Usaid Sindh Reading Program
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USAID SINDH READING PROGRAM Annual Progress Report October 2017 – September 2018 Contract No. AID-391-C-14-00001 This report was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by Chemonics International, Inc. 1 USAID Sindh Reading Program ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT (OCTOBER 2017 – SEPTEMBER 2018) Sponsored by: USAID Contract Number: AID-391-C-14-00001 Contractor: Chemonics International, Inc. Submitted on: October 30, 2018 DISCLAIMER The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................................................... I ACRONYMS ........................................................................................................................................................................................ II EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................................................. 4 LIFE OF PROJECT TARGET ACHIEVEMENTS, SEPTEMBER 2018 ................................................................................ 7 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS AND ACCOMPLISHEAD TEACHERENTS ....................................................................... 8 COMPONENT I: SCHOOL-BASED SUPPORT FOR EARLY GRADE READING ................................................... 8 COMPONENT 2: EARLY GRADE READING ASSESSMENTS AND STANDARDS ............................................ 17 COMPONENT 3 READING MATERIALS AND READING SPACES......................................................................... 23 COMPONENT 4 READING FOR OUT OF SCHOOL CHILDREN........................................................................... 29 CROSS-CUTTING SECTORAL ACTIVITIES ....................................................................................................................... 35 CROSS-CUTTING FIELD SUPPORT: LEARNING & LITERACY ADVISOR TEAM ............................................. 36 SUCCESSES AND ACHIEVEMENTS ....................................................................................................................................... 38 ISSUES AND CHALLENGES....................................................................................................................................................... 39 RECOMMENDATIONS................................................................................................................................................................ 39 MONITORING AND EVALUATION ACTIVITIES............................................................................................................ 40 CLEANING AND MANAGEMENT OF COHORT-3 DATA ........................................................................................ 42 YEARLY PROJECT INDICATORS UPDATE ........................................................................................................................ 44 EDUCATING THE NEGLECTED FUTURE .......................................................................................................................... 46 CHANGING THE SCHOOL OF THOUGHT! ................................................................................................................... 47 SUCCESS STORY............................................................................................................................................................................ 48 TEACHING METHODOLOGIES RE-DEFINED IN KEMARI TOWN SCHOOL................................................... 48 ANNEX –B: PROJECT ANNUAL FINANCIALS................................................................................................................. 49 Annual Progress Report—October 2017 – September 2018 i ACRONYMS ACRONYMS ALP Alternative Learning Pathway AQAL Advancing Quality Alternative Learning BoC Bureau of Curriculum C1 Component 1 C2 Component 2 C3 Component 3 C4 Component 4 CPD Continuous Professional Development CMP Community Mobilization Program DCAR Directorate of Curriculum, Assessment and Research DEOs District Education Officers DFPs District Focal Persons DL&NFE Directorate of Literacy and Non-Formal Education FGD Focus Group Discussions EGRA Early Grade Reading Assessment FA Formative Assessment FMs Field Mentors GECE Government Elementary College for Education GoS Government of Sindh GTs Guide Teachers HANDS Health and Nutrition Development Society IRC Indus Resource Center JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency LOP Life of Project M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MDF Management & Development Foundation MoU Memorandum of Understanding MSF Mission Strategic Framework MTs Master Trainer NCHD National Commission for Human Development NFE Non-Formal Education OTJ On-the-Job PEACe Provincial Education Assessment Center PITE Provincial Institute of Teacher Education Annual Progress Report—October 2017 – September 2018 ii ACRONYMS PMIU Project Management Implementation Unit PMP Project Management Plan PRP Pakistan Reading Program QAC Quality Assurance Committee RSU Reform Support Unit SBEP Sindh Basic Education Program SCDP Sindh Capacity Development Project SE&LD School Education and Literacy Department SED School Education Department SEF Sindh Education Foundation SEMIS Sindh Education Management Information System SRP Sindh Reading Program STEDA Sindh Teacher Education Development Authority STS School-to-School TEOs Taluka Education Officers TLMs Teaching & Learning Materials TTI Teacher Training Institutions UPS Uninterrupted Power Supply Annual Progress Report—October 2017 – September 2018 iii TARGET ACHIEVEMENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This annual report summarizes activities of the fifth and final year of the USAID Sindh Reading Program (SRP) covering the period from October 2017 to September 2018. SRP wrapped up technical implementation of activities in the field and worked in close partnership with Government of Sindh (GoS) counterpart institutions to sustain the approaches to improved instruction in early grade reading introduced by SRP. We collaborated closely with other partners including the Sindh Basic Education Program (SBEP) PMIU, Sindh Education Foundation, UNICEF and JICA to leverage USAID’s investment in SRP beyond the life of the project. The School-Based Support for Reading initiative (Component 1) reached 432,124, exceeding its LOP target of reaching 400,000 children in grades 1 and 2, through capacity building and on-the-job training for 15,551 teachers. The initiative further included production and distribution of more than 800,000 copies of teaching and learning materials (TLM) to children and teachers. Under Component I, SRP implemented the school-based on-the-job-training (OJT) for first and second grade teachers of Cohort 3. This final round of capacity building featured more robust support to head teachers and district level officials than Cohort 2 recognizing that more teachers maintain fidelity to the instructional strategies learned in OJT when head teachers set expectations and provide ongoing support to new practices. SRP also held three regional review workshops following Cohort 3 implementation. These events were held in Larkana, Sukkur and Karachi with all concerned stakeholders impacted by SRP to share the progress, issues and challenges over the past four and a half years. The workshops provided a platform for stakeholders to discuss the way forward and recommendations to enable SE&LD to continue its focus on early grade reading through ongoing reform initiatives. SRP’s Early Grade Reading Assessments and Standards initiative (Component 2) strengthened the capacity of SE&LD to assess the impact of reading in Sindh under SRP. Formative Assessments (FA) which were introduced under cohorts 1 and 2 continued in cohort 3. Consistent with SRP’s approach to learning from experience and adapting the model after each iteration, teachers administered the assessment in Cohort 3 with coaching support using the tablet-based Teacher Advice app. External resources funded by the project administered FA in prior years. The objective of the activity was to institutionalize FA at the school/classroom level, led by the teachers, with lighter touch support from external experts. SRP also continued to build the capacity of a nine-member group of government officials led by DCAR designated to work with SRP to develop FA reports in data analysis and reporting. SRP has passed the responsibility for the EGRA endline data collection and analysis to USAID contractor MSI to implement through a separate contract. This change means that SRP does not have direct authority over the execution of the endline but is available to assist in any way needed. SRP provided feedback into MSI’s proposed sample for the end-line EGRA assessment. SRP discovered that the sample is heavily skewed toward schools that only received support under Cohort-1. SRP reported the evidence for these concerns to MSI, STS and USAID for their consideration before the endline data collection commences. Under the Reading Material and Reading Spaces (Component 3) initiative, SRP continued to seek government and community level partnerships to sustain upgraded libraries and reading spaces. It is important for the communities to be mobilized and take ownership of the libraries to sustain them and continue their use as social