Job no: 588933
Position type: Consultant
Location: Senegal
Division/Equivalent: Dakar (WCAR), Senegal
School/Unit: Regional Services Div (WCAR), Dakar
Department/Office: Reg Serv - Prog Section, WCARO
Categories: Education

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, Hope

Purpose and background of Activity/Assignment:

To lead the regional Zero Out of School Campaign for WCAR

The region of West and Central Africa is facing a dual education crisis: an extremely high number of out-of-school children (OOSC) and poor learning outcomes among those who are able to go to school. More than 57 million children and adolescents are currently out of school, while those enrolled are not acquiring basic literacy and numeracy skills. The learning poverty rate for the region is 85%. At the start of primary school, only about 7 in 10 children reached minimum competency levels in mathematics and 4 in 10 in reading. Alarmingly, by the end of primary school, only 1 in 10 children meet the minimum standard in mathematics, and only 2 in 10 in reading. This is a regional emergency that, in the long run if left unaddressed, will undermine social cohesion and jeopardize long-term economic growth.

Key barriers to school attendance and learning include demand-side factors such as the direct and indirect costs of education, societal perceptions of the value of schooling, gender-based violence in and around schools, and a preference for religious education (e.g., Koranic schools). Supply-side barriers also play a role, including an insufficient and inequitable distribution of schools and qualified teachers, lack of schools or learning centers close to home, lack of textbooks