Development of Performance Scorecard and Strengthening Social Accountability in Secondary Education in Kaduna State Project: Fostering Accountability for Girls’ Education

Donor: Malala

Background and Rationale

Learning poverty in Kaduna State remains significantly high, with 74.7% of children unable to read and understand a simple text by age 10, and 78% among girls. Despite the education sector receiving an average of 26% of the state budget, critical challenges persist, including a high number of out-of-school children (approximately 770,000), deteriorating infrastructure, weak accountability systems, and limited reporting on budget implementation.

The 2024 education budget performance stands at 58.7% (₦76.598 billion), yet there is limited publicly accessible information on outputs and results. Civil society engagement in budget monitoring is also constrained due to the absence of simplified, evidence-based tools.

To address these gaps, a performance scorecard (a citizen-friendly accountability tool) will be developed to strengthen accountability, empower communities and girl advocates to understand, monitor, and engage with the education budget cycle, from planning to implementation, and most importantly, support evidence-informed advocacy for improved education service delivery in Kaduna State. The scorecard will serve as a practical advocacy and monitoring tool to promote transparency, improve service delivery, and ensure that education financing works for all, especially girls

https://www.kadipa.kdsg.gov.ng/pdfs/State%20Development%20Plan%202024- 2028.pdf?zoom=100&utm

Overall Objective

To develop a community-friendly Education Budget Scorecard that strengthens the awareness, participation, and advocacy capacity of communities and girl advocates in understanding, tracking, and influencing the Kaduna State education budget cycle and its implementation.

Specific Objectives 

1. Improve understanding of the Kaduna State education budget cycle among communities and girl advocates.
2. Enable tracking of education budget allocations, releases, and implementation at state, LGA, and school levels.
3. Support evidence-based advocacy for increased and better-utilized education financing for girls.
4. Promote accountability of government institutions and education service
5. Create a platform for dialogue between citizens, girl advocates and policymakers on education financing.

Expected Outcomes

1. Communities and girl advocates demonstrate increased knowledge of the Kaduna State education budget cycle and are able to explain key stages of planning, approval, release, and implementation, enabling more informed participation in education financing processes.
2. Accountability groups and girl advocates actively use the Education Budget Scorecard to track education budget allocations, fund releases, and project implementation at state, LGA, and school levels, leading to better oversight of public education spending.
3. Girl advocates and community groups generate and use budget data and scorecard findings to engage duty bearers, advocate for increased and better- targeted education funding, and influence policies and budget priorities that support girls’ access to quality education.
4. Government institutions and education service providers respond more consistently to citizen feedback and scorecard findings, resulting in greater transparency, reduced gaps between approved and implemented budgets, and improved delivery of education services.
5. Regular, structured platforms are established where communities, girl advocates, and policymakers review budget performance together, discuss challenges, and agree on actions to improve education financing and implementation in Kaduna

Scope of Work

The consultant will:

1. Review Relevant Documents
   1. Kaduna State education budgets (last 2–3 years)
   2. Medium Term Sector Strategy (MTSS)
   3. Education Sector Plan
   4. Budget implementation and audit reports
2. Stakeholder Consultations
   1. Engage Ministry of Education, SUBEB, Ministry of Finance, Budget & Planning
   2. Consult community leaders, SBMCs, CSOs, and girl advocates
   3. Validate key education financing priorities affecting girls
3. Design the Scorecard Framework
   1. Develop indicators covering:
      • Budget allocation to education
      • Funds released vs approved
      • School-level spending
   2. Include simple rating and scoring systems understandable to non-experts
4. Develop the Education Budget Scorecard Tool
   1. Create a user-friendly, visually engaging scorecard
   2. Include explanatory sections on:
      • Kaduna education budget cycle
      • How communities and girls can use the scorecard
      • How to engage duty bearers
   3. Validation and Finalization
      1. Facilitate a validation session with the community and girl advocates
      2. Incorporate feedback and finalize the tool

Expected Deliverables

1. Inception report with methodology, work plan, and
2. Draft performance scorecard for
3. Simplified guide on the Kaduna education budget cycle
4. Validated and final Education Budget Scorecard
5. Summary note on how the scorecard supports girl-led advocacy

Duration of Assignment

The assignment is expected to last 2 months, including development, consultation, validation, publication, and dissemination.

Required Qualifications of Consultant/Team

• Experience in education financing, public financial management, or social accountability
• Demonstrated expertise in scorecard development, data visualization, and research
• Strong facilitation and stakeholder engagement skills
• Understanding of Kaduna State’s education system
• Experience working with communities, youth, and girls’ groups

Consultancy Fee:

• The total consultancy fee for this consultancy is N3,000,000 (Three Million Naira Only).

Tax Obligations:

• This fee is subject to a 5% withholding tax, which will be deducted at