The School Readiness Program (SRP): Improving equitable access to quality Pre-primary Education in Tanzania
Why was the SRP developed?
To provide a temporary solution while preprimary reform and expansion of access occurs
To ensure access to pre-primary education
To support children in areas where there are higher proportions of non-Kiswahili households (70% in program regions)
To support the government focus on 3Rs and help children to learn better
To encourage more children to start standard 1 at the correct age
What does ‘ready’ mean for a child?
The TANZANIA INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION SRP competency framework explains
Understanding environments
Developing cognition Ready means…
Building relationships
Developing physical wellbeing
Developing communication
The School Readiness Programme
For 5-6 (4-5) year olds before they enter Standard 1
Focused on preparing children to be ready for Standard 1
A 12 - 16 week programme
(4 days per week)
Run by a community volunteer with links to the primary school
Based on 12 story books & materials produced by TIE with support from EQUIP-
Demand driven not compulsory
TZ/AKF
Learning based on story-telling, songs and games
Training of facilitators is active, play-based, creative development of teaching aids
Participatory designed to model classroom delivery
Learning is taking place in different centres
What impact has it had on primary access
– did SRP pupils transition?
Enrollment of students from SRP to Standard one in 2017
• In 2016 63% of the children enrolled in SRP went on to enrol in St.1
• SRP pupils now account for a sizeable minority of all St.1 pupils in these regions. 17% of all St.1 pupils enrolled in 2017 in these regions had come from SRP.
5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000
Number of students
DODOMA KIGOMA LINDI SHINYANGA SIMIYU TABORA MARA
Regions
Enrolled in SRP 2016 Enrolled in Std 1 2017
But are they learning…absolutely yes!
Assessment done using the IDELA process and completed in March 2017
76 37 41 36 81 47 48 43 83 50 52 48 0 20 40 60 80 100 Motor Literacy Numeracy Socio emotional Average IDELA Scores by Pre-school Attendance (%) No ECCD Pre School School Readness
Cost of SRP
Cost Descriptor Pilot year 1 (TSH) Pilot year 1 (USD) Years 2 to 3 scale up (TSH) Years 2 to 3 scale up (USD) Direct expenses 118,355,000 52,093 234,355,000 103,149 Management 98,606,072 43,401 146,814,963 64,619 Training 1,605,770,000 706,765 2,613,700,000 1,150,396 Total 1,822,731,072 802,258 2,994,869,963 1,318,165 Per child per day 759 0.33 290 0.13
Taking SRP to the next stage…
• Strengthen the centres that exist and further establish them in the communities, e.g. encourage use as vaccinations centres
• Provide support for SRCFs to help educate all pupils, even those with moderate learning difficulties (e.g. sight or hearing)
• Provide support to parents in relation to early stimulation, health and nutrition through the SRP
• Demand-based support to take SRP to 24 weeks and align to the new 1 year preprimary curriculum
• Institutional SRP, some steps already taken
• Competency framework strongly influence pre-primary curriculum
• SRP books are the basis for the 24 books to be used in pre-primary
• Influence the pre-primary teacher training approach
• Advocate for national scale adoption - SRP included in 5 year education sector development plan
• Support communities and local governments to develop SRP centres into lower primary satellites schools were demand and need exist
Thank you – Asanteni Sana
