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PROGRAM DESCRIPTION Introduction The Afghan Children Read (ACR) Project is a five-year USAID-funded primary education initiative designed to improve equitable access to education and generate measurable reading outcomes for girls and boys in Afghanistan. The ACR Project will support education service delivery by building the capacity of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA)’s Ministry of Education (MoE) to provide an evidence-based early grade reading (EGR) program in Dari and Pashto for students in grades 1 to 3 in both formal and Community Based Education (CBE) schools. Strengthened skills, systems, models, and materials will also enable future development of additional local mother tongue languages into the national reading program. ACR Project intends to issue up to three awards under this RFA, one in Herat, one in Nangarhar, and one in Kabul Province. This grant will contribute towards set grants objectives in particular in increasing parents and communities participation in project activities and their increased awareness on their roles and responsibilities on how to ensure quality learning environment. Background and Description: Social Mobilization and Community Engagement is a crucial component of the ACR Project. Through grants issued under this Request for Application (RFA), the ACR Project will provide technical assistance to the MoE’s Social Mobilization Directorate, building the capacity of School Management Shuras (SMS) and empowering them to support EGR in target communities, increase engagement of parents in education service delivery, and provide an appropriate learning environment through physical renovation and rehabilitation of EGR classes in targeted districts of Herat, Nangarhar and Kabul Provinces. There would be three grants one for each province, and the grant for Kabul will be responsible for providing technical assistance to MoE Social Mobilization Directorate at the central level. 1. Technical Assistance to Social Mobilization Directorate and Capacity Building of SMSs: ACR Project implementing partners will work closely with the Social Mobilization Directorate with an aim to support social mobilization at the central, provincial, and district levels to build the capacity of school management shuras to assume greater responsibility and play a stronger role in supporting EGR interventions and activities. Through technical assistance grant, the ACR Project will extend technical support by engaging experienced local partners to hire and train ACR Community Mobilizers to undertake the planned activities. More specifically, ACR Community Mobilizers will: • Conduct a situation analysis exercise at the district level to collect information related to education from the concerned districts. 1 • Contact, orient, and mobilize respective parents & communities on education related topics and work with communities to send their children (especially girls) to schools. • Facilitate SMS elections, monitor the process, and build the capacity of SMSs in target districts to empower them to fulfill their responsibilities in supporting quality education. • Facilitate participatory planning and development of School Improvement Plans (SIPs), approval and implementation process. • Engage in conflict resolution and peace education at district level and liaise between school/community and education offices at the provincial and district levels. • Work with communities to ensure safety and security of children and school facilities. • Act as a catalyst and change agent for speeding up change towards quality education for all (especially girls). In brief, through this grant, the ACR Project intends to achieve the followings: • Recruit Community Mobilizers in each target district who will work closely with the Social Mobilization Directorate with the key responsibility of undertaking social mobilization related activities at the school and community level; • Build the capacity of the Social Mobilization Directorate at the central, provincial, and district levels through conducting trainings and capacity building programs by using the ACR community development guide; • Ensure greater involvement of SMSs and school administrations in delivery of EGR activities; • Ensure a stronger role of SMS to work with school administration and communities in ensuring an appropriate and supportive learning environment in EGR classes by undertaking learning environment improvement interventions with a strong focus on physical renovation and rehabilitation of EGR classes; and • Increase the pool of experienced SMSs at the local level and strengthen ties/relationship between schools, communities, and other education authorities at the local level. a. Target Audience and Location Herat Province: 8 districts (Guzara, Ghoryan, Kushk-e-Robat Sangi, Zenda Jan, Enjeel, Karukh, Kohsan and Herat City) with a total number of 203 schools Nangarhar Province: 4 districts (Jalalabad City, Kama, Kuz Kunar, Behsud) with a total number of 140 schools Laghman Province: 2 districts (Mehtarlam, Qarghayee) with a total number of 30 schools Kabul Province: 2 districts (Shakar Dara and Bagrami) with a total number of 46 schools **Complete list of schools is provided in Annex-B 2 b. Required Deliverables • Recruitment of 2 social mobilizers per district across the target districts of each province for a duration of around 2 years. • Deliver 3 days of training to each recruited district social mobilizer. • Recruited ACR Community Mobilizers will deliver same training to target SMS across all districts. • Support ACR and implementing partners in design and delivery of capacity building programs to school shuras, PED and DED staff at provincial, district and school levels. • Work closely with school shuras to empower their role at school level through regular meetings, discussions, and joint visits. 2. Awareness Building and Engagement of Parents and SMS in EGR Activities The Awareness Building on Early Grade Reading component aims to develop mutual and shared understanding and awareness of the EGR educational model among schools, communities and school administrations, and to enhance communities’ participation and support to schools pertinent to EGR activities in target communities. The Awareness Building on Early Grade Reading component will be implemented to promote the future role of SMSs to work closely with communities, parents, and schools to assume a stronger role in supporting education development and dialogue within their communities with a specific focus on EGR. Through expanded community level activities, more stakeholders will be involved in education decisions and understand the importance of their role in promoting and enhancing awareness related to the EGR program. In summary, through grants issued under this RFA, ACR intends to achieve the following: • Build parental awareness related to the EGR program, value of education, and literacy; • Increase involvement of communities and parents in the promotion of EGR materials and their role in supporting EGR; • Increase communities and parents’ awareness on the importance and significance of education, and allocation of time and resources for creating an educational supportive environment for their children with support and assistance from SMSs in target areas of the ACR program a. Target Audience and Location Parents, community members, school officials and SMS members in three provinces; Herat Province: 8 districts (Guzara, Ghoryan, Kushk-e-Robat Sangi, Zenda Jan, Enjeel, Karukh, Kohsan and Herat City) with a total number of 203 schools 3 Nangarhar Province: 4 districts (Jalalabad City, Kama, Kuz Kunar, Behsud) with a total number of 140 schools Laghman Province: 2 districts (Mehtarlam, Qarghayee) with a total number of 30 schools Kabul Province: 2 districts (Shakar Dara and Bagrami) with a total number of 46 schools **Complete list of schools is provided in Annex-B b. Required Deliverables • Organize public awareness raising sessions in each school across all the target districts in each Province (Two session per school per year). • Organize community mobilization and awareness raising sessions in mosques, local communities in each community across all target districts in each Province (Two session per community per year). • Facilitate district level SMS meetings/gatherings (one per district per quarter). 3. Improving Learning Environment and Developing School Improvement Plan (SIP) The ACR Grants Program is one of several strategies to help parents and the school community at-large become more engaged in supporting EGR priorities for their children. In addition, the grants will be used to provide children with an appropriate learning environment. To ensure children’s access to a safe learning environment, the ACR Project intends to build the capacity of School Shuras to develop School Improvement Plans (SIPs) and use grant funds to undertake necessary physical renovation related activities across all EGR classes in target schools in three target Provinces. These renovations and improvements to the learning environment generally take the form of repairs to doors and windows, installation of shelves in the classrooms, installation of glasses, repairing black boards, chairs, desks, and the provision of carpet/floor mats. Community contribution serves as a crucial component of these efforts to ensure sustainability of these improvements. The community contribution may take place in different forms including volunteer time to work with school administration in development of SIP,