Malawi is currently grappling with a significant challenge in learning outcomes, as evidenced by the high rate of learning poverty, with 87 percent of 10-year-olds unable to comprehend a simple passage. In response, the Malawian government has implemented various educational reforms outlined in the National Education Sector Investment Plan (NESIP) 2020-2030, with support from development partners. As part of these efforts, the government periodically assesses children’s foundational skills through initiatives such as the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SEACMEQ), Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA), Early Grade Mathematics Assessments (EGMA), and nationally developed sample assessments. More recently, standardized Common Zonal Tests (CZT) have been introduced in key subjects for Standard 3 and 4 and are in the process of being scaled up to all schools.

However, there has been minimal reporting on SDG4.1.1.a and b, with the latest reporting for SDG4.1.1.b dating back to 2013 and no reporting on SDG4.1.1.a. This highlights the need to enhance the government's capacity to utilize data, including the establishment of Minimum Proficiency Levels (MPL) that are comparable across years and benchmarked against other countries. There is a critical need to establish MPLs and mechanisms for assessing them, to enhance capacity for analyzing assessment results, disseminating findings to stakeholders, and utilizing the data to inform future policy decisions.

Malawi has participated in SEACMEQ since 1999. This participation enables Malawi to benchmark its educational outcomes with other countries in the region. The Malawian government used data from previous round of SEACMEQ (IV) to report on SDG4.1.1.b. However, the results from the latest round of SEACMEQ (V) have not yet been fully utilized or reported to the SDG.

The World Bank has been supporting the Government of Malawi in improving foundational learning through various projects and technical assistance, including the Malawi Education Sector Improvement Project (MESIP) and the Malawi Education Reform Project (MERP). As part of the Malawi Foundational Learning Program for Results (MLFP) currently under preparation, the World Bank will provide technical assistance to strengthen the system of national learning assessments. In this context, the World Bank task team for Malawi is seeking a firm consultant to provide technical and strategic guidance to the World Bank in its technical advice and analytical work related to the learning data from the SEACMEQ regional study of student achievement.

The objective of this consultancy is to provide technical assistance to the World Bank task team in its strategic dialogue with the government regarding learning assessments.

The specific objectives are to offer technical and strategic guidance to the World Bank team on the following:

1. Learning Assessment Data Management and Analysis: This involves conducting psychometric analysis and summarizing the results in a manner that is useful for policymakers and other stakeholders.
2. Effective Dissemination of SEACMEQ Assessment Results: This includes preparing reports and other information products, as well as organizing events tailored to different stakeholder groups. The results in the reports are expected to be used for reporting on SDG4.1.1.b.
3. Capacity Development of Relevant Departments and Units: This entails providing training workshops and coaching to relevant departments and units within the ministry and agencies (e.g., national assessment unit). The goal is to enable staff to develop the necessary analytical skills to explore SEACMEQ data and maximize the use of SEACMEQ results for policy and system improvement. This also includes assisting in the development of the government’s medium-term plan to incorporate these activities into their regular mandate and budget, ensuring the government continues to analyze, disseminate, and report learning data independently.

Details of expected Activities and Outputs, and deliverables are provided in the TORs. The firm will work with the World Bank team for a period of approximately 13 months from June 2025 to June 2026 to complete the planned activities and output described in section IV.

The firm selected must meet the following skills requirements and qualifications:

Required:

• Proven track records in the relevant field (e.g., educational development)
• Substantive experience working with the government entities, especially ministry in charge of education, and relevant authorities, and in similar settings (e.g., sub-Saharan Africa, low or lower-middle-income countries)
• Demonstrated capacity to manage and handle quality assurance mechanisms, including rigorous data security and confidentiality standards, well-defined data retention protocols, and secure disposal strategies to protect sensitive information collected for desk review.
• Ability and commitment to uphold high ethical standards, including data privacy, obtaining ethical approval from country-based Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), and adherence to relevant ethical guidelines throughout the consultancy service.

Preferred:

• Demonstrated experience in large-scale assessment of student achievement activities across multiple regions and countries.
• In-country knowledge and experience in monitoring and evaluating education programs in Malawi.
• Working experience with international organizations.
• Demonstrated experience in compliance with diverse regulatory frameworks, with a solid track record in conducting desk reviews and data analysis while adhering to various legal regulations across different countries of operation. This includes a proven ability to ensure that all legal requirements are met in each jurisdiction where information and data analysis takes place, irrespective of the differing legal standards.

SELECTION OF CONSULTING FIRMS BY THE WORLD BANK GROUP

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI)

Electronic Submissions through WBGeProcure RFx Now

ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW

Assignment Title: Technical Assistance: Strategic dialogue with the Government of Malawi on Learning Assessments

Assignment Countries:

• Malawi

ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION

Malawi is currently grappling with a significant challenge in learning outcomes, as evidenced by the high rate of learning poverty, with 87percent of 10-year-olds unable to comprehend a simple passage. In response, the Malawian government has implemented various educational reforms outlined in the National Education Sector Investment Plan (NESIP) 2020-2030, with support from development partners. As part of these efforts, the government periodically assesses children’s foundational skills through initiatives such as the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SEACMEQ), Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA), Early Grade Mathematics Assessments (EGMA), and nationally developed sample assessments. More recently, standardized Common Zonal Tests (CZT) have been introduced in key subjects for Standard 3 and 4 and are in the process of being scaled up to all schools.

However, there has been minimal reporting on SDG4.1.1.a and b, with the latest reporting for SDG4.1.1.b dating back to 2013 and no reporting on SDG4.1.1.a. This highlights the need to enhance the government's capacity to utilize data, including the establishment of Minimum Proficiency Levels (MPL)that are comparable across years and benchmarked against other countries. There is a critical need to establish MPLs and mechanisms for assessing them, to enhance capacity for analyzing assessment results, disseminating findings to stakeholders, and utilizing the data to inform future policy decisions.

Malawi has participated in SEACMEQ since 1999. This participation enables Malawi to benchmark its educational outcomes with other countries in the region. The Malawian government used data from previous round of SEACMEQ (IV) to report on SDG4.1.1.b. However, the results from the latest round of SEACMEQ (V) have not yet been fully utilized or reported to the SDG.

The World Bank has been supporting the Government of Malawi in improving foundational learning through various projects and technical assistance, including the Malawi Education Sector Improvement Project (MESIP) and the Malawi Education Reform Project (MERP). As part of the Malawi Foundational Learning Program for Results (MLFP) currently under preparation, the World Bank will provide technical assistance to strengthen the system of national learning assessments. In this context, the World Bank task team for Malawi is seeking a firm consultant to provide technical and strategic guidance to the World Bank in its technical advice and analytical work related to the learning data from the SEACMEQ regional study of student achievement.

The objective of this consultancy is to provide technical assistance to the World Bank task team in its strategic dialogue with the government regarding learning assessments.

The specific objectives are to offer technical and strategic guidance to the World Bank team on the following:

1. Learning Assessment Data Management and Analysis: This involves conducting psychometric analysis and summarizing the results in a manner that is useful for policymakers and other stakeholders.
2. Effective Dissemination of SEACMEQ Assessment Results: This includes preparing reports and other information products, as well as organizing events tailored to different stakeholder groups. The results in the reports are expected to be used for reporting on SDG4.1.1.b.
3. Capacity Development of Relevant Departments and Units: This entails providing training workshops and coaching to relevant departments and units within the ministry and agencies (e.g., national assessment unit). The goal is to enable staff to develop the necessary analytical skills to explore SEACMEQ data and maximize the use of SEACMEQ results for policy and system improvement. This also includes assisting in the development of the government’s medium-term plan to incorporate these activities into their regular mandate and budget, ensuring the government continues to analyze, disseminate, and report learning data independently.

Details of expected Activities and Outputs, and deliverables are provided in the TORs. The firm will work with the World Bank team for a period of approximately 11 months from August 2025 to June 2026.

The firm selected must meet the following skills requirements and qualifications:

Required:

• Proven track records in the relevant field (e.g., educational development)
• Substantive experience working with the government entities, especially ministry in charge of education, and relevant authorities, and in similar settings (e.g., sub-Saharan Africa, low or lower-middle-income countries)
• Demonstrated capacity to manage and handle quality assurance mechanisms, including rigorous data security and confidentiality standards, well-defined data retention protocols, and secure disposal strategies to protect sensitive information collected for desk review.
• Ability and commitment to uphold high ethical standards, including data privacy, obtaining ethical approval from country-based Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), and adherence to relevant ethical guidelines throughout the consultancy service.

Preferred:

• Demonstrated experience in large-scale assessment of student achievement activities across multiple regions and countries.
• In-country knowledge and experience in monitoring and evaluating education programs in Malawi.
• Working experience with international organizations.
• Demonstrated experience in compliance with diverse regulatory frameworks, with a solid track record in conducting desk reviews and data analysis while adhering to various legal regulations across different countries of operation. This includes a proven ability to ensure that all legal requirements are met in each jurisdiction where information and data analysis takes place, irrespective of the differing legal standards.

FUNDING SOURCE

The World Bank Group intends to finance the assignment / services described below under the following:

• BB: Bank Budget
• TF0C6770: SABER

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The World Bank Group invites eligible firms to indicate their interest in providing the services. Interested firms must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (brochures, description of similar assignments, experience in similar conditions, availability of appropriate skills among staff, etc. for firms; CV and cover letter for individuals). Please note that the total size of all attachments should be less than 5MB. Firms may associate to enhance their qualifications unless otherwise stated in the solicitation documents. Where a group of firms associate to submit an EOI, they must indicate which is the lead firm. If shortlisted, the firm identified in the EOI as the lead firm will be invited to the request for proposal (RFP) phase.

Expressions of Interest should be submitted, in English, electronically through WBGeProcure RFx Now

NOTES

Following this invitation for EOI, a shortlist of qualified firms will be formally invited to submit proposals. Shortlisting and selection will be subject to the availability of funding.

Only those firms which have been shortlisted will be invited to participate in the RFP phase. No notification or debrief will be provided to firms which have not been shortlisted.

If you encounter technical difficulties while uploading documents, please send an e-mail to the Help Desk at corporateprocurement@worldbank.org prior to the submission deadline.