Introduction
The British Council wishes to identify a supplier, or consortium of suppliers, to provide STEM teaching (specifically mathematics, physics and chemistry) for students of foundation and pre-foundation TVET programmes in three new TVET colleges in Atyrau, Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan. The teaching will be provided in English.
The colleges have been / are being established by the Government-owned agency JSC Holding “Kasipkor”, on the basis of institutional partnerships with leading vocational education providers from around the world. The first generation of Kasipkor colleges comprises the oil and gas-focussed interregional centre opened in Atyrau (western Kazakhstan) in 2014, and two multi-disciplinary colleges due to open in Astana and Almaty in the autumn of 2015.
Training in the new colleges will be delivered through English, consistent with the Government of Kazakhstan’s trilingual policy under which 20% of the population will speak English by 2020. Given the age and probable background of the college’s student intake, it is unlikely that all students recruited for the colleges will have sufficient English language skills and/or sufficient STEM knowledge, to enter straight into the main TVET programme.
Kasipkor has therefore decided to establish foundation and pre-foundation year programmes for its colleges in Atyrau, Almaty and Astana, to prepare students for their main TVET programme, and has asked the British Council to manage part of these on its behalf.
Task
The pre-foundation programmes will run in Atyrau from October 2014, and in Astana and Almaty from September 2015. The foundation programmes will run in Astana and Almaty from September 2015.
The STEM teaching will be combined with:
• English language training including English for Specific Purposes (ESP) which will be delivered by the British Council.
• Special vocational training related to the students’ eventual main TVET programme (eg oil and gas related in Atyrau), which will be delivered by other providers.
The expected entry level requirements for the pre-foundation programme include:
• An English language level equivalent to the A2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference, or IELTS 3.0 – 3.5.
• Students must have completed 11 years of school education (but will not all be immediate graduates from schools).
The mix of English, STEM and vocational training will vary between the pre-foundation and foundation programmes, and across the year.
The selected supplier will be expected to work with the British Council and Kasipkor to define content and outcome targets for the programmes. Course materials are largely expected to be off-the-shelf commercially available products, rather than specially developed materials, for both the English and STEM training. The selected supplier will also be expected to support the development of Kasipkor’s own teachers, eventually to take over the STEM teaching, through coaching, joint teaching and, possibly, more proactive teacher training.
The teaching will take place in Kasipkor’s own premises (or in rented premises where the new colleges are still being built), in standard and well-equipped classrooms. Classes will not exceed 20 students. The teachers will have access to standard equipment and materials to support their work.
The British Council will provide accommodation for the teachers in the city where they are located (based around shared accommodation where feasible and appropriate), with utilities and internet provided free-of-charge. The British Council will arrange airport transfers at the start and end of each assignment, and will provide any necessary basic logistical support.
The British Council will appoint an experienced permanent (English) teacher / teacher manager in Atyrau and Astana to act as coordination point with Kasipkor, and a permanent senior teaching manager in Almaty to act as overall teaching coordinator. These posts will provide day-to-day professional support to the supplier’s STEM teachers if needed.
Requirements
Due to visa constraints, the British Council may only be able to bring the STEM teachers to Kazakhstan on two-month business visas, with a necessary trip out of the country, and straight back in again, after 30 days. Teachers may only be able to return for a second two-month visit after six months.
The selected supplier must therefore be able to provide a large number of STEM teachers, for serial short-term assignments, to a demanding timetable. The British Council recognises that this may present a challenge, but also believes that it provides opportunities for the selected supplier to build its contracted obligations into its own staff development strategies.
If the visa regulations change during the course of the contract, the British Council may request the supplier to provide teachers for longer periods, subject to feasibility.
The supplier must be able to provide teachers in the quantities required.
• Each pre-foundation course will require up to 4 STEM teachers (x 3 colleges) for the period November to June.
• Each foundation course will require up to 12 teachers (x 2 colleges) for the period September to June,
At full strength, therefore, the supplier may need to provide 36 teachers on two-month assignments at the same time.
All teachers provided by the supplier must be CRB-checked.
Applications
Suppliers who wish to submit a proposal for this work should register their interest on https://in-tendhost.co.uk/britishcouncil/aspx/Home. This is a two-stage progress requiring you firstly to register on the British Council’s tendering site (portal) and then to register your interest against this specific project. Tender documents will be distributed from Wednesday 13 August 2014.
The deadline for the submission of proposals is midday BST on Friday 5 September 2014.
The closing date for requests for clarification is Monday 22 August 2014. All requests for clarification will be responded to by Thursday 25 August 2014.
All correspondence, clarifications and submissions must be conducted through the British Council’s tendering site: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/britishcouncil/aspx/Home