Girls Education for the Future Girls Education Support Programme GESP A successful effort of the Aga Khan Foundation to increase the access to education for girls in deprived areas of Afghanistan ID: 204248
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Slide1
Aga Khan Foundation – Afghanistan (AKF-A)
Girls’ Education for the FutureSlide2
Girls’ Education Support Programme (GESP)
A successful effort of the Aga Khan Foundation to increase the access to education for girls in deprived areas of AfghanistanSlide3
AfghanistanSlide4
Background
“
Afghanistan where God only comes to weep” (Siba Shakib.2002)Three decades of armed conflict.Poverty, political and climate-related disasters.Deep-rooted cultural taboos.Lack of Schools and School infrastructure.Shortage of qualified teachers and learning materials.
Wide gender disparity in literacy, enrollment, dropout, attendance and completion rates.Slide5
Continued…
Security: Most insecure country in the world after Somalia.
(in 2012 about 517 schools were closed due to security, 275,000 students deprived).MoE estimates that 3.5 million school-age children are out of school. The majority
are girls
.
400,000
students dropout each year.Slide6
Girls Education
2011 no qualified teachers in 230 districts (56% of districts).
There are no female teachers in about 80 districts.No qualified female teachers in the majority of districts especially for secondary grades.No Girls are enrolled in upper secondary in 158 districts (39% of all districts).Slide7
47% of schools have unusable buildings.
70% of schools buildings lack surrounding walls.
30% of schools lack drinking water facilities.60% lack sanitation facilities.88% Lack of electricity.( all are reasons leading to girls dropout).(All figures are taken from the Education Joint Sector Review 2012, 2013, and National Education Strategy Plan 2014 – 2020 draft version
)
Continued…Slide8
AKF Education Programme CoverageSlide9
Our Key Programmes
Early Childhood Education
Community Based EducationGovernment School Support ProgramSupporting and strengthen MoE institutions (PEDs/DEDs, and TTCs)Slide10
Strengths
Work at three levels (Policy, Capacity Building, Delivery)
Work for Continuity of Education (ECD, Primary, Secondary, TTC/Sub TTC, University)ECD AKF is considered a pioneer of ECD (MoE acknowledgement)Partnership (MoE, Communities, Teachers/ Students, Sister Institutions, NGOs)Community OwnershipSlide11
Overall AKF Achievements
(from 2008 till June 2015)
Intervention
Areas
2008-09
June 2015
% Increase in Coverage
Total Schools
380
921
142%
AKF
Supported Schools
192
288
50%
AKF CBE-Primary
158
480
204%
AKF ECD
24
141
488%
TTCs
6
12
100%
Teachers (All Teachers)
2,718
5,651
108%
Male
2,066
3,521
70%
Females
652
2,130
227%
Students (All Students)
97,113
174,617
80%
Boys
58,368
96,861
66%
Girls
38,745
77,756
101%Slide12
Comparison (2008-2015) – AKF supported Schools
(Governments, CBEs, ECDs, TTCs)Slide13
Comparison(2008-2015) –AKF supported Teachers & Students,(Governments, CBEs, ECDs, TTCs)Slide14
Girls Education Support Programme (GESP)
Start & End Date:
May 2008 – October 2015 including 2 years extension (January 2014-October 2015)Worked with 216 government schoolsKey objectives:To increase access to learning opportunitiesTo improve quality of teaching and learning practices
To enhance capacity and commitment among stakeholders
Funded:
DFATD
Implemented in Baghlan, Badakhshan and Bamyan/Parwan covering 25
districts.
GESP is considered a very successful programme and one utilising ‘best practice’Slide15
GESP AKF-A’s Innovative Approach for Access of Girls Education
Components of GESP:
Early Childhood Development (ECD)Flexible Responsible Fund (FRF)Community EngagementCapacity building (Support PEDs and DEDs)TTC Girls’ Dormitory Construction
Rest of the presentation will focus on FRF, a very successful innovative approach which is a key component of GESPSlide16
Flexible Response Fund (FRF)
FRF ranges from a short term initiative to a long term solution.
FRF was reserved to responsively address the array of barriers preventing Afghan girls from entry and retention into the upper grades.FRF was researched and selected as a ‘best practice’ solution. It played a vital and successful role in increasing the enrolment of girls in all grades
.Slide17
Continued…
Funds are allocated by local communities/schools/and AKF offices according to the perceived needs of the girls and are administered in partnership with the Department of Education
A mechanism for needs-based analysis with communities and local education authorities was created to identify specific activities which promote the attendance of girls.Slide18
Flexible Response Fund (FRF)
A ‘Best Practice’
Challenges
Solution
Distance
Stipends or Transportation were provided for girls to complete 12th grade and 2 year TTCs
Lack of Female Teachers at Schools
Incentive, or Transportation were provided for female teachers from urban communities to teach in rural remote schools
Boundary Walls of School
Boundary walls constructed for girls or mixed schools
Same Toilets for girls and boys
Toilets were constructed for girls in girl and mixed schools
Lack of classroom
Classrooms were constructed for girls who were taught in the schoolyard, or under trees Slide19
FRF as a ‘Best Practice’
Salvaging originality (Novel)
Remaining temporal (Flexible)Working for all (Inclusive)Reaching the less reached communities (Outreaching)Showing Results (Effective) Slide20
Results
Increased Girls’ Enrollment in Grades 7-12
There were almost 59,000 (21,697 girls) more students in these grades in 2013 than in 2009. GESP in general and FRF in particular, was responsible for almost half of this improvement. Decreased Dropout RatesBetween 2009 and 2013, the numbers of GESP boys and girls in the cohort declined by 8 percent and 1 percent
respectively.
Increased Graduation Rates
In 2008,
273 girls graduated
from
192 supported schools
. In 2013, the final year of the program,
2,313 girls graduated
from
216 schools
.Slide21
Continued
Increased Appearance and Success in
Kankur Exams1,219 students (853 girls) appeared in the Kankur exam who might never have tried for higher education
Increased Female
Teachers (
return of alumni as teachers)
558 girls graduated
have actually returned after training to teach in
GESP schools, and
42
in other schools.
Decreased early marriages for girls
Equipped and resourced Schools and Classrooms
Engaged Teachers and Students
Softening of discriminating traditions specifically related to girls’ educationSlide22
Reasons for Success
Ownership:
through directed change but from within Relevance: needs-based and meaningful supportMultifaceted: comprehensive response to strategic needs or multiple layers of input Partnership: increased support and involvement from community and state
Inclusion:
did not exclude boys while focusing on girls education
Loosely structured:
spontaneous enough to speak to the needs but structured enough to track the needs, changes and be on task Slide23
Challenges
Limited Grant/Fund
Voluminous needs/prioritiesDependencySecuritySlide24
Scalability
MIAD Approach
Replication pilots MOU with PEDs and DEDsPartnership with local actorsNetworking with International Partners Cost Extension of the initiativeCoverage under other projects and initiatives Slide25