Latest Request for Proposals: The Effects of the EduFinance Programme on Learning Outcomes and School Enrolment Capacity

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Project kick-off date: Early 2024
Maximum evaluation budget: US$ 500,000

1. Summary

Opportunity EduFinance (EduFinance) and Jackfruit Finance are requesting proposals from qualified research organizations or consortia for an impact evaluation of a school lending and education quality intervention in Kenya.

The proposal will be for a rigorous impact evaluation of the effects of School Development Loans for Low Fee Private Schools (LCPS) in Kenya (e.g., for Infrastructure and Fixed Asset Purchase), and the effects of EduFinance’s Education Quality (EduQuality) program. The impact focus is primarily on changes in capacity and quality at a school level. 

Sample Population: Schools in the evaluation treatment group will consist of low-cost private schools across Kenya that:

a)     Loans: Schools that have received one or more school development loans from Jackfruit Finance, and 

b)     EduQuality: Schools have enrolled in the EduFinance 3-year EduQuality program. 

It is expected that this treatment group will comprise approximately 150 low-cost private schools primarily in Nairobi County and surrounding areas, but may also extend to other markets in additional counties in Kenya. 

Deliverables: 

●      Inception report

●      Baseline data collection

●      Midline report

●      Midline findings presentation

●      Final report

●      Final findings presentation

Work can begin immediately on the inception report, with baseline data collection commencing in early 2024. 

More information on the background and approach can be found on subsequent pages of this RFP, and on the EduFinance website.

1.1.     Research Topic/Questions

With more than ten years of combined experience in lending to low-fee private schools, and following the rollout of the EduQuality program in Kenya, EduFinance and Jackfruit Finance are looking to answer questions about what is working, why, how, and at what cost. The successful proposal will propose an evaluation design that answers the following research questions: 

1.     Do School Development Loans result in changes in child-level learning outcomes and school enrolment capacity? If so, what changes and to what extent?  

2.     Does EduFinance’s EduQuality program result in changes in child-level learning outcomes and enrolment capacity? If so, what changes and to what extent?  

The proposed impact evaluation design and budget will be reviewed and scored by a senior committee which includes Opportunity International’s Global Head of EduFinance, Opportunity International’s Head of Knowledge Management, and the CEO of Jackfruit Finance. EduFinance reserves the right to request a resubmission of the proposal, suggest additional research and/ or sectoral expertise, and ultimately reserves the right not to award the grant at all if no suitable applications are received. 

2. Project Context

2.1.     The State of Education in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Despite rapid improvements in recent decades since the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of “Universal Education for All” was unveiled (United Nations, 2000), over 244 million school-aged children worldwide remain out of school, of which 98 million are in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (UNESCO GEM Report, 2022). A girl born in Uganda is still more than four times more likely to have her first child than to have completed secondary school before reaching adulthood (Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 2017). Further, just 6% of youths in Uganda between the ages of 15-24 have even completed secondary school (Education Policy and Data Center, 2014). Similar patterns are repeated throughout the continent – only 25% of those who do manage to make it to primary school are transitioning to Secondary School across Sub-Saharan Africa, compared to 91% worldwide (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2018). 

While there has been tremendous progress in enrolling children in primary schools and reducing the overall number of children out of school, enhancing the quality of those schools’ facilities and enabling them to deliver better learning outcomes and reduced dropouts, and enhancing students’ potential to transition successfully into secondary or relevant vocational training remains of crucial importance. This was reflected in 2015, when the United Nations adopted Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, “Quality Education.”  

Despite this, UNESCO estimated in 2017 that over 617 million children worldwide are still not meeting Minimum Proficiency Levels (MPLs), effectively meaning that they cannot read, write nor do maths with proficiency (UNESCO, 2017). Approximately 202 million of those children are in SSA and just 1 out of 10 of the school-aged population in SSA is achieving minimum proficiency levels (UNESCO, 2017). This means that for each of the 98 million children in SSA who are out of school more than two others are in school but failing to learn. 

Further amplifying the problem is a rapidly growing population - six of the top ten fastest-growing countries in the world in Africa (UNESCO, 2017). Over half of the anticipated growth in the global population between 2017 and 2050 is expected to occur in Africa, bringing its share of the global population from 17% to 26% (United Nations 2017), driven by extraordinarily high birth rates. 

2.2.    Private Schools and Financial Institutions Filling the Gap         

These significant challenges in education provision and quality have led to private schools stepping in to fill the gap. Indeed, private schools are expanding rapidly across lower- and middle- income countries, particularly in SSA, where private school enrolment has risen from 12.4% of total enrolment in 2005 to 16.1% in 2017 (UIS, OI, 2018). Families with limited disposable income are sending their children LCPSs so that their children can obtain an education (Tooley & Longfield, 2014). Some estimates suggest that Ga, Ghana and Lagos State Nigeria have as many as 74% and 75% of children attending low-cost private schools (LCPSs) (SABER, 2014). 

The children who attend LCPSs are often of low-income families. Due to the absence of local government schools, studies find LCPSs are heavily concentrated in low-income areas across urban areas in SSA, Asia and Latin America. One such study in Kampala, Uganda found that 94% of schools were private (Härmä et al., 2017). Migrants are major beneficiaries of the increasing availability of LCPSs. Over 40% of migrants in two Nairobi informal settlements were enrolled in private schools between 2003 and 2010 (Abuya, 2018).

Financial institutions, such as Jackfruit Finance in Kenya, are taking note of this as an opportunity to increase the amount of development finance being made available for the sector. 

School Development Loans are repayable loans made to operators of LCPSs. The average loan amounts and tenors vary for School Development Loans by country and community but average US$ 11,000 for between 24 and 36 months. The loan repayments are structured to match schools’ termly revenues and secured against property or other fixed assets for collateral. Their intended purpose is most often for construction of infrastructure, including additional classrooms, washrooms or other facilities. They are also used for improvements such as metal roofs and concrete floors (OI, 2018). 

School Development Loans play a significant role in several innovative finance solutions which are shifting from the use of traditional aid grants to returnable loans and equity. Their impact is not well researched to date. A review of the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) education strategy suggests that “further research is needed on the impact … for education on access, equity and quality of provision” (NASUWT, 2017, p.7).

3. Partner Background

3.1.    Opportunity EduFinance     

The Opportunity Edufinance model provides a unique and sustainable approach to tackling the global education crisis. The approach blends the sustainability of Education Finance provision with our locally driven Education Quality program for school leaders and teachers, offering a market-driven solution that ensures more children gain access to a quality education. The model consists of a two-pronged approach to educational access and quality:  EduFinance Technical Assistance Facility (ETAF)

Through the EduFinance Technical Assistance Facility (ETAF), EduFinance provides tools and services to local financial institutions, accelerating sustainable investment to increase the supply of, and demand for, education. ETAF partners with these local financial institutions to conduct market research, product development, staff training, amongst other activities. Between 2012 and May 2023, EduFinance’s 154 partner financial institutions disbursed over 620,000 loans worth $650 million to non-state affordable schools and parents of children attending them across 30 countries. 

EduQuality

The Education Quality program (EduQuality) works with 2,355 schools in eleven of those 30 countries, providing a holistic school development program. EduQuality is offered to financed and non-financed schools. The objective of the EduQuality program is to target locally owned, predominantly primary-level schools serving low- and low-middle-income populations and deliver measurable improvements in educational outcomes through a sustainable model that will continue to drive investment and improvement beyond the life of the activity. Components of the program include Introductory Seminars, Teacher Mentorship Professional Development (TMPD), School Leadership Professional Development (SLPD), School Development Planning, and the Pathways to Excellence (P2E) holistic school development program.

The EduQuality approach has been designed around rigorous findings from research. Investments in leadership training have generally shown benefits to learning outcomes (World Bank, 2018), due to its impact on nearly every aspect of a schooling system including, but not limited to, school culture, school management, and teaching and learning. Studies also show that schools with better management capabilities have better test scores, with these results being found regardless of region and type of education system (Bloom, 2015). Better management of schools, where school principals and headteachers are actively involved in school development planning, assisting teachers with lesson planning and goal setting, can prioritize learning among their students above all else. This results in better utilization of resources and has been demonstrated to drive improvements in learning outcomes (Education for All Global Monitoring Report, 2015).

Figure 1: The EduFinance Model

Opportunity EduFinance Theory of Change

Opportunity EduFinance’s theory of change is predicated on the basis that the quality of education outcomes can be increased through the provision of affordable financing for schools and parents, alongside teacher mentorship and professional development, school leadership training and planning. 

Figure 2: EduFinance Theory of Change

3.2.    Opportunity EduFinance Learnings to Date

EduFinance is committed to measuring program outcomes as part of responsible governance of funds, improved programming to achieve optimal impact, and for public good, so that other organizations may enhance outcomes. Since the EduFinance program launched EduQuality in 2017, measurement focus to date has been to support improvements and refinements of the EduQuality model and services. Evaluations have been focused on core areas of the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework and understanding what value schools are getting out of the program. EduFinance has developed tools that measure to what extent elements of EduQuality is contributing to changes in leadership, teaching methodology and practices. 

Since 2019, EduFinance’s Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) department has collected data on learning outcomes by capturing National Examination scores self-reported by 680 schools. Together with Radical Innovation for Social Change (RISC) of the University of Chicago, Opportunity EduFinance was able to identify statistically significant improvements over time with a sample of schools that are involved in the EduQuality program. 

Figure 3: RISC project output*

 

* Statistically significant results found that: 3.5% more students achieving division 1, and 9.5% achieving division 2, and EduFinance schools with loans saw a 7.24 percentile improvement in national test scores.

In light of these promising findings based on National Examination scores, EduFinance is interested in expanding its understanding of its EduQuality program by testing student learning outcomes in a controlled evaluation setting.

3.3.    Jackfruit Finance       

Jackfruit Finance’s mission is to “bring affordable financing to the education sector”. In operation since 2021, Jackfruit Finance has lent to over 100 school clients, mobilizing $1.5m of capital and impacting over 29 thousand children. See here for a video from Jackfruit Finance Schools. Jackfruit Finance has two funding options for schools, both easily and quickly accessed.

Project and Asset Loans: up to 30 million KES, 9-60 months tenure, collateral required. Loan uses: 

●      Building new schools, or expanding existing schools

●      School repair or improvement Loans

●      Building playgrounds, kitchens, sports facilities computer labs, science labs, libraries, or washroom

●      Buying textbooks or classroom equipment

●      Changing a school’s legal status from APBET to private

●      Buying school buses and vans

●      Purchasing land to construct a school

●      Financing the purchase of another school

Working capital Loans: Up to 500,000 KES, 2-12 months tenure, no collateral required. ● From paying teacher salaries to buying textbooks.  

3.4.    Project Coordination

Ultimately, EduFinance will be responsible for the fulfillment of project tasks, which will include providing regular status updates and progress reports. EduFinance will be responsible for the drafting and transmission of any reports to donors.  Subject to agreement, the Opportunity International Knowledge Management team and the research partner will carry out any advice, feedback and analysis in the interest of producing complete, analytically sound and informative reports. Due to the nature of the project, a donor reporting schedule has not been established.  However, EduFinance will endeavour to provide all information requests in a manner that allows ample time for response.  

4. Characteristics of a Successful Proposal

Opportunity EduFinance and Jackfruit Finance are seeking proposals for an impact evaluation to measure two research questions: 

1.     Do School Development Loans result in changes in child-level learning outcomes and school enrolment capacity? If so, what changes and to what extent?  

2.     Does EduFinance’s EduQuality program result in changes in child-level learning outcomes and enrolment capacity? If so, what changes and to what extent?  

Successful applicants will propose an evaluation design and methodology that answers the two primary research questions, in addition to a set of additional research topics to be proposed by the applicant and/or selected from the list below.

4.1.     Additional Research Topics to be Integrated into Successful Proposals

In addition to the two primary research questions listed above, there are several examples of additional research topics and data points that may enhance the findings of the evaluation, and will enable a better understanding of the impacts of the two programs. The following are suggestions of illustrative additional research questions and topics. It is expected that the successful applicant designs an evaluation that includes an exploration of several of the following topics, in addition to the research questions listed above: 

Financing

•       When schools can access credit and invest in their school, what changes are observed? 

•       How does credit access influence individual schools? In particular, regarding the schools’:  

o   Test scores

o   Perception of caregivers (parents)

o   Capacity – e.g. enrolment, classrooms, washrooms, extracurricular activities o Teacher recruitment (e.g., hires, quits, etc.) 

•       What are the effects of first-mover advantage on individual schools?

•       What are the effects of market saturation/ interest rates (if loans are given to all schools in a specific market)?

•       Do schools that receive credit recruit different teachers?

•       Does credit access influence the entry of new products or services in the market?

•       What are the effects on market competition?

•       Are there any related spillover effects (income, poverty, market)?

•       Do school default rates differ by level of market saturation (or any other reason)?

•       Do different collateral requirements (or easing of collateral requirements result in different outcomes for schools)?

Professional Development

•       When schools engage in professional development, what changes are observed? 

•       How does teacher training, and professional development of school leaders influence individual schools? In particular, regarding the schools’:

o   Test scores, 

o   Perception of caregivers (parents),  o Teacher recruitment (e.g., hires, quits, etc.)

•       What are the effects of first-mover advantage on individual schools?

•       Do schools that receive training recruit different teachers?

•       What are the effects on market competition?

•       Are there any related spillover effects from training (income, poverty, market)?

•       Do school default rates differ by level of market saturation (or any other reason)?

•       Do different collateral requirements (or easing of collateral requirements result in different outcomes for schools)?

4.2.    Suggested Methodology to Assess Learning Outcomes

Based on the Research Questions presented above, it is expected that the proposed methodology include a quantitative assessment of child learning outcomes. It is strongly preferred that applicants consider using the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) tool as the measurement tool used to evaluate student learning outcomes. EduFinance has conducted an internal assessment which identified the ASER based tool as the preferred tool. If the applicant methodology proposes a different tool, a strong justification for this tool should be made.Advantages of ASER over other tools

The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), which began in India in 2005 and is facilitated by Pratham, a large Indian based NGO. The ASER has been adapted in other countries across the world. In East Africa, it is known as “Uwezo” and is known by different names in others. To date, the associated assessments have been delivered in at least 14 countries across 3 continents. 

The typical ASER assessment takes approximately 20 minutes per child and is conducted either at the child’s home or in their school. It can be applied for children ages 7-16, however there is evidence to suggest that the biggest gains can be made in grades 2-3. The focus of the test is basic literacy, making it a practical marker of a critical milestone in child learning. 

ASER has the following advantages over the other tools:

●      Relevance: it tests children wherever they are in their learning journey, compared to national examinations

●      Affordability: its simplicity in application improves affordability.

●      Simplicity, efficiency: it takes 15-20 minutes at most, and is simple to administer. Pitfalls to Using National Examination Scores to Measure Learning Outcomes

As noted above, EduFinance’s Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) department has collected data on learning outcomes by capturing National Examination scores. These scores were self-reported by 680 schools to the M&E data enumerator and analysis has been conducted, which has given some indications that learning outcomes are improving with EduFinance schools. However, while national examination scores represent one common method to assess child learning outcome, there are many acute limitations to this methodology. Namely: 

o   It is difficult to achieve a significant sample size when collection data and identifying changes over time.

o   Comparison data (as was used in this study) is not readily available in other countries, nor is it publicly available for all years. This forces reliance on self-reported results, which are less reliable.

o   National examination scores have also proven to be an imperfect indicator of child learning for the EduFinance programme, as national examinations tend to focus on rote memorization across a set of specific subjects, rather than learning.

o   Lastly, testing only once a year makes it difficult to assess the learning that happened in between the start and end of the year. It does not account for results that take time to compile, publish, and collect.

5. Submission Guidelines

5.1.    Instructions for Applicants 

Applications must include the following information. Applicants are free to use their own templates, but must ensure the following sections are included in their proposals: 

1.     Research Design and Methodology, including: 

a.     Research design and research questions

b.     Sampling strategy

c.     Data tools

d.     Data collection processes

e.     Data analysis approach, including tools and techniques

f.      Ethical considerations

g.     Limitations

2.     Proposed Budget (not to exceed US$ 500,000)

a.     The proposed budget should include the cost of evaluation (program and financing costs will be borne by EduFinance and Jackfruit) as well as engagement and communication with key stakeholders.

3.     Past experience of the research team, including: 

a.     Curriculum vitae (CV, not to exceed three pages each) of three key personnel, including the principal investigator and two research specialists. It is expected that these key personnel will participate in the proposed evaluation. Applicants are required to provide only information relevant to the grant in their CV.

b.     Copies of up to three evaluation reports or publications relevant for this call which has the proposed principal investigator as a named author.

Please submit all files in a single email to edufinance@opportunity.org no later than 23:59 BST, 9^th September, 2023. 

Incomplete submissions will not be considered. 

Please direct any questions related to this RFP to edufinance@opportunity.org by 23:59 BST, on 20^th August, 2023.

References

Bloom, Nicholas, Renata Lemos, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen, “Does Management Matter in Schools?” Economic Journal 125, no. 584 (2015): 647–74.  

EFA Global Monitoring Report Team. “Investing in Teachers Is Investing in Learning: A Prerequisite for the Transformative Power of Education.” Global Education Monitoring Report, July 2015.

https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/investing-teachers-investing-learning-prerequisitetransformative-power-education.  

Good, R.H. , Simmons, D.C. , & Smith, S.B. (1998). Effective academic interventions in the United States: Evaluating and enhancing the acquisition of early reading skills. School Psychology Review, 27(1), 56—70.

Juel, C. (1988). Learning to read and write: A longitudinal study of 54 children from first through fourth grades. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80(4), 437–447. https://doi.org/10.1037/00220663.80.4.437.

Kitaev, I. (1999). Private education in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): A reexamination of theories and concepts related to its development and finance. International Institute for educational planning. Paris, France.  pp. 195.

UNESCO Institute for Statistics, UIS (2018). Data for the Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from http://uis.unesco.org/

UNESCO, (2017). More Than One-Half of Children and Adolescents Are Not Learning Worldwide. Retrieved from   http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/fs46-more-than-half-childrennot-learning-en-2017.pdf

United Nations (2000). Millenium Development Goals. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/poverty.shtml

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (2017). World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision – Key Findings and Advance Tables. Available at: https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/ Publications/Files/WPP2017_KeyFindings.pdf

World Development Report: Learning to Realise Education's Promise. World Bank, 2018. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2