FLN Parliamentary Advocacy for Zambia

1. Background VVOB, UNICEF and TaRL Africa have secured dedicated funding to expand the Catch Up programme to additional provinces starting in January 2023, reaching at least 6,500 schools by 2025. This expansion is supported by the Government of Belgium, the LEGO Foundation, and Co-Impact funds. In addition to mobilising resources for near-national coverage, VVOB and TaRL Africa have intensified efforts to integrate Catch Up within government systems. The new government (appointed in 2021), the programme’s growing scale, and existing MoE capacity in Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) present a critical opportunity to strengthen governance and sustainability.

In September 2022, the Ministry of Education (MoE) hosted a National Stakeholders Workshop on Catch Up, which underscored the importance of mainstreaming the programme. Discussions highlighted integrating Catch Up costs into provincial budgets, developing a pre-service TaRL course complemented by cluster school refreshers, and establishing a Catch up Technical Working Group chaired by the Permanent Secretary. To reach national scale and ensure sustainability, Catch Up requires coordinated advocacy, government ownership, and strategic visibility, which requires, among other things, creating Catch Up Champions within the Ministry of Education and other important influential actors like the Members of Parliament. 2. Objectives of the Assignment Objective 1: Develop Catch Up Champions within the Ministry and Parliament • Enable Parliamentarians and MoE officials to appreciate MoE’s remedial education efforts by sharing assessment data and facilitating school visits. • Build political and financial support within Parliament to sustain Catch Up through domestic resources. • Strengthen the capacity of the Catch up Coordination Committee (CUCC) to advocate for programme activities and secure public funding. • Foster a common understanding of Catch Up’s goals among key education stakeholders, government departments, and donor agencies.

Objective 2: Strengthen Communication and Visibility • Develop communication materials aligned with the advocacy strategy to enhance visibility and reinforce government ownership. Deliverables: • One-page Catch Up fact sheet for use in meetings with Parliamentarians and MoE. • Two-page report summarising agreements made with Parliament and the Ministry, circulated to stakeholders. • Web article on the cross-country exchange, published on VVOB and TaRL Africa websites and promoted via social media. • Feature of Catch milestones up activities on national television, in collaboration with the MoE’s Broadcasting Service. 3. Scope of Work The consultant/service provider will: • Facilitate the nomination of Parliamentarians as Catch up Champions. • Organise and conduct the orientation workshop for Catch Up Champions. • Facilitate a high-level meeting with the Parliamentary Committee on Education and MoE leadership. • Support Champions to conduct school visits in their constituencies. • Facilitate participation of Parliamentarians and MoE officials in media engagements and public awareness campaigns.

1. Key Deliverables • Inception report detailing approach, methodology, timeline, and budget. • Activity reports (orientation workshop, high-level meeting, school visits). • Communication outputs: web article, TV feature (if feasible), and communication summary report.