Can informed citizens act to improve formal education? The Uwezo Experience Presented at the 26th ICSEI Conference, Santiago, Chile 2013
www.uwezo.net
THE BEGINNINGS…
5 years ago, a visit to Pratham’s India… • The appeal – Scale (against our many small sometimes good efforts benefiting two or three schools) – Simple (yet robust, easy to understand) – Invested in citizens (seeking to achieve a movement, drawing inspiration from Gandhi)
The impossible • Use of volunteers – Surely volunteerism is virtually non existent in East Africa
• Interesting approach – but it can never work in our context.
The Challenge • Obstacles are set by our own presumptions • Need to be more generous in our belief of possibilities • There is a power of people to act.
Sub Sahara Africa-South Asia Efforts Since 2005 in India & 2009 in Pakistan. Means ‘IMPACT’
Since 2009 in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Kiswahili for ‘CAPABILITY’
Since 2011 in Mali. Means ‘WE ARE IN IT TOGETHER’
Since 2011 in Senegal. Means ‘LEARN TOGERTHER’
SAMPLE DESCRIPTION
ASER 2011 CITIZEN ASSESSMENTS OF BASIC LEARNING IN SOUTH ASIA, EAST AFRICA & WEST AFRICA INDIA
ASER 2011
Uwezo 2011
Uwezo 2011
Uwezo 2011
Beekungo 2012
Jangandoo 2012 (Pilot)
PAKISTAN
KENYA
TANZANIA
UGANDA
MALI
SENEGAL
Age range of children assessed
5-16 years
5-16 years
6-16 years
7-16 years
6-16 years
6-14 years
6 to 18 years
Sample size of children tested
633,465
105,860
131,971
114,761
101,652
23,149
1,605
Kiswahili & English
Kiswahili & English
English
National
National
National
Languages in which children were tested
National assessment or state/provincial
20 Urdu, Sindhi languages and English 85 Districts National out of a total of 145 districts
French, Wolof, Pulaar 4 regions
CAN CHILDREN READ?
READING
EVIDENCE
LANGUAGE IN WHICH CHILDREN WERE 20 regional Urdu/Sindi ASKED TO READ languages Grade 2 : % Children who cannot 16.6 10.9 read letters Grade 3 : % Children who cannot 31.4 22.7 read simple words Grade 3 : % Children who cannot 59.8 58.8 read a simple 4 line paragraph Grade 3 : % Children who cannot 81.3 83 read a simple "story" (Grade 2 text) Grade 4 : % Children who cannot 40.3 40.7 read a simple 4 line paragraph Grade 4 : % Children who cannot 66 69.2 read a simple "story" (Grade 2 text) Grade 5 : % Children who cannot 51.9 52.6 read a simple "story" (Grade 2 text)
English
Kiswahili
English
3 regional languages
French
5.2
27.9
38.3
47.1
31.3
18.5
19.5
58.4
61.2
45.4
47
41.3
83.7
90.8
57.8
72.6
58.1
91.7
95.9
73.5
21.2
40.4
62.5
83.8
36.6
48.8
55.6
79
90.8
53
28.2
41
57.3
89.3
44.1
CAN CHILDREN RECOGNIZE NUMBERS ?
ARITHMETIC Grade 2 : % Children who cannot
French, Bamanankan, Bomu, Fulfulde Regional (75 out of 703 communes)
53.5
37.7
17.6
19.8
61.8
65.2
26.1
THE NATIONAL CONTEXT
Progress? • Significant increase in number of schools and in school enrolment • Significant increase in the numbers of trained teachers • General consistency in Government funding to schools
Contradiction
• Why the growing exodus from public school and simultaneous growth of private ‘academies’? • Two ‘systems of education’ oft dictated by economic abilities • Has ‘success’ in formal education been delimited to ensuring access ?
Has the all the investment led to increased learning? Has the right to education been construed as a “right to schooling?� How do we focus attention to core competencies and learning outcomes?
• How can accountability on public schools be increased?
• How can attitudes of oft disillusioned or disempowered parents be changed? • How can we get an agreed ‘minimum of quality’ for all our children?
THE UWEZO APPROACH
Uwezo’s Central Question Children are in school…
…but are they learning?
Three pillars…. • Assessment
• Communication • Action
Evidence is the pivot, the springboard
• Use annual national assessments
– Traditional audience of national assessment results has been governments, policy makers
• Undertaken by citizens and citizen groups – Uwezo believes that citizens are important audience because they too are actors in education, and can exert pressure on policy makers to act.
• Critical functions undertaken by experts from MoE, Bureau of statistics
Annual Assessment -Started in 2009/10: -Conducted 3 cycles of assessment -Focus areas have been constant Literacy and Numeracy -Languages of focus have increased (in Uganda) -Testing of children, analysis and release of evidence all planned to occur within one cycle.
Tests: Simple and Clear
• Pegged on Class Two curriculum expectations of each country • Tests are made by a panel of members drawn from the MoE, Curriculum Institutes, Exams/Assessment centres, practicing teachers, book authors
Household Based
Local Ownership Implemented by partners organizations and volunteers Kenya: 158 District Partners
•Partners In Arts And Contemporary Development •Youth Action For Rural Development •Young Women Christian Association •Foundation For Kenya Pastoralists Women •Dream Achievers Youth Organization
Uganda: 80 District Partners
•Youth and Persons with Disability •AIDS Education Group for the Youth •Bugiri Ngo Forum Network •Campaign Against Domestic Violence In The Community •Community Integrated Development Initiatives
Tanzania: 133 District Partners
•Coastal Youth Vision Agency •Mogabiri Farm Extension Centre •Rukwa Press Club •Forum for African Women Educationalists‘ Pwani Promotion and Development agency
National Scale Country Kenya Tanzania Uganda Total
Round 1
Districts 70
% (44)
Schools 2.029
Villages 2.029
Households 33.760
Children 79.693
2
122
(77)
3.474
3.628
55.843
131.971
1
38
(32)
1.010
1.077
18.952
37.683
2
119
(100)
3.709
3.825
59.992
114.761
1
27
(34)
748
792
12.412
32.882
2
79
(99)
2.115
2.360
35.481
101.652
1
135
(38)
3.787
3.898
65.124
150.258
2 320 (90) 9.298 9.813 151.316 348.384 Notes: all cells (excluding Country, Round, '%') refer to the number of units sampled and retained in the dataset after cleaning; the '%' column refers to the proportion of districts in the sample frame out of all districts in the country; the number of schools sampled is often slightly smaller than the number of enumeration areas (villages) as not all enumeration areas contained a school. Source: calculated from the Uwezo 1 and Uwezo 2 data.
COMMUNICATING THE FINDINGS
Communication Tenets • Every citizen has the right to know. – understandable, simple, attractive and have reach.
• All contact is communication. • Communication must be of scale. – ‘spray and pray’ effect?
• Communication is interactive. – 2-way via telephone or SMS.
• Repetition is used for effect.
Simple Message that is repeated annually
Are our Children Learning?
Articulated in the Annual Publications
2012
Using easy to understand diagrams …accompanied with descriptions that can be ‘visualized’ 4 out of 100 children in Std. 8 cannot read a class 2 level story (Kenya). 100%
91%
96%
96%
80% 60%
English
Kiswahili
40%
Maths 20%
0% % of Standard 8 children who can read a Standard 2 story
Presenting key information simply TANZANIA: Comparing Children in Std 3 and Std 7:
How many children can: Read the Kiswahili Story
Read the English Story
Do Basic Multiplication
Standard 3
33%
8%
19%
Standard 7
81%
51%
69%
Comparing Tanzania against the others In Standard 3, how many children can: Read the Kiswahili Story
Tanzania Kenya
Uganda
Read the English Story
Do Basic Multiplication
33%
8%
19%
36%
28%
51%
N/A
3%
30%
Kenya Tanzania
10
5
Uganda
Wealthiest
3 Wealthy
2 Middle
1 Poor
4
Poorest
Wealthiest
Wealthy
0 3
Middle
5
Poor
5
Poorest
45
Wealthiest
30
Wealthy
Middle
20
Poor
15
Poorest
% of Std 3 Children able to read a Std 2 level story by wealth quintile
Through East African Comparison
Children from wealthier households have better (English) reading competencies.
50
47
40
35
34
25 25
19 21 16
9 11
Using Stories • Giving a face to the statistic • Maria in Kenya, Kyosigga in Uganda
Through Info-graphics
In Simple and Understandable Formats
Through a broad based Partnerships
2012
Through the Media
CAN SUCH AN APPROACH LEND TO IMPROVEMENTS?
Non Conventional approach • Efforts to re-invigorate learning can come from non-traditional areas • Logical approach – focus on the teacher and improve capacities • Uwezo added value – Localized Radio program with citizens as Judge and Jury, and Radio presenter recognizing Teachers • Citizen agency – pressure from the ground.
Stories of Action • Household level – Actions to re-enrol or Withdrawal of children from poor performing schools
• School Level – Allocating good teachers to early grades
• Policy – Education reform process in Kenya
• Growing citizen agency
The POWER of the parent • The power of the parent to motivate a child to reach their highest potential, as Ngugu wa Thiongo narrates • But it needs to be met with positive action from the professionals, from policy makers, from MoEs, from YOU.
Contact Us! Uwezo East Africa, ACS Plaza, Lenana Road, P.O Box 19875-00200 Nairobi Tel: +254 20 3861372/3/4 | info@uwezo.net
www.uwezo.net