National Level Curriculum Development and Educational Policy Support for English Teaching in Afghanistan Higher Education

This is an open competition for assistance awards through this Request for Proposals (RFP) for a cooperative agreement to manage a national level curriculum development and educational policy support project for the Ministry of Higher Education in Afghanistan from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2014. English Departments exist in as many as fourteen public universities in Afghanistan, the oldest of which is Kabul University, the flagship national institution of higher learning, but no national, ministry-level coordination of English language curriculum development or educational policy exists. A successful proposal will include a project solution that provides technical support to the Ministry of Higher Education to implement an English language unit within the Ministry to design national standards for English teaching in higher education including but not limited to in-service training for Ministry officials, establishing benchmarks of English proficiency to measure progress, establishing a coordinating body in English teaching for students and staff and establishing policies and procedures for the publicizing of, recruitment and selection of candidates for international donor-provided scholarships for graduate and undergraduate study. It will also include curriculum support for the drafting of Student Objectives and Performance Indicators for Integrated English Language Skills classes for all four years of university study (1-4) that will facilitate students meeting the proficiency expected of each level. It will also provide for the alignment of the English Language Skills required upon completion of each level with the English Language Proficiency expected for each level of certification.