BACKGROUND
Primary school students in Nampula Province are not gaining the basic skills needed to progress in their school careers, which impacts their future ability to secure economic stability and fully participate in society. Only slightly more than one-third of students have obtained a basic level of reading, writing and math prior to leaving school. Two primary causes of this problem are poor quality of instruction and an insufficient quantity of classroom instruction time. Furthermore, most instruction takes place in Portuguese, a language many children and most parents/caregivers do not understand. As a result, poor learning outcomes are being reproduced from one generation to the next. Since 2016, USAID has supported the Ministry of Education and communities to address these challenges through stronger bilingual education policy implementation, improved early-grade reading instruction and increased parental and community engagement.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Apoiar a Ler! is designed to encourage parents and caregivers to take on a more meaningful role in their children’s schooling while also mobilizing civil society and key local stakeholders to engage with the school system. It focuses on improving the quality of education in 750 targeted schools across Nampula. Activities will engage students, parents and caregivers, school directors, teachers, school councils, and community leaders to build on successes in earlier USAID programming including teachers trained in bilingual methods and previously produced bilingual educational material.
EXPECTED RESULTS AND IMPACTS
Approximately 300,000 children will improve their reading skills through:
- Increased family and community engagement in reading activities;
- Increased family and community understanding of the benefits of bilingual education in attaining early reading skills; Increased ability of local government to develop and implement community-based solutions for primary education.
