitor digital initiatives. a. Support the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the identified digital innovation initiatives and its documentation. b. Support the development of proposals and TORs for the digital initiatives in education. c. Liaise with the relevant stakeholders to ensure timely set up of these digital learning initiatives. d. Provide technical assistance to ensure administrators, teachers, schools etc. are implementing the digital initiatives effectively. e. Showcasing models of practice in Akelius and digital education, supporting innovations, capturing HIS data, and facilitating relevant field missions are also expected. 5. Support in any other tasks assigned by the education section a. The education section may assign specific tasks to be completed or supported at any given time, depending on the section’s workload.

Competencies and values

The core values of UNICEF of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability needs to be maintained at all times. The functional competencies required are: · Builds and maintains partnerships · Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical-awareness · Drive to achieve results for impact · Innovates and embraces change · Manages ambiguity and complexity · Thinks and acts strategically · Works collaboratively with others

Living conditions and remarks

Sri Lanka is an island nation located off the south coast of India. It’s home to an estimated population of over 21 million people. It is a multi-ethnic, multicultural and multi- religious country. Colombo is situated in the Western Province of Sri Lanka and is the commercial capital of the country. The city is located on the west coast of the island, adjacent to the administrative capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. Bandaranaike International Airport is located 35 km from Colombo and is served by the main international airlines. Sri Lanka is a tropical country with moderate temperate and high humidity all throughout the year. Average temperature in Colombo ranges between 27 and 30 degrees Celsius. The island experiences two main monsoon seasons, where heavy rainfalls occur, from May to August and October to January. Sri Lankan food is characterised by fragrant spices, all forms of coconut, and rice. Rice and curry are the main dishes. Sri Lankan cuisine tends to be quite spicy. There are hotels and other types of accommodation options available in Colombo. Supermarkets, banking and medical facilities are present within the city. Telephone and Internet service is widely available. Phone plans and data are inexpensive; however, you should not expect internet service to work consistently or at high speed. At present Sri Lanka is undergoing high inflation and an economic crisis. Public unrest and protests are common. The prices of common commodities fluctuate on a daily basis and shortages can also be experienced. Main health advisories are related to Dengue, which is also highly prevalent in Sri Lanka, especially after the rainy seasons. Mosquito repellent is available in all local drug stores. Sri Lanka is a unique country and the UN is providing unique (humanitarian) operations in Sri Lanka. It provides for an interesting and enriching environment but also requires a mature level of cultural awareness, as well as more resilience and commitment than elsewhere to make life comfortable and affordable. Therefore, flexibility and the ability and willingness to live and work in challenging conditions, involving physical hardship and little comfort, are essential.