Spotlight on Nigeria: Coaching, early grade reading and the future of education policy

April 23, 2019

By Ashley Williams

4 min read

With the largest population and economy in Africa and the highest number of out of school children in the world, Nigeria is at a pivotal moment in its development. Educating its population, particularly its out-of-school population, will be critical to the country’s prosperity, say experts.

With parts of the country facing fragility, a lack of accountability, poor teacher quality, inadequate teacher support, weak links between schools and communities, and high absenteeism among teachers and learners, education reform will be challenging.

At this year’s Comparative and International Education Society Conference, experts discussed the challenges, recent gains and opportunities for Nigeria’s education sector, with a special focus on how early grade reading activities are being monitored and measured.

See below for excerpts from two of those panel discussions.

Coaching to improve literacy instruction

Evidence consistently shows that coaching is a valuable tool for teacher development in countries with abundant resources, but there is limited evidence to show how this approach is working in low- and middle-income countries, including Nigeria.

As early grade reading initiatives work toward national expansion, it is important to take an evidence-based look at the effectiveness of coaching in these type of environments, said experts at CIES.

“It is generally accepted in the literature and documented throughout the world that coaching works,” said Mark Anthony Hamilton, Senior Reading Advisor for the USAID-funded Northern Education Initiative Plus project during a panel on coaching.

Implemented by Creative Associates International, the Northern Education Initiative Plus is working to strengthen systems in Bauchi and Sokoto states to provide access to and improve the quality of education, particularly in early grade reading. It aims to improve reading outcomes for more than a million children.

Coaching is an important tool used by the project to strengthen local capacity. School support officers serve as coaches to early grade reading instructors and are critical to the success of this strategy.

“What we’re trying to do is get coaches to take a step back and really see if teachers re teaching and learners are learning,” said Hamilton.

However, despite being trained as coaches through the project, school support officers have largely reverted to administrative roles because of a lack of system capacity at the local government level.

The introduction of a Local Education Monitoring Approach has since helped identify gaps in teaching and learning inputs, raising awareness among stakeholders of the value of readily-available data to improve education outcomes. Yet, Hamilton noted that the quality of the LEMA data on coaching has relied too heavily on self-reporting.

Hamilton explained that a recent addition of tablet-based reporting tools for school support officers is beginning to address these issues while providing reliable data on coaching and other inputs in real time.

When combined, the Local Education Monitoring Approach and tech tools can provide much-needed information on state and local government capacities to support education quality. The results are both surprising and instructive, given the often-persistent misconceptions in Nigeria and internationally about the potential – or lack thereof – of technology to improve outcomes in poorly-resourced education systems.

The bottom line: Do invest in coaching. But be sure to provide resources and tools to monitor the success of coaching efforts and adapt as needed.

The problem with EGRA and the path forward

In another conference panel titled “National policy perspectives on learning assessment and the future of early grade reading in Nigeria,” Hamilton and education professionals from the Nigerian Ministry of Education, Universal Basic Education Commission, Chemonics and USAID discussed how early grade reading assessment is impacting the education space in Nigeria.

As reading becomes increasingly prominent in Nigeria’s national education policy dialogue, decision-makers are weighing how to best make use of early grade reading assessment (EGRA) to drive the policy reform dialogue and efforts to improve the access and quality of reading education.

Panelist Melissa Chiappetta of USAID reminded participants that: “The EGRA is only as good as the quality of the tool and the quality of the methodology.””

Chiappetta said that in her work across EGRA instruments she has seen, “that we suffer from [poor] quality in many places and because we’ve been so project-based oftentimes they are not comparable over time.”

Chiappetta recounted how, during a session she presented at earlier in the week, she had the audience read a passage from an early grade reading assessment and then take the comprehension test. In the room of around 40 people – all highly educated English speakers – only five got all the answers correct.

“We’re expecting grade two students to answer these questions. If we can’t do it ourselves, how can we expect them to?” she asked, highlighting the importance of instrument quality.

While there is room to improve EGRA, it is still an important tool. Chiappetta said that in Nigeria, and beyond, EGRA is allowing education specialists to think about language of instruction, helping to set benchmarks and inform policy adjustment.

The bottom line: EGRA is valuable and allows for education improvements as long as the tool and methodology are of high-quality.

Zambian organizations build stronger systems to better serve vulnerable children

March 28, 2019

By Jillian Slutzker

7 min read

Eunice Mwansa has a very challenging job. As Program Manager for the Kabwe Adventist Family Health Institute (KAFHI), she must ensure the organization has the systems and resources it needs to improve the lives of 6,000 orphans and vulnerable children affected by the HIV/AIDs pandemic.

The organization provides free HIV testing for children and their families, health services for those who test positive for the virus, and counseling. It covers school fees for children whose families cannot afford them and provides goats, chickens and legumes to improve their nutrition and livelihoods. And behind all of this, is a small team with increasingly powerful systems.

Just a few years ago, however, KAFHI was struggling to monitor and evaluate its programs, mobilize resources and plan for the future.

“We had no M&E officer, lots of gaps, challenges with resource mobilization, project proposal writing and report writing, and governance. We had an inactive board,” says Mwansa.

From left to right, KAFHI Executive Director Obby Mubangwa, Program Manager Eunice Mwansa and M&E Manager Dennis Mubenda. Photos by Jillian Slutzker Rocker.

As a partner to implementer Development Aid from People to People Zambia and Creative Associates International on the Zambia Family South Central project (ZAMFAM), KAFHI was given the opportunity to work with Creative to build its capacity and improve its performance over the course of three years.

Through a tailored capacity-building plan that included workshops, one-on-one mentoring, e-learning and ongoing support, Creative worked with the organization to hire an M&E officer and begin using a system to track progress. It helped KAFHI to write a five-year strategic plan, a resource mobilization plan and a community engagement plan, and reactivate its board.

“Where we were when Creative came in, we had a lot of gaps. These are thing we are able to do now,” says Mwansa.

20+ organizations, one goal

KAFHI is not alone in its mission to support the most vulnerable children and families and to reduce the devastating effects of HIV/AIDs in Zambia’s South and Central provinces, hard hit by the disease due to itinerant labor patterns and the transit routes that pass through these regions.

There were 1.1 million people living with HIV in Zambia in 2017, 72,000 of whom were age 14 or younger, according to UNAIDS. Only 75 percent of those affected were accessing antiretroviral therapy.

A health counselor with Tubombelepamo conducts an HIV screening in the Kapiri-Mposhi district in Central province. The organization offers services for those with the virus.

ZAMFAM works with more than 20 community-based organizations to improve their ability to provide wraparound services to orphans and vulnerable children and families—with a focus on case management, child protection, activities to boost household economic resilience, health support, life skills and more.

It aims to empower households caring for 144,000 orphans and vulnerable children with the knowledge and capacity to demand and access health and social services. To date, it has reached 130,00 orphans and vulnerable children, including 12,000 who are HIV positive.

The five-year project is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and implemented by Development Aid from People to People Zambia, in partnership with KAFHI and the Network of Zambian People Living with HIV and AIDS. For its part, Creative carried out capacity-building with the 23 community-based organizations during the project’s first three years.

Evidence of improvement

Working in the Kapiri-Mposhi district of Zambia’s Central province, Tubombelepamo is one of those organizations that has seen big gains in its ability to serve beneficiaries. With just four staff and a mandate to test, counsel, treat and support as many HIV positive children as possible in the district with 250,000 residents, Tubombelepamo might have been over-matched.

In May 2016, a Creative Organizational Capacity Assessment—a composite of scores on governance, project management and advocacy, partnership-building, operations and gender equality, among other areas—revealed that Tubombelepamo was performing at just 63 percent capacity. On the most recent assessment in December 2017, the group scored a 76 percent, a 13 percent improvement.

Overall, the assessment showed growth among the community-based organizations that worked with Creative. Ten organizations that partner with ZAMFAM on implementation and received training from Creative increased their capacity by an average of 6 points, with a notable 38 points gained on average in monitoring and evaluation. The other community-based organizations that received training increased their capacity by an average of 5.2 percent, with 9 percent gained on average in networking and advocacy.

Michael Stephen Mumbi, Tubombelepamo’s Finance and Administration Manager, says that the budgeting systems and workplans that he was able to put in place with support from Creative have made his work significantly more efficient.

“Budget tracking and tracing, that’s where most organizations go wrong,” he says. “It makes life easier. You can tell people where their line item is.”

Tubombelepamo’s Finance and Administration Manager Michael Stephen Mumbi (center) with health counselors outside the organization’s office in the Kapiri-Mposhi district of Central province.

Mumbi, who is HIV positive, says these improvements lead to better use of resources and, in turn, better programming.

“When things from me are correctly done, the community stands to benefit,” he says.

Reflecting on the gains the organization has achieved, he is committed to maintaining the high quality.

“We do not want our standards to go down, not even a quarter, not even an inch,” he says.

Better systems, better services

Indeed, the years of training, improving, and growing is paying off in dividends of smoother programming, better management and healthier children and families.

Margaret Malama is one of KAFHI’s many Childcare Volunteers. Though she has five children of her own from ages 4 to 16, she has taken up the responsibility to ensure that other children in her neighborhood Matilyo in the Kapiri-Mposhi district are taken care of and have access to education, nutrition and, importantly, health care.

Malama, who serves as secretary of her volunteer group, regularly visits vulnerable families at their homes. She ensures the children are attending school, thanks to the school fees covered by the organization.

Through its work with Creative, KAFHI learned how to develop a community engagement plan to engage volunteers like Malama and other community members to improve their program and better serve those in need.

And the program has helped the community and raised awareness about how to access services, says Malama.

Margaret Malama, who has served as a KAFHI childcare volunteer for more than three years, at home with her own five children and their friends.

“The neighbors know about this work and come and ask me,” she says. “It has also benefited my family because I have learned more; how to care for our children, prevent HIV, hygiene, education. I have gained knowledge.”

KAFHI Executive Director Obby Mubangwa says that this was part of the appeal in working with the ZAMFAM project, providing knowledge and skills that stand the test of time for families and communities.

“We wanted those donors who would factor in the aspect of empowering the family tomorrow. When we are not around, the family should be able to do something for the children in our absence,” he says.

Preparing for the long-term

As Creative wraps up its three years of capacity building support with the ZAMFAM project, the 23 organizations it helped to strengthen are making sure their new own knowledge, skills and systems are ready for the long-term.

Development Aid from People to People will continue to provide one-on-one support for two more years, but ultimately, these organizations know they must stand and grow on their own.

Mumbi says that Tubombelepamo has a “very powerful strategic plan, resource mobilization plan and M&E plan in place.”

And he knows that these are going to be critical if the organization is going to work toward his own dream— “to see the epidemic conquered.”

At KAFHI, Executive Director Obby Mubangwa, says that the skills they’ve gained and the systems they’ve introduced are not going away. In the future, though staff might leave, and new staff might join, the tools and documents are in place so the knowledge stays with KAFHI.

Looking toward the future, he says: “We are focused. We are moving. Four years from now, come to Zambia and see how we are doing.”

Mother-tongue instruction brings students back to school in Mozambique

February 21, 2019

By Leopoldino Jerónimo

4 min read

Excitement and relief overcame Edna Jaime, a mother from the Matxayane community in Zambézia, Mozambique, when she learned the Vamos Ler!/Let’s Read! program would expand bilingual education to her daughter’s school in 2019.

School council and community members from Matxayane discussed the government’s approach to mother-tongue-based bilingual education and implications for their communities at a meeting led by the Let’s Read! program. Many were eager to learn more about teacher recruitment and school materials, but Jaime was curious if this meant her 7-year-old daughter Natércia would be able to return to school.

Natércia’s school had previously only taught in Portuguese, forcing her to drop out after the first semester because she wasn’t able to learn in a language she didn’t understand. Her struggle is common in Mozambique as many people are more proficient in local languages than the national language, Portuguese.

“I saw sadness and fear in my daughter’s eyes when she was telling me how uncomfortable she felt at school because she could not understand [her] teacher’s language last year. As a mother, it was even more painful to not know how to help her because I also couldn’t understand anything of school lessons [in Portuguese],” said Jaime. “But I knew my child was intelligent.”

The five-year Let’s Read! bilingual early grade literacy program is working in partnership with the Mozambique Ministry of Education and Human Development to improve early grade literacy instruction in Grades 1-3. The program promotes instruction in three local languages – Emakhuwa, Elomwe and Echuwabo – in Nampula and Zambézia provinces to prepare children for transition to Portuguese in later grades. The Let’s Read! program is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and implemented by Creative Associates International in close partnership with World Education, Inc., Overseas Strategic Consulting, American Institutes for Research and Bluetree Group.

In 2018 Let’s Read! reached over 110,000 Grade 1 students in 907 schools, in Nampula and Zambézia. The Bilingual Education Campaign in Nampula and Zambézia reached approximately 7,410 participants.

In 2019, the program will reach over 400,000 Grade 1 and 2 students, in nearly 2,000 schools.

Mother-tongue bilingual education creates confidence and motivation

During the community meeting, Jaime learned that Let’s Read! would provide teachers and students with local language and Portuguese books to use during the school day, as well as writing exercises and supplementary texts for the students to practice at home with their families. Jaime lacks strong literacy and numeracy skills and became worried about the level of support she could provide her daughter at home.

Susana Carlos, a technician at the Provincial Directorate of Education in Zambézia and the Bilingual Education Campaign facilitator, explained to her that being literate is not required for parents to support their child’s learning at home.

“Parents and guardians are expected to firstly give time to their children to explore their exercise books or readers, but when they go from page to page they could encourage their children’s interest to unpacking the story, talking through the illustrations, and imagine what might be on the next page. And by doing so, and showing an interest in their child’s school materials, the parents will have already played their important role, even though they happen to be illiterate,” said Carlos in the community meeting. The child who does homework with parents’ or guardians’ support is emotionally more prepared and more ready to learn and engage in the classroom than a child who does not get the attention from his parents or does not do his or her homework.”

Carlos also explained that when children learn in their own language they become more confident to ask questions and share what they learned in school – one of the many benefits of bilingual education.

The bilingual education community meetings offer a platform to encourage parents and guardians, like Jaime, to support their children’s education. The guidance from ministry officials like Carlos motivate parents to support their children’s attendance and participation at school.

With local language as a subject and language of instruction, parents and guardians like Jaime can engage in deeper conversation with their children, continue to support their child’s education and may also learn more about how to read and write in their own language.

Natércia used to cry when she did not understand the lessons in Portuguese and became uninterested in attending school.

Today she can learn in Elomwe and is excited to attend school daily.

West Africa – Partnerships for Peace

Program

1 min read

The Partnerships for Peace Program (P4P) was a five-year initiative funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) working across Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania, and Niger to build regional and national partnerships aimed at countering violent extremism and fostering long-term peacebuilding in West Africa.

Violent extremism poses a significant threat to regional stability and citizen security in West Africa, fueled by porous borders, weak government institutions, proliferation of weapons, and deep-rooted grievances. Heavy-handed counter-terrorism measures have often exacerbated the situation by alienating at-risk communities and exacerbating grievances that fuel extremism, highlighting the urgent need for effective and sustainable approaches to counter violent extremism (CVE).

P4P adopted a comprehensive approach to address the challenge of violent extremism in West Africa. At the regional level, the program collaborated with institutions like the Permanent Secretariat of the G5 Sahel to develop and implement effective and sustainable CVE programs. This included supporting the development of regional guiding frameworks and lexicons for CVE strategies. At the national level, P4P assisted governments in crafting national strategies and policies to counter violent extremism and address root causes in vulnerable communities. Moreover, the program worked closely with civil society to strengthen networks and coordination among advocacy groups, traditional and religious leaders, youth, and women’s groups to enhance CVE approaches.

Program achievements

Development of national CVE strategies

P4P supported the development of national strategies for countering violent extremism in partner countries, aiming for their adoption and implementation to enhance security and peacebuilding efforts.

Enhanced regional coordination on CVE

The program facilitated regional coordination on CVE through the development and implementation of regional guiding frameworks and initiatives, fostering collaboration among member states to address shared security challenges.

Strengthened civil society networks for CVE

P4P strengthened civil society networks in West Africa, promoting increased coordination and advocacy efforts among diverse groups, including traditional and religious leaders, youth, and women’s organizations, to support CVE approaches and community resilience.

Reduced vulnerability to violent extremism

The overall goal of P4P was to reduce vulnerability to violent extremism in West Africa, leading to decreased extremist activities and improved community resilience against radicalization and violence.

USAID builds expertise for early grade reading in Nigeria

February 1, 2019

By Boco Abdul

3 min read

In its ongoing effort to institutionalize early grade reading in Nigeria, the Northern Education Initiative Plus project trained a second cohort of education professionals on global best practices in basic literacy.

Twenty-two education experts working at state and federal levels in Nigeria were awarded certificates at a graduation ceremony held in Abuja. This second cohort of teacher educators, researchers and government education officials from across Nigeria successfully completed a five-month postgraduate course entitled, Literacy Skills in the Primary School: A Graduate Course for Teacher Educators.

Implemented by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Northern Education Initiative Plus activity in partnership with Florida State University, the program already graduated a first cohort of more than 20 professionals from the course in October 2017. Now certified in basic literacy, these professionals have skills to implement sustainable reading programs for primary school children throughout the country.

A broader effort to improve reading education

The early grade reading course is part of a wider strategy to implement reading programs across Nigeria, on a national scale. The course builds upon the innovative, early grade reading program Mu Karanta!/Let’s Read! that was introduced by the Northern Education Initiative Plus in 2016. So far, the program has supported learning to read and write, in Hausa and English languages, for nearly 500,000 primary school students in schools in Bauchi and Sokoto states.

Teacher in Nigeria receiving a certificate. — Photo by Zack Taylor

Denise O’Toole, Director of Education programming for USAID in Nigeria, was on hand to congratulate and encourage the graduates to become “agents of change,” advocating for improved learning outcomes for children in reading. She added that the U.S. government will continue to support the government of Nigeria to enhance education, particularly in early grade reading.

“We hope your new membership into this important group of professionals will make a huge difference as we work towards a successful scholastic future for all Nigerian students,” she said.

Representing the Minister of Education, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, Professor Ismail Junaidu, said the government of Nigeria is making a concerted effort to institutionalize early grade reading in Nigeria.

At the forefront of this effort is the institution’s leadership in developing a National Reading Framework, which draws upon the Mu Karanta!/Let’s Read! model for early grade reading in Bauchi and Sokoto states.

“Having a cadre of Nigerian professionals grounded in expertise and knowledge on reading will help us achieve this goal, as we want all states in Nigeria to implement reading programs,” Junaidu said.

Acting Chief of Party Nurudeen Lawal said the graduates will form professional learning communities in their various organizations. The course graduates will continue to work collaboratively through these new learning communities to improve reading skills in schools and influence education policy.

As part of the course requirements, participants observed classroom lessons, reviewed published articles on early grade reading, and conducted independent research projects.

Carrying the work forward

Following the graduation ceremony, the participants announced plans to form a new organization, the Early Grade Reading Association of Nigeria. The group will organize community outreach programs to promote reading across the country.

One of the graduates, Omale Allen Abduljabar, said the group had pledged to continue to advocate for early grade reading beyond their participation in the course.

“In my agency, I will stepdown the program to other units, but will also be part of a committee to monitor and evaluate how my fellow graduates are practicing skills they have acquired during the program,” he said.

Participants in the postgraduate program included education professionals from Bauchi and Sokoto State Ministries of Education, the State Universal Basic Education Boards, Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Education, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, the National Commission for Colleges of Education, the Universal Basic Education Commission and the National Commission for Mass Literacy.

In less than four years, USAID’s Northern Education Initiative Plus has made significant progress strengthening the implementation of early grade reading in Nigeria. The USAID-funded activity is achieving this goal through its support for the National Commission for Colleges of Education. The commission has pledged to integrate early grade reading into the Nigeria Certificate in Education curriculum for teacher educators. For its part, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council has begun the process of developing a National Reading framework for Nigeria, with technical support from the Northern Education Initiative Plus activity.

Creative congratulates BUILD advisor on his appointment as Somalia’s NIEC Secretary General

January 19, 2019

2 min read

Creative congratulates Abdirizak Bashir Mohamed, former advisor on the Bringing Unity, Integrity, and Legitimacy to Democracy project, on his new role as Secretary General of the National Independent Electoral Commission (NIEC) of Somalia.

As a critical member of the BUILD project team, Mr. Abdirizak Bashir advised the NIEC on knowledge management, supporting the commission in a wide range of activities and assisting with state consultations on the election around the country.

The five-year BUILD project is providing critical assistance to help bolster electoral systems, strengthen civil society and encourage civic participation in Somalia, with a particular focus on women, youth and other marginalized groups. The project is funded by the USAID and implemented by Creative.

Successful partnership with NIEC

Creative has been a partner of the NIEC since 2016, working closely with Chairperson Halima Ismail Ibrahim and her team to achieve their challenging but critical mission of delivering universal elections in Somalia.

Last year, Creative’s President and CEO Leland Kruvant met Chairperson Halima Ismail to discuss this ongoing and future collaboration.

“I was impressed by everything she and her team have been able to achieve as a relatively new body operating in Somalia’s challenging context,” said Kruvant.

BUILD staff say they are sad to see Abdirizak leave the project but that his new role as Secretary General is critically important for the country and augments the already strong relationship between Creative and the NIEC.

During the transition, Creative’s team in Somalia is working with NIEC to find Abdirizak’s replacement and provide NIEC with additional experts and resources on this path.

Creative early childhood education grows in Zambia, plans to expand

January 11, 2019

2 min read

Though students are on a break, head teacher Gertrude Chitanda is at school making sure the materials and classrooms are ready when 30 preschoolers return for the next session. As head teacher of Mimi’s Place, a first-of-its-kind early childhood education center, Chitanda is responsible for ensuring these young students are prepared to enter the first grade and have a good time in the process.

Opened in February 2016, Mimi’s Place is based on a learn-through-play methodology called “The Creative Way.” Three-, four-, and five-year-olds gain skills in literacy, numeracy, reasoning as well as social skills through games, puzzles, hands-on activities and play.

“We make it easy for the children to learn,” says Chitanda. “We always start with play, and then we go to learning. If the kids can’t learn something for a long time they get bored, so we keep them active and learning.”

The Creative Way teaching methodology utilizes children’s innate predisposition for learning and provides guidelines for the physical space of the learning environment, as well as teaching pedagogy, curriculum and learning assessments.

“Parents feel the environment is conducive to their kids’ learning,” says Chitanda.

Growing in Zambia and beyond

Originally developed by Creative Associates International as a benefit to staff of the Creative-implemented Read to Succeed program, which was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, Mimi’s Place has since expanded to include the children of civil servants, parents and friends of the original class of families, and others.

The 2016 class numbered 15 students. Today, enrollment is up to 30. The staff has grown from two teachers to three to accommodate the increase of students.

Chitanda says word of mouth has been their best sources of boosting enrollment.

“The growth is just tremendous,” she says. “We have made many parents happy with us. It was started for the benefit of Creative employees, but their relatives started seeing the improvement in their children and inquiring if they could join.”

To date, six graduates of Mimi’s Place have moved on to first grade and their parents report back to Chitanda that they are performing better than their peers, thanks to the strong foundation in literacy and numeracy the school provided.

Chitanda, who helped launch the school with the support of Creative staff and then-Chief of Party for Read to Succeed Tassew Zewdie, has been the head teacher of the school since its inception, but she is not slowing down. She hopes to welcome more students and dreams of rolling out the Creative Way methodology to government schools.

“I feel like Mimi’s Place is my own so I need to dedicate everything that is needed. I love the work,” she says.

With the success of Mimi’s Place in Zambia, Creative plans to expand. In the coming years, it aims to open branches of the preschool in Honduras and Ethiopia as a benefit to staff, the same way the school began in Zambia.

A phonics-based approach: The building blocks of literacy

December 19, 2018

By Leopoldino Jerónimo

3 min read

In 2018, more than 1,250 teachers have traveled to district centers by motorbikes and minibuses to attend the Vamos Ler! (Let’s Read!) teacher trainings. Jorgina Amisse João Massaula, a Grade 1 teacher at Neôce Primary School in Lalaua District, Nampula, was one of the many teachers eager to make the journey.

“One thing that keeps me going is that every time I attend the face-to-face trainings and school cluster workshops of Vamos Ler! I learn through other colleagues how to improve my reading and writing instruction in Emakhuwa. And I get the chance to share my experiences in the group discussions,” says Massaula.

Teacher in Mozambique participating in a training. — Jorgina Amisse João Massaula, Teacher at Neôce Primary School attending the August teacher training in Lalaua District, ampula. Photo by Leopoldino Jerónimo

The five-year Vamos Ler! bilingual early grade literacy program is working closely with Mozambique’s Ministry of Education and Human Development to improve reading and writing skills for more than 800,000 students in over 2,800 schools in the provinces of Nampula and Zambézia. The Vamos Ler! program is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, and implemented by Creative Associates International, in close partnership with World Education, Inc., Overseas Strategic Consulting, American Institutes for Research and blueTreeGroup.

With trainings held in January, May and August during the Mozambican school year, Vamos Ler! offers teachers the opportunity to connect with fellow colleagues throughout Nampula and Zambézia. At the trainings, teachers share successes, challenges and ways forward.

Educators of all experience levels gather to learn about innovative approaches that take their instruction to a deeper level, such as adopting a phonics-based teaching approach. It’s the rich content and methodology of the trainings that keeps teachers like Massaula coming back for more.

In the trainings, the teachers have gleaned skills to effectively teach children how to read and write in Emakhuwa, Elomwe and Echuwabo using dynamic techniques that can be easily practiced even in remote and poorly resourced remote schools.

Learning to read starts with the building blocks of phonics

One of the most frequently discussed instructional challenges throughout Mozambique is understanding how to apply the phonics-based approach to teach Bantu language letter-sound correspondence.

The approach builds a child’s ability to identify and manipulate sounds to make linkages between these sounds and the patterns used to form written words. Through this process of breaking down and rebuilding, students begin to learn letter-sound correspondence in their home languages.

Teachers must understand this foundational building block to effectively guide students’ literacy development. Mozambican teachers are new to the phonics-based approach to early grade reading, which creates a steep learning curve to build their students’ phonological awareness and phonics knowledge base.

Although Bantu letter sounds can be challenging for young learners to grasp, Bantu languages have a fairly straightforward letter-sound correspondence.

“We rely on sounds to convey a meaning and to remember things we learn. Therefore, it has become easy to teach our children using the phonics-based approach since it is connecting the sounds that the children can identify and replicate when learning new letter or words,” Massaula emphasizes.

Educators learn how to apply this approach through simulated role play at the Vamos Ler! trainings. Zarera Marcelino, a Grade 1 teacher at Naiculo Primary School in Monapo District, Nampula uses singing to teach local language.

“Singing saves the day and maximizes my efforts to teach letters and sounds. I start reading class each day singing with my students and in the song we use the names and sounds of the letters we have learned,” says Marcelino.

Opportunities like these encourage hands-on practice for teachers prior to integrating the methodologies into daily teaching practice.

As a foundational building block to literacy, understanding how to teach a phonics-based approach is crucial to a student’s developmental growth.

The Vamos Ler! trainings support teachers’ understanding of how to integrate the phonics-based approach into the classroom, equipping educators like Massaula and Marcelino to shape students into lifelong learners who not only learn to read, but read to learn.

Creative Development Lab narrows education gaps with blockchain and mobile technology

November 21, 2018

By Ashley Williams

3 min read

With the simple technology in her pocket, a teacher in a remote area of a conflict-affected country can account for her salary wired from a bank miles away. Her phone can also instantly locate the shipment of books that are due to arrive the next day.

What makes this possible are innovations spearheaded by the Creative Development Lab, presented by the Lab’s Director Ayan Kishore and Paul Newall, Manager of Fintech and Blockchain Solutions, at the eighth annual Mobiles for Education Alliance Symposium.

Their presentations included “Mobile Money for Learning Facilitators” and “Blockchain Technology for Book Track & Trace”.

The Creative Development Lab promotes and channels new strategies to address development challenges through science, technology and media. Its approach embodies the Principles for Digital Development, including human-centered design, designing for scale and sustainability and addressing privacy and security.

Utilizing the latest in technology and applied research, the Creative Development Lab works on big data, geographic information systems, media, education and financial technology to design innovative solutions to today’s pressing development challenges.

Bringing banking to rural teachers

A teacher uses her phone to check her mobile money payment. Photo by Anthony Udeh.

Newall’s talk on mobile money explored how the U.S. Agency for International Development-funded Northern Education Initiative Plus project is paying rural learning facilitators who don’t have access to traditional banking. To ensure payments make it to these financially underserved educators, Creative sought to find a local financial technology solution that leveraged the mobile phone.

Mobile phone ownership in Nigeria is relatively high (83 percent, according to the World Bank), giving Northern Education Initiative Plus the option to build upon already established mobile money channels. The project collaborated with the company eTranzact to provide a customized, tailored payment solution.

It was important that we partnered with a company who had a mobile money product already proven in the commercial space. This allowed us to deploy the product to traditionally underserved areas with confidence,” said Newall.

Using blockchain to ensure books arrive to schools

Afghan Children Read, a five-year primary education project working in Afghanistan, is applying innovative approaches to tackle learning barriers in complex environments.

Moving the presentation from Nigeria to Afghanistan, Kishore and Newall spoke about how the USAID-funded Afghan Children Read project has implemented blockchain technology to track and trace learning materials through their delivery journey.

Blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger that records every transaction, which in this case is every step of the book delivery supply chain. Each transaction is a “block” that is connected to blocks around it, and records of its information is stored in the blocks that come after it. This creates a “chain” of information that can’t be altered or manipulated.

In a fragile state like Afghanistan, security risks complicate the delivery of books and teaching materials to hard-to-reach schools. The most efficient routes may also be the most dangerous for drivers.

In addition to security risks, textbooks may not reach students because of insufficient storage facilities, a lack of organization and supply chains where corrupt individuals steal supplies to be sold on the black market.

Implemented by the Creative Development Lab, the innovative “Track and Trace” technology system is identifying and resolving distribution system gaps. The rollout applied a blend of mobile application-based and Short Message Service (SMS or text message) data collection systems.

Drivers, delivery teams and educators use the application and SMS tools to confirm the location and delivery of materials at each step of the way.

“You actually get insight into where the books are going. Where is leakage? … You can get all this information in real time,” said Kishore.

The Creative Development Lab envisions the blockchain system will become the standard for implementing partners. Creative plans to make the system ‘open source’ so that other implementing partners and projects can connect to the system, providing the donor a single information platform housing data from its various projects.

READ II project kicks off, seeks to reach 15 million Ethiopian students

November 21, 2018

2 min read

More than 15 million Ethiopians in grades 1 to 8 – particularly girls and at-risk students – will benefit from improved literacy instruction program called READ II, which officially launched at a ceremony held in the Amhara region.

The U.S. Agency for International Development-funded READ II project aims to boost the quality of literacy instruction and student support by focusing on teachers and community and regional level educators and supervisors. READ II is also designing programing focused specifically on adolescent girls, children at risk and children with vulnerabilities caused by displacement and emergencies.

Young Ethiopian girl in a classroom. — Ethiopian girl in a classroom. Photo by: Joanie Cohen-Mitchell

The Nov. 8 launch in Debre Berhan in the Amhara region was attended by Ethiopian and U.S. officials, educators, community members and, importantly, primary school students.

“The better educated young Ethiopians are, the better the country will be. That is why we’re investing resources in students like you,” U.S. Ambassador Michael Raynor told the students at the launch ceremony at Bakello Primary School.

A 2010 USAID-funded assessment of Ethiopia’s early grade reading found “approximately one-third of second graders were non-readers and approximately half scored zero on a comprehension test”. The five-year, $86 million project is a cornerstone of the country’s education strategy and USAID’s commitment to partnering to build a stronger, more self-reliant Ethiopia.

The project is implemented by Creative Associates International, along with its core partners Education Development Center, International Rescue Committee and World Vision.

In his opening remarks Bakello Primary School Director, Bezuayehu Gerefe, emphasized the important role of the school and community in improving the reading proficiency of students.

For this reason, READ II will engage the community and parents to build a culture of reading in the community through reading camps and clubs and supporting a home literacy environment through parent awareness workshops.

Young Ethiopians sitting on the floor at a reading camp. — Young Ethiopians at a reading camp. Photo by: Joanie Cohen-Mitchell

To ensure that the benefits of READ II extend beyond the project’s five years, the Ministry of Education is playing a leading role in the project’s implementation and extending it nationally.

In his remarks, the Minister of Education Dr. Tilaye Gete stated: “Building on the successes of READ TA (a predecessor project), READ II will go beyond the administrative structures into classrooms helping teachers effect change and further learning outcomes for all students.”

Important work lies ahead as the project moves forward, investing in teachers, reaching vulnerable and displaced learners, and building a culture of reading.

Young learners demonstrate literacy gains in a special visit

November 19, 2018

By Leopoldino Jerónimo and Kelsey Woodrick

3 min read

After a long day at Naiculo Primary School in Mozambique, 7-year-old Angelca’s excitement grew as she walked to the shadow tree. There she joined six village elders, local musicians, a theater group and her fellow first graders to prepare for one of the most important days of her young life.

Angelca and others met at the shadow tree nearly every day for several weeks to practice singing, dancing, reading and theater for a special visit.

U.S. Agency for International Development Mission Director to Mozambique Jennifer Adams and Minister of Education and Human Development Conceita Sortane were visiting Naiculo Primary School, one of the 906 Vamos Ler! (Let’s Read!) schools, to celebrate the program’s achievements.

Designed to improve early grade reading in Grades 1 – 3 in three local languages, Emakhawa, Elomwe, and Echuwabo Let’s Read! provides children with the opportunity to learn to read and write in their home language, before transitioning to full Portuguese instruction in Grade 4.

Let’s Read! is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and is implemented by Creative Associates International in close partnership with World Education, Inc., Overseas Strategic Consulting, American Institutes for Research and blueTreeGroup.

Angelca is one of more than 122,000 first grade students learning in her local language, Emakhuwa, in the Let’s Read! program.

Angelca demonstrated her reading abilities for the community’s special guests. Photo by Leopoldino Jerónimo.

Angelca is a star student. She rarely misses a day of school, turns in her homework on time and actively participates in class. Dressed in her white and blue uniform, Angelca was ready and waiting near the familiar tree. She held her Emakhuwa reading book in her hands, making sure that her page was marked for easy access for her reading demonstration.

Though she had never held a microphone before climbing onto the stage, Angelca proudly read the passage in the Emakhuwa language—and the crowd cheered.

Following the story, Mission Director Adams told the audience that the local community plays a key role in the success of the program. She called upon the support of school managers, teachers, students and the community at large to continue to send their children to school and work together so that the children learn and can later contribute to development of the district and country.

Building an educational foundation

7-year-old Angelca reads a book. — Seven-year-old Angelca reads a passage from her school book. Photo by Leopoldino Jerónimo.

When observing the students in the classroom, Minister Sortane was delighted to see learners happily interacting with the instructor and reading with confidence.

“It was very interesting and impressive to see how the teacher promotes a continuous dialogue with her students, even while teaching sounds and decoding words. I could see that her students were very eager to participate… This demonstrates how important it is that a child learns through [their] own and local language,” said Sortane.

Adams had one last word of advice and encouragement for Angelca and her classmates before leaving the community.

“If you want your dreams to turn into success, you must not give up school and use this opportunity to learn. School is the key to success in life and to enjoy life at the full extent,” she said.

U.S. Agency for International Development Mission Director to Mozambique Jennifer Adams and Minister of Education and Human Development Conceita Sortane stand with a group while visiting the Vamos Ler! project. — U.S. Agency for International Development Mission Director to Mozambique Jennifer Adams (center left) and Minister of Education and Human Development Conceita Sortane (center right) visiting the Vamos Ler! project.

With editing by Ashley Williams

Nigeria’s Annual Education Conference highlights USAID-funded Northern Education Initiative Plus

November 12, 2018

By Boco Abdul

3 min read

Nigeria’s Annual Education Conference brought together experts, advocates, international partners and policy implementers to discuss emerging issues affecting the quality of basic education in the country.

The conference – themed “Education for Self-Reliance” – included a panel highlighting work from the Northern Education Initiative Plus project, funded by U.S Agency for International Development and implemented by Creative Associates International and its partners.

The project seeks to improve reading skills for more than 1.4 million primary grade learners in Bauchi and Sokoto states, focusing on both formal and non-formal schools. It also works to expand access to education, a priority for USAID.

“We must ensure that every young person has access to education delivered in safe and nurtured environments. Strong partnership is key to long-lasting reforms in the education sector to create more dynamic citizens,” said Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S Embassy David Young while addressing more than 400 education experts.

He said since 2014, USAID has invested $91 million to implement education interventions that support young people in Nigerian schools. According to him, “people must have confidence in and be proud of the public school system.”

To sustain USAID’s contributions to the education system, Young explained that the Northern Education Initiative Plus is supporting Nigeria’s government to develop a National Reading Framework that provides a blueprint for how children learn to read.

The project builds children’s literacy in Hausa in first grade and ultimately transition to full English instruction in fourth grade. It has trained 1,350 teachers and distributed more than two million textbooks – helping to improve reading skills for about 500,000 children to date.

Strengthening government systems

The conference, which was hosted by the Federal Ministry of Education, included a session on systematic approaches to funding, accountability and autonomy as enablers of an improved learning outcomes.

Olakunle Odumosu, a technical consultant with the Northern Education Initiative Plus, presented on the State Education Account, a tool used to demonstrate resource allocation and utilization in the education sector and implemented by the Northern Education Initiative Plus. He noted that the tool allowed state governments to access consolidated data on its education spending, which is then used for effective decision making.

The Northern Education Initiative Plus utilized the State Education Account tool twice. States then used the findings to develop a medium-term sector strategy, prioritized funding for basic education, and included the process in its annual budget as part of its mechanism for demonstrating transparency in education financing.

“The State Education Account report now belongs to the states and they have used it as justification to prioritize funding for inputs in school systems that lead to improved learning outcomes such as teaching and learning materials,” Odumosu said.

Systems Strengthening Specialist for the Northern Education Initiative Plus Musa Salami gave recommendations for sustainability and accountability in education using best practices from the project.

Such practices included conducting an institutional capacity assessment of ministries, departments and agencies of education, supporting local government education authorities to develop capacity building plans using results of the assessment, and encouraging community participation in education.

He said these had resulted in institutionalizing major activities of the project such as printing and distributing reading textbooks, school monitoring and supervision and teacher professional development.