What can be learnt from STAR-G’s Distance Learning Centre Model?

• Distance Learning Centres (DLCs) are a valid option and a promising pathway to increasing transition rates from primary to secondary and secondary completion rates.

• Improving access to secondary education may mean thinking differently about closer-to-home primary school buildings. Adapting existing government and related department’s structures, such as primary school buildings and curriculum, is likely to be cheaper and allows for a quicker response to expanding access to secondary education (than the resource intensive building of new schools).

• Cohorts of boys and girls who had previously failed to transition to secondary level over the years due to demand and supply-side barriers were enrolled in higher numbers in the DLCs offered by STAR-G (type-III) than those previously offered by the ministry (type-I and type-II) or the original STAR-G cohort of girls.

• Unmet demand from potential learners and under-provision of secondary education means that there is likely to be large number of older learners in DLCs.

• DLCs have the potential to expand secondary education for harder to reach marginalised girls in rural and remote locations. Furthermore, DLCs are a valid secondary option for learners who previously had dropped out including pregnant teenagers, teenage mothers, working girls and girls from poor households.

• Creating buy-in from local communities and structures is critical to the success of alternative ways of expanding secondary education opportunities.

• Offering easy-to-access yet flexible secondary learning opportunities may appeal to target beneficiaries and others. Hybrid learning at DLCs may allow learners of all backgrounds – including those with parenting responsibilities or chore burdens – to transition successfully into secondary education and stay there. Hybrid models also allow for flexibility to meet future demands.

STRATEGIES USED BY STAR-G

1. Collaborated closely with government stakeholders (MINEDH in Mozambique) at all levels and at all steps in the process

2. Utilised existing education workforce present in the location of the DLC and built their capacity

3. Utilised project funds to review, extend access and distribute existing government high-quality teaching and learning resources

4. Provided focussed interventions at DLCs to meet the needs of the most marginalised girls including e.g. study groups, peer learning support and training for adults in mental health and psycho-social support (MHPSS) and child protection

Why was STAR-G’s approach to establishing DLCs successful?

The experience of establishing DLCs in three under-served communities in Mozambique provides useful lessons for the broader education and development community. From this experience, we draw out four strategies that contributed to STAR-G’s success with DLCs. Below, each of the strategies are described in further detail, including plans for the activities implemented by STAR-G to be sustained.

Strategy 1: Collaborating with MINEDH at all levels and at all steps in the process

In collaboration with IEDA, provincial and district government, and EPC managers, STAR-G conducted an extensive mapping and validation exercise for the establishment of the type-III DLCs. Since findings from the mapping exercise would inform the establishment of the type-III DLCs, STAR-G ensured local buy-in by doing extensive consultations with headteachers, girls and their communities. Once established, STAR-G worked jointly with provincial and district centre managers and tutors to monitor and supervise the DLCs. Thereafter and on an ongoing basis, STAR-G organised action and improvement planning workshops to address challenges and successes, enabling centre managers to take actions to continuously improve DLCs based on findings from their school visits. For example, during COVID-19 lockdowns, adaptations were made to include a roving tutor strategy and for parents to collect DLC modules for their girls.

Strategy 2: Building capacity among those who are available may be easier than focussing on recruitment

Type-III DLCs were located at primary schools and as agreed with the government, would be staffed by teachers in those primary schools with support from secondary tutors. A key focus of the STAR-G interventions, therefore, was to strengthen primary teachers’ skills –the majority of whom are graduates – so that they could support the secondary-level modules in the Annex DLCs. In doing so, STAR-G indirectly reduced pressure on existing secondary schools – which were already short-staffed – and on type-I and type-II DLCs – which had insufficient numbers of qualified secondary teachers.

Preparing primary school teachers to navigate secondary content was a challenging task. STAR-G’s approach was multi-pronged:

1. Primary teachers at type-III DLCs received regular mentoring and support visits from MINED/IEDA supervisors as well as secondary school teachers.

2. MINEDH provided type-III DLCs with tutors who were trained in gender-sensitive teaching methods and secondary subjects. A total of 346 (278 male and 68 female) tutors of mathematics and Portuguese subjects supported the type-III DLCs

3. Type-III DLC managers – mainly head teachers in the primary school where the Annex DLCs were located – were trained in DLC administration and management. A total of 75 DLC managers (15 female and 60 male) were trained.

By using this multi-pronged strategy, STAR-G prepared a cadre of primary teachers and head teachers to provide secondary-level education to children who previously were geographically or financially excluded from it. Although far from perfect, the strategy leveraged staff already working in the primary schools and avoided further taxing an already stretched secondary school teacher pipeline.

Challenges

• Insufficient number of secondary school teachers to support all DLCIII’s (although that was the design)

• Training fully qualified primary teachers who are university graduates to become secondary specialists was feasible, however it is not fully feasible for primary teachers with lower qualifications, so some more reflection on how the model could address these mixed qualifications and seal that gap for future implementors is required.

Strategy 3: Utilise project funds to review, extend access and distribution of existing high-quality teaching and learning resources

Students who completed secondary modules at type-I and type-II DLCs had high pass rates for the Grade 10 exams. This suggested that the teaching and learning materials developed by IEDA for all 13 secondary subjects at the DLCs were effective. Furthermore, the modules were conducive to the needs of the girls supported by STAR-G. DLCs follow a self-paced module approach rather than linear grade transition per academic year. While revisions were not needed for the academic content, STAR-G worked with MINEDH to make all DLC resources more child-friendly and relevant. To do this, STAR-G organised workshops to review tutors’ and learners’ materials to help tutors adapt their approaches to a cycle system. As part of the review, sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and gender were mainstreamed as crosscutting issues with support from MINEDH: IEDA vetted and approved all resources, including manuals and modules.

With resources readily available, STAR-G focused on the costs of printing and distribution of the DLC modules. The materials printed and distributed to the Annex DLCs included manuals and guides for each tutor, as well as 10 modules for each Grade 8 student, 11 modules for each Grade 9 student, and 14 modules for each Grade 10 student.

To supplement these materials, learning assessment tools and self-study guidance were also developed by STAR-G with IEDA to enable children at the Annex DLCs to engage in self-directed and self-paced study at home and/or in groups. The packet of training materials (Accelerated Education, MHPSS, Teacher’s Wellbeing modules and Inclusive Education Guidance) distributed to Annex DLCs were also useful to the DL staff: managers, tutors and primary teachers took advantage of the materials to support their own capacity building.

Strategy 4: Provide focussed interventions at DLCs to meet the needs of the most marginalised girls

In response to various challenges that DL girls were facing (see Annex 1), the project supported the establishment of study groups across the DLC-IIIs. A total of 160 study groups were established and 184 facilitators (Dinamizadoras) (133 female and 51 male) were trained to lead the groups. DLC study groups provide the enrolled learners with peer learning support and enable them to be organised and better use their study time.

STAR-G conducted workshops to develop facilitators guides/manuals and tutors, managers and facilitators were further trained to enable them to support adolescent girls and boys in their individual and group studies. The guides/manuals were adapted to include cooperative learning strategy, COVID-19, Mental Health and Psycho-social Supports (MHPSS), teachers’ wellbeing, child protection including child abuse and reporting mechanisms, to ensure tutors and learners were adequately equipped with skills for safe and supportive learning. The “Dinamizadoras” were trained in basics concepts about gender to ensure they could support other girls in study groups and where unable to support, could refer them to a gender focal person and community core groups members to follow up.

Of the 160 DLC study groups, 90% are active at the end of STAR-G, making this an important distance learning approach and resource for the improvement of girls’ academic performance and consequent transition to new cycles.

DLCs improved access to formal secondary education opportunities for the most marginalised girls and boys

By the end of the project, there were 2,318 learners (1,115 female and 1,203 male) enrolled in the DLCs. Of these learners at least 87 were pregnant girls, 79 mothers and 80 girls with difficulties understanding the language of instruction (Portuguese); clearly illustrating the accessibility of DLCs for marginalised subgroups of girls. Enrolment in the DLCs increases the opportunity for girls to later transition to lower secondary school (Grade 8-10) and even to go on to upper secondary and beyond. By the end of the project the first cohort of 173 learners (52 female and 121 male) had completed all the DLC modules, 129 learners (66 female and 63 male) had sat for Grade 10 exams and 92 (47 female and 45 male) passed the exams –a 71% pass rate. These achievements came despite Cyclone Idai and a global pandemic and were achieved in less than two and a half years since the DLCs were established.

“By the end of the project, there were 2,318 learners (1,115 female and 1,203 male) enrolled in the DLCs. Of these learners at least 87 were pregnant girls, 79 mothers and 80 girls with difficulties understanding the language of instruction (Portuguese); clearly illustrating the accessibility of DLCs for marginalised subgroups of girls.”

Establishment of sustainable type-III DLCs in 75 primary school communities. The project worked with and through existing government structures and staff to establish the 75 DLCs across three provinces. Each DLC has been provided with the necessary tools, materials, processes and human capacity to operate with relatively little technical or financial support going forward. It is expected that these DLC-IIIs are sustainable as they are deeply embedded in government structures and will continue to provide the space and opportunity for many more girls and boys to transition from primary to secondary and beyond.

Design of a new highly inclusive, cost-efficient, and scalable model for distance learning in Mozambique. STAR-G led the design and piloting of a model for distance learning in Mozambique at community level, that is fully aligned to the government’s own sector strategy and can reach the most excluded / marginalised girls and boys residing in the most underserved, rural, remote areas in the country. The project carried out a cost analysis of the DL model, and with project management and indirect costs included the cost-per-student, per year is still comparable to the government’s spend per secondary student, per year. On removal of one-time costs and support costs from the analysis, the cost per student per year drops to significantly below the government’s budget per student, making it an affordable and likely cost-effective model for expansion of access to secondary education in Mozambique.

Testing of a study group strategy that can help students learn together outside of structured support. The study group strategy was developed in collaboration with IEDA/MINEDH and successfully implemented to enable girls to connect and collaborate with their peers during distance learning, sharing learnings and good practices from their self-directed individual study. Of the 160 study groups established, 90% are active and are being accessed by 1,584 girls and boys (834 female and 750 male). Through study groups, students gain self-learning strategies and can access quality printed learning modules. Students reported that the study groups met on average twice a week.

A total of 311 tutors (124 female and 187 male) and 61 DL managers (20 female and 41 male) were trained to support individual learners through tutoring. The training covered gender, inclusion and child protection. These newly gained skills by tutors and managers will remain in the DLCs, the community and in Mozambique, positively impacting on learning processes and outcomes for future cohorts of girls and boys.

Spill-over benefits for teacher professional development (TPD). The DLCs established were each hosted by a primary school and most teachers from these schools were enrolled in the STAR-G TPD course. Many teachers reported that having the secondary school curriculum module packs available at the primary school annex centres provided them with the opportunity to revisit certain subjects, improve their lesson plans and knowledge of the content. Future projects might consider including subject-specific materials as part of TPD materials packages for teachers.

Constância, 16, is from the Tete province, where early pregnancies and marriages are prevalent. Most girls drop out of primary school and the majority of those that do complete primary, do not transition to secondary school. Having completed Grade 7 in 2017, Constancia was not able to attend secondary school in 2018 due to lack of resources to support her enrolment.

Constância said “I wanted to continue studying, so I asked my parents to request that the school manager allowed me to go back to school as an assistant in 2018. I felt that if I stayed at home, I would lose the momentum of going back to school and risk getting married.” Through the STAR-G project, Save the Children in partnership with IEDA, supported the set-up of the DLCs, bringing secondary education closer to the community and giving children the opportunity to learn. Constância has been attending the DLC since February 2019, accessing learning materials and tutorials to advance her secondary education. She hopes to improve her grades and complete secondary school.

Her father said, “I am very happy that my daughter finally managed to enrol for Grade 8 after spending a year as an assistant. Education is the basis of her future and due to the DLC in our community it is much easier for her. My struggle is to get money to pay my daughter’s tuition. I wish she can finish her secondary education and advance further.”

The DLC manager, Mr. Zacarias Ruben recognised the enthusiasm and commitment of the girls accessing education. “Constância has been my student since Grade 6. She’s always on time and hardworking. She has this great opportunity to attend secondary school closer to home.”

“The materials printed and distributed to the Annex DLCs included manuals and guides for each tutor, as well as 10 modules for each Grade 8 student, 11 modules for each Grade 9 student, and 14 modules for each Grade 10 student.”

Recommendations

Learnings from the DLCs type-III pilot can help other implementers to minimise secondary education costs whilst expanding education transition to the most marginalised communities, thus reducing inequalities. It can also inform implementers on the sustainability of the model, as provision of the DLCIII model in collaboration with MINEDH has proved to enhance ownership, scalability and resourcing beyond the life of STAR-G. This model can support donor decisions around resources to education for the most marginalised.

School infrastructure development costs can be astronomical, are time consuming to complete and can be marred by corruption and accountability. This model can therefore help donors and implementers to rationalise resource allocation and explore value for money, as new DLs use the existing infrastructure of primary schools with classrooms and outdoor space available. The government can deploy trained tutors to support these new DLs as supervisors, from the development of materials to implementation.

Based on lessons learned from COVID-19 related lockdowns, as part of hybrid learning, DLCs are a valid alternative to in-person learning, as girls and boys learn at their own pace, and can manage around barriers that limit their transition to secondary education. DLCs have been well received and promoted by communities as a formal education pathway and as part of the back-to-school campaign. DLC learners utilise paper-based modules accessible to current and future cohorts, but can also be uploaded into low tech, offline tablets prolonging their shelf life and ultimately extending the total reach.

Find out more

Website: https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/where-we-work/africa/mozambique

Twitter: @savechildrenMoz

GEC STAR-G Website: https://girlseducationchallenge.org/projects/project/ successful-transition-and-advancement-of-rights-for-girls-star-g/