Call for Letter of Interest for Senior Student Information Systems Expert

EDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
National Government
P.O. Box PS 87 PALI KIR, POHNPEI FM 96941
Telephone: ( 691) 320- 2609/2647/2303 Website: https://www.national.doe.fm

Summary

Position

Senior Student Information System Expert (International)

Nature of the assistance

Remote

Tentative Duration

1 June 2024 to 30 September 2024

Deadline for Submission of Letter of Interest

15 May 2024

Implementing Agency

National Department of Education, FSM

Contact Person

TO: Wayne Mendiola (Wayne.Mendiola@national.doe.fm)

Questions/Clarifications

TO: Weison Weital (Weison.Weital@national.doe.fm)

Background

In order to improve Education Management Information System (EMIS) a joint-project[1] was launched in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in FY 2016/17. Through this joint project, an integrated system has been set-up by developing a platform for EMIS, equipping National Department of Education (NDOE) and State Department of Education (SDOE) with appropriate hardware and software upgrades, and has already digitized most of the historical data that were available in different formats and at the different State departments. Moreover, through the joint initiatives, capacity of school principals and data managers at SDOE has been built by giving them a thorough orientation on data management and hands on training to the data managers about the integrated platform called FedEMIS.

FedEMIS has laid down a platform that can cater basic data requirements at the national and State Department of Education. However, the needs in each State Departments vary to some extent and hence the need to incorporate them in the FedEMIS is crucial. While FedEMIS has been initially designed largely to addresses national interests and requirements[2], there has been requests for specific data requirement from SDOEs to be included in the EMIS or as a separate component to be integrated. This particular need is a simple Student Information System (SIS). 

Meanwhile, FSM has recently made an agreement with the Asian Development Bank for the implementation of a six-year long project which broadly aims to Improving Quality of Basic Education (IQBE) in the FSM. The primary outcome of the IQBE is to improving student’s learning achievement in reading to 50%, from its baseline, by 2023. This will require regular collection and reporting on student performance data. Similarly, FSM as a signatory to Sustainable Development Goal has commit to achieve SDG targets by 2030.

In view of all of these and also considering the nature and complexity involved in the development of an efficient EMIS, NDOE drafted a five-year master plan for EMIS for the FSM approximately five years ago. The Master plan was mostly completed with great success and the project is now transitioning into a more perpetual phase of maintenance and evolving needs, in particular with special attention to improving the data management at the state and school level of the FSM.

Over the last two years the FedSIS was upgraded to meet the highest quality standard, modern user interface and the ability to work faster over low bandwidth Internet (slow Internet). This new FedSIS is now in full operation with varying degree of use though active states have all the support they need to improve. FedSIS is a complete modern student information system rivaling any of the biggest commercial alternative in the world. The user interface is primarily web based and there is also a new mobile app.

Objective

NDOE is soliciting Letters of Interest (LOI) from qualified and competent individuals to provide technical assistance to update both the

    • FedSIS primary system, and the
    • FedSIS mobile app.

Scope of Work

Technology Constraints

Technology constraints are the same throughout all phases of this project and kept here for informational purposes.

    • When possible, adopt existing open source libraries as oppose to “reinventing the wheel”. Discuss choice of open source libraries with NDOE IT team and their technical lead adviser prior to adopting.
    • All code must be developed as open source in a Github repository that NDOE can follow and others can eventually contribute
    • Any change in technology constraint MUST be communicated with NDOE IT team and agreed before proceeding.

Any change in technology constraint MUST be communicated with NDOE data team and agreed before proceeding.

Outcome

    • An updated version of the FedSIS mobile app with new features and bug fixes
    • An updated stable FedSIS with new features and bug fixes
    • Adequate support is provided as needed
    • Source code is tested and loaded in the official repository in a timely manner

Acknowledgement

This is a product upgraded/developed/modernized following the open source model but developed with the need of the Federated States of Micronesia first.

Budget and Timeframe

Tentative timeframe is between 1 June 2024 to 30 September 2024. Most of the work is expected to be done remotely with constant available support to our staff on use of FedSIS. The application should provide the required budget to complete all the deliverables as detailed in the scope of work.

Selection Method

Due to the nature of the work this is not allocated to the lowest bidder but the overall most qualified one based on a number of internal criteria. Should there be more than one bidder with the same score the lower bid will then win.

Reports To

Consultant reports to the National Department of Education (NDOE) technical team. Consultant must confirm with the NDOE team before proceeding with any of the work as the team will define priorities based on the needs on the grounds here in the FSM and its states.

Experience Required

A minimum of 10 years of experience in:

    • Training schools and other stakeholders in student information systems
    • Education data
    • Work in developing countries, small Pacific Island nation more specifically
    • Managing teams of software developers to deliver reliable software features

Desirable experience

    • Proficient in (or managing) .NET core/C# programming language/platform
    • Proficient in HTML, CSS, Javascript, TypeScript framework to design responsive web applications (Angular)
    • Proficient using the Vex theme for Angular
    • Proficient in SQL, in particular MySQL and MS SQL Server
    • Excellent English communication skills

Submission of Letter of Interest (LOI)

NDOE encourages submission of Letter of Interest (LOI) from qualified and competent individuals that meet the basic requirements. Submit your LOI including your detailed CV, proposed plan of activity with schedule and expected daily rates to the National Department of Education Acting Secretary Wayne Mendiola (Wayne.Mendiola@national.doe.fm) no later than 15 May 2024.

[1] Technical Assistance was received from the US government under the Supplementary Education Grant (SEG) and ADB’s regional grants for National Educational Planning and Management (NEPM).

[2] JEMCO recommended 21 education indicators to be covered by the FedEMIS, however, it was not possible at this stage to include all 21 indicators. Hence, FACSSO agreed to go ahead with the indicators that are possible in terms of its cost and feasibility.