Sara Ruto ICSEI 2013

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