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Remedial education for primary students

The project will provide community-based remedial education for approximately 70,000 students who are below proficiency benchmark thresholds for their grade.

  • 00,000

    children will directly benefit

  • 0,000

    teachers will benefit directly

  • Where
    Ruvuma, Tanzania
  • Focus area
    Education
  • Duration
    2023 - 2026
  • Economy
    DKK 15 million
Prime partner: RTI International

Context

For over 15 years, Mainland Tanzania has implemented school reforms for early grade learning with international support. Despite efforts like curriculum revisions, teacher development, and parental involvement, learning outcomes remain poor. In regions supported by the USAID-funded Jifunze Uelewe (JU) program, 20% of Grade 2 students cannot read, and only 5% read at grade level.

Contributing factors include overcrowded classrooms and absenteeism. The system prioritizes curriculum delivery over actual learning. Ministry reports focus on teacher attendance and book availability, not student progress. Teachers adhere to a strict curriculum schedule, with ineffective formative assessments.

JU's longitudinal data from 10 schools per region shows some improvement, but 36% of pupils still enter Standard 2 as non-readers. As Tanzania shifts towards a learning-focused system, it is vital to support students who are falling behind. 

The project

The project will expand on the ongoing USAID-funded Jifunze Uelewe (JU) activity by RTI, which supports 2,869 government schools in four regions to improve learning outcomes for children from pre-primary to Grade 4. The focus includes teacher professional development, supply of teaching materials, capacity building for district leadership, and community support.

The project aims to extend a promising pilot initiative from JU that uses pupil learning data to develop remedial education interventions for students performing below learning benchmarks. This pilot addresses immediate challenges for non-readers and the long-term impact of absenteeism. Currently, the pilot involves about 12 schools per district, and the new project plans to extend this to 40% of schools in 2024 and 60% in 2025.

The project will support local education offices (DEOs) and Ward Education Officers (WEOs) to manage and implement these activities, with the assistance of civil society organizations (CSOs) to organize community support. CSOs will help implement school improvement plans, potentially including remedial classes.

Findings from the pilot suggest remedial classes are more effective when held in communities close to students’ homes, though school-based classes are more consistent. Key needs identified include structured implementation, multiple volunteers per class, snacks for pupils, and volunteer incentives.

RTI will provide a framework for remedial classes focusing on basic skills and use the Tangerine software app for guidance. The project will last for two academic years, allowing DEOs and schools to establish sustainable guidelines and resources.

The JU program currently provides comprehensive training to teachers and mobilizes parental support, with the aim of making remedial education an integral part of school-specific improvement plans overseen by DEOs.

Objectives

The goal is for 20,000 learners to improve their reading proficiency, and for 80% of targeted schools to implement remedial classes by the end of the project. The project will focus on three main objectives to achieve its goal:

  1. Provide Additional Learning Opportunities
    • Implement remedial classes in collaboration with schools and communities.
    • Use in-kind grants to support schools with supplies and materials.
    • Identify and support non-readers through regular assessments and tailored instruction.
  2. Reduce Persistent Absenteeism
    • Address underlying causes of absenteeism, particularly during the rainy season.
    • Engage with caregivers and community organizations to ensure regular school attendance.
    • Monitor attendance data to identify trends and provide targeted support.
  3. Improve Tracking of Learning Outcomes
    • Implement a data capture and reporting software to monitor school progress.
    • Use an open-source application on mobile devices to track individual learner progress and support differentiated instruction.
    • Encourage the use of technology by volunteer teachers to enhance remedial classes.