Government of Nepal, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology

Ass istance to Basic Education:

All Children Reading (ABE-ACR)

USAID’s Early Grade Reading Program (EGRP) in Nepal

Final Progress Report, Years 1–5: March 2015–October 2020

VOLUME 1 OF 3: NARRATIVE REPORT

REVISED October 30, 2020 This publication was prepared for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by RTI International.

Assistance to Basic Education– All Children Reading (ABE-ACR)

USAID’s Early Grade Reading Program (EGRP) in Nepal Final Progress Report, Years 1–5: March 2015–October 2020 VOLUME 1 OF 3: NARRATIVE REPORT

Contract No. AID-367-TO-15-00002

Prepared for Shannon Taylor Director, Education Development Office United States Agency for International Development/Nepal GPO Box No. 295 U.S. Embassy, Maharajgunj Kathmandu, Nepal

Prepared by RTI International P.O. Box 12194 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194 Telephone: 919-541-6000 http://www.rti.org/

The authors’ views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

Cover photo: Early grade students going home after a productive day at school, Kanchanpur. Photo credit: Merit Maharjan. Table of Contents Page

List of Figures ...... v

List of Tables ...... vii

List of Abbreviations ...... viii

1 Project Summary Information ...... 1

2 Executive Summary ...... 1

3 Overview of the Country Context ...... 6

4 Program Overview ...... 8

5 Results and Impact ...... 10 5.1 Impact Evaluation Findings ...... 10 5.2 Performance Evaluation Findings ...... 18 5.3 Summary of Research Studies ...... 21 5.4 Status of Deliverables ...... 23 5.5 Monitoring of Outputs...... 25

6 Major Activities and Achievements ...... 33 6.1 IR 1: Improved Early Grade Reading Instruction ...... 33 6.1.1 Sub-IR 1.1 Evidence-based EGR instructional materials designed, distributed, and in use ...... 34 6.1.2 Sub-IR 1.2 In-service professional development for teachers in public schools on reading instruction and the use of the materials provided ...... 43 6.1.3 Sub-IR 1.3 Monitoring and coaching for teachers in early grade reading instruction provided ...... 49 6.1.4 Sub-IR 1.4 Classroom-based and district-based early grade reading assessment processes improved ...... 52 6.2 IR 2: Improved National and District Early Grade Reading Service Delivery ...... 57 6.2.1 Sub-IR 2.1 Early grade reading data collection and analysis systems improved ...... 57 6.2.2 Sub-IR 2.2 Policies, standards, and benchmarks that support improved early grade reading instruction institutionalized...... 60 6.2.3 Sub-IR 2.3 Planning and management of financial, material, and human resources devoted to early grade reading improved ...... 62

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 iii 6.2.4 Sub-IR 2.4 National standards for early grade reading improvement adopted and geographically expanded ...... 72 6.3 IR 3: Increased Family and Community Support for Early Grade Reading ...... 74 6.3.1 Sub-IR 3.1 Community awareness of the importance of early grade reading and language for reading instruction as appropriate increased ...... 74 6.3.2 Sub-IR 3.2 Family engagement to support reading increased ...... 85 6.3.3 Sub-IR 3.3 PTA/SMC ability to contribute to quality reading instruction increased ...... 89 6.3.4 Sub-IR 3.4 Parent and community capacity to monitor reading progress increased ...... 94 6.4 Monitoring and Evaluation ...... 95 6.4.1 Sub-IR 4.1 Develop and implement an internal M&E system for regular program monitoring ...... 96 6.4.2 Sub-IR 4.2 Conduct EGRA/EMES Assessment ...... 100 6.4.3 Sub-IR 4.3 Update PMP and Capture Data for PMP Indicators ...... 102 6.4.4 Sub-IR 4.4 M&E Capacity Building of EGRP staff ...... 106 6.5 Systems Strengthening and Sustainability ...... 107 6.6 Gender Equality and Social Inclusion ...... 115 6.7 Management and Administration ...... 118

7 Challenges and Solutions ...... 130

8 Lessons Learned and Recommendations ...... 133

9 Funds Obligated and Dispersed ...... 137

10 Summary of Grant Implementation and Appraisal ...... 138

11 Conclusions ...... 141

iv EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 List of Figures

Figure 1: EGRP by the numbers ...... 2 Figure 2: Cohort-wise rollout of interventions and assessment phases ...... 11 Figure 3: Program impacts in grades 1–3 at midline: Students with Nepali as L1, and L2 ...... 13 Figure 4: Summary of key endline findings ...... 14 Figure 5: Endline results: Average oral reading fluency, non-Nepali versus Nepali speakers, Cohorts 1 and 2 combined, by grade ...... 16 Figure 6: Learners categorized by proficiency levels at endline, by cohort and grade ...... 17 Figure 7: Recommendations from the follow-up performance evaluation of EGRP ...... 20 Figure 8: EGRP results framework ...... 33 Figure 9: IR 1 activity flow ...... 34 Figure 10: EGRP support to GON to institutionalize EGR-related assessments ...... 53 Figure 11: Steps followed for developing student literacy benchmarks ...... 60 Figure 12: Process for revising NEGRP core document ...... 63 Figure 13: Categories of participants in the LEU capacity-development workshops (N=6,290 ) ...... 67 Figure 14: Numbers of participants at sessions to disseminate EGRA midline results ...... 72 Figure 15: Numbers of district participants in reading festival/Reading Day celebrations, by sex ...... 85 Figure 16: Participation in local reading materials development, by ethnic group...... 88 Figure 17: Monitoring or verification mechanisms to ensure quality in SMC grant documentation ...... 91 Figure 18: Number of schools selecting different uses for their SMC grants in Cohort 1 districts (N = 440) ...... 92 Figure 19: Number of schools selecting various uses for their SMC grants in Cohort 2 districts (N = 1,060) ...... 92 Figure 20: Participants in annual SIP review workshops, by organization type (N = 121,713) ...... 93 Figure 21: EGRP M&E approach ...... 95 Figure 22: Online dashboard for data from school monitoring visits ...... 97 Figure 23: EGRP partner NGO database dashboard ...... 98 Figure 24: Average percentage gain in partner NGO capacity between baseline and endline ...... 98

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 v Figure 25: Relative gains of eight schools sampled in mixed-methods operations research ...... 99 Figure 26: Sample infographic for EGRP midline evaluation data, 2018, for USAID EGR Barometer ...... 101 Figure 27: GON assessment design, analysis, and reporting capacity development ...... 107 Figure 28: Post-decentralization education structures supported by EGRP ...... 110 Figure 29: NEGRP stakeholder profile ...... 113 Figure 30: Participation in social and community mobilization activities, by caste/ethnicity (N = 1,468,569) ...... 117

vi EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 List of Tables

Table 1: Sample breakdown at baseline, midline, and endline ...... 11 Table 2: Baseline-to-endline changes in cwpm, by grade and cohort ...... 14 Table 3: Summary of research studies and findings ...... 21 Table 4: EGRP deliverables ...... 24 Table 5: Achievement of PMP targets ...... 26 Table 6: Prevalence of zero scorers, Rana Tharu EGRA baseline and endline ...... 56 Table 7: Participants in district-level study tours and seminars...... 66 Table 8: Broadcast frequency for public awareness campaign ...... 77 Table 9: Study findings on percentages of parents and teachers recalling key EGR messages ...... 80 Table 10: District-level TRGs and EGR subcommittees and total participants by sex, Cohorts 1 and 2 ...... 82 Table 11: Sample action plan prepared in district-level advocacy and leadership events ...... 83 Table 12: District-level peer education events and participants, by sex ...... 87 Table 13: Partner NGOs, activities, and SMC grant uses in Cohorts 1 and 2 ..... 90 Table 14: List of EGRP performance indicators and descriptions ...... 103 Table 15: G2G and EGRP complementarity ...... 108 Table 16: Types and numbers of participants in subnational capacity- development activities ...... 111 Table 17: Percentage of schools incorporating EGR into their annual SIPs ..... 111 Table 18: EGR budget allocation by local governments ...... 114 Table 19: Sex of assessors in each assessment phase ...... 117 Table 20: Challenges and solutions ...... 130 Table 21: Summary of funds obligated and disbursed (in US$) ...... 138 Table 22: Summary of grants ...... 138 Table 23: SMC grant-recipient schools and budget expenditures, by district ... 140

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 vii List of Abbreviations

AIR American Institutes for Research AT+ AidTracker Plus (former USAID data reporting system; see also DIS) AWP Annual Work Plan CB-EGRA Classroom-Based Early Grade Reading Assessment CDC Curriculum Development Center CEHRD Center for Education and Human Resource Development CIES Comparative and International Education Society CLA Central Level Agency COP Chief of Party COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease 2019 cwpm Correct Words per Minute DBI–EA Digital Broadcast Initiative, Equal Access Nepal (communications NGO) DCC District Coordination Committee DCT District Core Team DEO District Education Office DIS Development Information Solution (system; successor to AidTracker Plus) DOE Department of Education DOP Director of Programs DQA Data Quality Assessment DTOT District-Level Training of Trainers EDCU Education Development and Coordination Unit EDD Education Development Directorate EGR Early Grade Reading EGRA Early Grade Reading Assessment EGRP Early Grade Reading Program (USAID) EMES Education Management Efficiency Survey ERO Education Review Office ETC Education Training Center FY Fiscal Year G2G Government to Government GESI Gender Equality and Social Inclusion GON Government of Nepal GPS Global Positioning System HDI Human Development Index HRDD Human Resources Development Division IATA Item and Test Analytics ICT Information and Communication Technology viii EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 IEMIS Integrated Education Management Information System IR Intermediate Result IT Information Technology L1; L2 First Language; Second Language LDC Least Developed Country LEU Local Education Unit LoP Life of Program M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MEC Municipal Education Committee MOE Ministry of Education (ministry’s name until early 2018. See MOEST) MOEST Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (name from early 2018 to present) MOSD Ministry of Social Development MTOT Master Training of Trainers NARN National Assessment for Reading and Numeracy NCED National Center for Educational Development (name changed to Human Resource Development Division, HRDD, in 2018) NEGRP (Nepal’s) National Early Grade Reading Program NFEC Non-Formal Education Center (central government agency merged with DOE and NCED to form CEHRD in 2018) NGO Nongovernmental Organization NIRT National Institute for Research and Training NPR Nepalese Rupees PDF Portable Document Format PIRS Performance Indicator Reference Sheet PMP Performance Monitoring Plan PRC Print-Ready Copy PSA Public Service Announcement PTA Parent–Teacher Association RTI RTI International (registered trademark and trade name of Research Triangle Institute) SBC Social and Behavior Change SDG Sustainable Development Goal SIP School Improvement Plan SMC School Management Committee SMS Short Message System (phone-based text messaging) SRMs Supplementary Reading Materials SSDP School Sector Development Plan TLMs Teaching and Learning Materials TOT Training of Trainers

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 ix TPD Teacher Professional Development TPS Teacher Professional Support TRG Tole Reading Group TSU Technical Support Unit UIS UNESCO Institute of Statistics UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund USAID United States Agency for International Development USG United States Government VAT Value-Added Tax VEC Village Education Committee

x EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 1 Project Summary Information

Task order name: USAID’s Early Grade Reading Program (EGRP) in Nepal Task order start date and end March 2, 2015 – October 31, 2020 date: Name of prime implementing RTI International partner: Task order number: AID-167-TO-15-00002 Names of subcontractors: Another Option, Plan Nepal, Room to Read, SIL LEAD Major host-country counterpart Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (MOEST), Curriculum organizations: Development Center (CDC), Center for Education and Human Resource Development (CEHRD—which in 2018 combined the former Department of Education [DOE] and the National Center for Educational Development [NCED, renamed the Human Resource Development Division [HRDD]), and Education Review Office (ERO); and, until it was phased out in 2018, the Non-Formal Education Center (NFEC) Geographic coverage: Kathmandu and the following districts: Cohort 1 – Banke, Bhaktapur, Kanchanpur, Kaski, Manang, Saptari; Cohort 2 – Bardiya, Dang, Dadeldhura, Dhankuta, Dolpa, Kailali, Mustang, Parsa, Rupandehi, Surkhet Reporting period: March 2, 2015 – October 31, 2020

2 Executive Summary This final report highlights the progress and accomplishments of the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) Early Grade Reading Program (EGRP) in Nepal. EGRP now serves as a programming model in several ways. Examples are its scale-up and community ownership of a ministry-driven literacy program for the early primary grades; its pivot to subnational government engagement; and its emphasis on using research and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) data, in collaboration with country and international partners, for collaboration, learning, and adapting. EGRP supported Nepal’s journey to self-reliance by promoting open and accountable governance through transparent information systems and citizen participation in decision making around improving learning outcomes through early grade reading (EGR). The program built government capacity to expand the country’s National Early Grade Reading Program (NEGRP) at all levels, from local to provincial to national. EGRP also promoted inclusive development by creating teaching and learning approaches and materials that were tailored for diverse and minority language groups and by ensuring wide participation in parent and community engagement activities. By closely collaborating with local partner nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), EGRP strengthened civil society capacity to engage in social and community mobilization and hold government accountable for EGR service delivery. At its foundation, EGRP built citizen capacity by improving education quality and learning outcomes through improved reading outcomes in the early primary grades. Supported through USAID, EGRP was a program of technical assistance to the Government of Nepal (GON). The program was implemented by RTI International and its subcontractors, Another Option, Plan Nepal, Room to Read, and SIL LEAD. EGRP’s goals were to improve the reading skills of public primary school students in grades 1–3 and to demonstrate an EGR model that could be scaled up throughout the country, in support of GON’s NEGRP.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 1 Implemented from March 2, 2015 to October 31, 2020, EGRP achieved these goals through three main focus areas: improved EGR instruction; strengthened national, district, and local- level EGR service delivery; and increased family and community support for EGR. EGRP was implemented against a backdrop of substantial changes in the Nepali context. This transformation included the promulgation of a new Constitution in 2015, which ushered Nepal out of a prolonged period of conflict and uncertainty and into a novel system of decentralized governance. Thus, EGRP had to adapt to a new array of education systems and stakeholders at all levels of the country. In addition, Nepal weathered powerful earthquakes in 2015 that caused widespread loss of life, damage to schools and other property, and disruptions to children’s learning; followed by a trade blockade that paralyzed movement of fuel, medicines, and essential supplies and caused school closures for several months; and ending with the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020, which shuttered schools before the March end of the school year and impacted the program’s ability to support the GON with EGR service delivery. Over more than 5 years of implementation, EGRP reached 551,439 learners in 5,017 schools with an evidence-based model of EGR instruction (see Figure 1). The program supported the GON to provide professional development to 14,311 teachers in grades 1–3, deliver capacity strengthening to 8,185 education administrators and other GON officials, and print and distribute 10,294,195 teaching and learning materials (TLMs) and supplementary reading materials (SRMs) to participating schools. In the last year of the program, EGRP also distributed SRMs to schools in 22 expansion districts, for a total of 11,728,075 materials distributed over the life of the program (a list of TLM and SRM titles appears in Volume 2, Annex C). This additional SRM distribution increased the total number of schools reached by 6,968 to 11,985. In addition, EGRP engaged 3,744 parent–teacher associations (PTAs) and school management committees (SMCs) in activities to promote EGR, and managed grants and EGR capacity-development activities for 15 civil society organizations and 1,500 SMCs. The program also contributed to strengthened policies, guidelines, standards, and benchmarks to improve EGR service delivery and quality throughout the country.

Figure 1: EGRP by the numbers EGRP by the 551,439 learners (53% female) Numbers 11,985 schools

14,311 teachers (56% female)

8,185 administrators (22% female)

11,728,075 educational materials

3,744 PTAs/SMCs

Grants to 15 partner NGOs and 1,500 SMCs

2 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Implemented in 16 districts covering all seven of Nepal’s provinces (see map in Volume 2, Annex B), EGRP rolled out in phases in two cohorts: Cohort 1, which covered 6 districts (Banke, Bhaktapur, Kanchanpur, Kaski, Manang, and Saptari); and Cohort 2, which included 10 districts (Bardiya, Dang, Dadeldhura, Dhankuta, Dolpa, Kailali, Mustang, Parsa, Rupandehi, and Surkhet). Cohort 1 schools received the full intervention between 2016 and 2018 for two academic years, while interventions in Cohort 2 schools ramped up between 2018 and 2020. Additional SRM distribution in 2020 reached a further 22 districts, namely Achham, Baglung, Bara, Bhojpur, Dailekh, Dhanusha, Doti, Kapilvastu, Khotang, Mahottari, Myagdi, Nawalparasi West, Rasuwa, Rautahat, Rolpa, Salyan, Sarlahi, Sindhuli, Sindhupalchok, Siraha, Taplejung, and Tanahun. EGRP’s achievements related to improved EGR instruction included supporting the GON’s Curriculum Development Center (CDC) with development of an evidence-based EGR model, a grades 1–3 curriculum based on that framework, and associated TLMs and SRMs to enhance teachers’ instructional approaches and children’s reading practice. To promote gender equality and social inclusion (GESI), EGRP helped advance materials development and teacher training for mother-tongue instruction as well as teaching and learning approaches for children who speak Nepali as a second language (L2). Program staff also created and disseminated guidance on gender sensitivity in TLM development. The program also worked closely with the Center for Education and Human Resource Development (CEHRD)—which in 2018 combined the former Department of Education (DOE), the Non-Formal Education Center (NFEC), and the National Center for Educational Development (NCED), renamed the Human Resource Development Division (HRDD)—to develop and roll out a teacher professional development (TPD) package as well as a teacher professional support (TPS) system to operationalize the new curriculum and materials. Over the life of the program, EGRP worked with these government agencies to continually evaluate and improve the approaches and materials that were produced, and transition to a new integrated curriculum in the fourth and fifth years of the program, based on the findings of monitoring and research. EGRP’s achievements related to strengthened national, provincial, district, and local-level EGR service delivery centered on improving EGR data collection and analysis systems. The program collaborated with CEHRD to incorporate language information into Nepal’s Integrated Education Management Information System (IEMIS) and to combine it with school mapping data. These GPS mapping data are maintained separately and are not stored in the IEMIS system. Program staff also helped develop a related Local Education Unit (LEU) profile that local governments could use for decision making. In addition, EGRP supported strengthened national-level EGR assessment approaches in coordination with the Education Review Office (ERO). EGRP engaged extensively in terms of policy with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MOEST)—called the Ministry of Education (MOE) until 2018—and its constituent agencies.1 Together, they improved standards and benchmarks for early grade teachers and learners, developed a costed “minimum package” of EGR interventions that the GON could feasibly roll out nationally through the NEGRP, and created and implemented annual plans for NEGRP rollout.

1 We refer to “MOE” rather than “MOEST” for activities that preceded the Ministry’s name change in early 2018.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 3 Opportunities such as study tours and joint monitoring visits fostered learning and collaboration across all levels of government, feeding lessons from the grassroots level to policy makers. EGRP also enabled sharing of international best practices in EGR with Nepali policy makers, as well as dissemination of research and lessons learned with audiences at prominent international and regional education conferences. Finally, to support decentralization, EGRP led NEGRP orientation and capacity development across newly decentralized Ministries of Social Development (MOSDs) and other structures at the provincial level; Education Development Coordination Units (EDCUs—formerly called District Education Offices or DEOs)—at the district level; and LEUs as well as other government structures at the local level. The program helped distribute information technology (IT) equipment as needed at each level. Achievements related to increased family and community support for EGR included extensive social and behavior change (SBC) efforts. Examples are SBC research, strategy development, and dissemination as well as radio programs, text messages, posters, communication guides, a documentary and other video communication, and mobile application platforms. EGRP supported local structures, such as District Core Teams (DCTs), mayors and deputy mayors, and ward chairs—as well as Tole Reading Groups (TRGs) and SMC EGR subcommittees with more than 100,000 total members—to better understand, plan for, and implement core community and parent engagement activities to promote EGR. In addition, EGRP worked closely with partner NGOs to implement community mobilization activities, such as peer education and EGR-related events, for the parents of children in grades 1–3, reaching 181,935 participants in total. Finally, EGRP helped strengthen the culture of reading in communities and homes through approaches—led by communities, schools, and parents—such as organizing reading fairs, producing local reading materials, installing displays and purchasing books to create print-rich classrooms, holding parent- teacher conferences, and building reading corners in both schools and households. These efforts were bolstered by the SMC grants, which schools used to improve the quality of their learning environments in pursuit of strengthened EGR. All of these achievements were underpinned by a robust M&E system, which ensured frequent quality monitoring as well as data gathering on key output and outcome indicators in EGRP’s performance monitoring plan (PMP), including the program’s rigorous, large-scale impact evaluation. EGRP’s M&E-related work used cutting-edge technology to depict data visually in a compelling format for audiences at all levels—from the local to the international. The M&E team also ensured ERO capacity to apply the latest data-gathering, analysis, and reporting approaches to inform decision making. A particularly groundbreaking achievement was collaboration with ERO to design and roll out a classroom-based early grade reading assessment (CB-EGRA), an instrument and process that engaged teachers, parents, and GON stakeholders at local and central levels in using real-time information about children’s learning outcomes. In addition, the program’s M&E approach fostered continuous learning through research, learning reviews, monitoring visits, and partner NGO capacity assessment. EGRP implemented activities in close coordination with USAID’s 5-year, government-to- government (G2G) investment in EGR, as well as other inputs jointly financed by the GON and bilateral and multilateral international development agencies. Together with EGRP, these

4 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 investments supported development and implementation of the 2016–2023 School Sector Development Plan (SSDP). The SSDP served as the GON’s education sector strategy and supported Nepal’s vision to graduate from least developed country status (see footnote 2 in Section 3 below) by 2030. It integrated EGR best practices and aligned with Nepal’s commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly the SDG that addresses inclusive, high-quality education. EGRP helped the GON and USAID generate substantial evidence about the effectiveness of the NEGRP model as well as areas for future improvement. The program’s impact evaluation (see text box for a summary of key impacts) demonstrated that the program had positive effects at the endline among learners in Cohorts 1 and 2, as related in the final impact evaluation report, prepared by NORC at the University of Chicago. The findings for Cohort 2 at endline were similar to the effects found at midline for Cohort 1, where the program had already been fully rolled out. These gains were comparable to those achieved in other similar USAID-supported reading programs around the world. In addition to NORC’s report, analysis that RTI undertook showed that EGRP impacts although Cohort 2 saw a significant With United States Government (USG) assistance, increase, the impact on reading skills in the percentage of learners who demonstrated reading fluency and comprehension of grade-level Cohort 1 did not change significantly from text at the end of grade 2 increased from 0.9 percen- midline to endline. This finding suggests a tage points at baseline in 2016, to 3.14 percentage plateau effect, in which Cohort 1 achieved points at midline in 2018, to 3.21 percentage points at endline in 2020. substantial improvements by midline but In addition, the average number of correct words would have required additional ongoing per minute (cwpm) read by second graders support to help teachers continue improving increased from 6.9 at baseline to 9.96 at midline and 12.15 at endline, a near doubling in 4 years. their instructional practices and increase children’s learning even further. EGRP’s impact evaluation also demonstrated that native Nepali speakers (first-language or L1 learners) gained more than their nonnative Nepali-speaking (L2) peers, indicating that L2 students would need targeted support to close the gap with their L1 peers. Finally, the impact evaluation identified a significant reduction in the percentage of nonreaders between baseline and endline, but only a small percentage change in the number of students reading fluently with comprehension. This finding indicates that Nepali children in general are starting out with limited reading skills in the first three primary grades, and that concerted effort is required to move them into higher skill categories. In addition, the program’s impact evaluation identified promising effects on indicators of key instructional practices, such as the teachers’ reading instruction index; teachers’ EGR knowledge, skills, and attitudes index; and schools’ remediation practices for struggling early grade readers. Moreover, comparing the baseline and endline assessment results, the impact evaluation highlighted improvements in parents’ beliefs and attitudes regarding the importance of EGR for their children, as well as increases in positive practices to promote reading at home. Challenges and lessons learned pinpointed the need for practical strategies related to language of instruction, and particularly a coherent, evidence-based approach to mother tongue and Nepali L2 issues. In addition, EGRP’s research and monitoring efforts pointed to the need to ensure that EGR best practices are well-supported as the integrated curriculum is rolled out.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 5 They also underscored the importance of focusing explicitly on teacher training and professional support in promoting key EGR-related instructional changes. In its final years, EGRP generated substantial learning around challenges and potential local solutions for TPS, which should be carried forward in future education sector policies and investments if—as is assumed—Nepal intends to achieve sustained improvements in EGR teaching and learning. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also more broadly, EGRP identified significant demand for increased, equitable use of IT—as feasible in the Nepal context—to promote improved EGR instruction and school-community linkages. Moreover, EGRP’s experience pointed to the critical importance not just of instructional and systems change, but also of widespread SBC efforts from the grassroots to the central levels in support of children’s reading. EGRP’s team, consisting of a cadre of talented education and operations professionals in Nepal as well as in the regional and headquarters offices of RTI and its subcontractors, oversaw a complex array of management functions with a high degree of professionalism and integrity. Assigned tasks included USAID and GON liaison, human resources, finance, administration, procurement, grants management, IT, and communications. EGRP successfully operated within a ceiling budget of and an obligated amount of . In addition to GON in-kind contributions for aspects including office and meeting space, some local governments were inspired to allocate over of their own resources toward EGR activities in the final program year, such as creating print-rich environments and conducting reading festivals. A direct result of EGRP’s combined efforts, these allocations are a strong indication of the popularity of the program’s EGR model and the impacts that Nepal could realize in years to come with sustained support for NEGRP expansion.

3 Overview of the Country Context A landlocked South Asian nation surrounded by China to the north and India to the south, Nepal had a population of 28 million in 2018, concentrated in its lowland and hill eco-belts, with sparser population concentrations in the Himalayan mountain region. Nepal’s most recent categorization as one of the world’s 47 least developed countries and its rank at 147th out of 189 nations on the Human Development Index2 were driven by low per capita income, limited human assets in health and education, high inequality, and elevated economic vulnerability. In multiethnic Nepal—where 126 enumerated castes/ethnicities and 123 mother tongues coexist—disadvantage based on these factors has been persistent despite attempts at reform.3

2 For more about the least developed country classification: United Nations, Department of Economic Affairs. (2020). Economic analysis: Least developed countries (LDCs) [Web page]. https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category.html. For the Human Development Index, see United Nations Development Programme. (2020). Human development reports: Human Development Index (HDI) [Web page]. http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-index-hdi 3 National Institute for Research and Training (NIRT) & American Institutes for Research (AIR). (2016). Nepal education sector analysis. Kathmandu, Nepal: NIRT. https://www.globalpartnership.org/sites/default/files/2019- 05-nepal-education-sector-analysis.pdf; and UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS). (2020). Education inequalities: Nepal [Interactive database]. Paris: UIS. https://www.education-inequalities.org/countries/nepal

6 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Nepal’s education system consists of early childhood development, basic, secondary, and tertiary levels, with lower basic education beginning at age five and covering grades 1–5. The participation rate in one year of learning before primary school was over 88% in 2016, indicating substantial access to school readiness services prior to primary entry. Nepal had achieved nearly 100% net enrollment in lower basic level by 2019, although a 118.8% gross enrollment rate in lower basic level and a repetition rate of 7% (grades 1–5) indicated considerable inefficiency in the system.4 Beyond these challenges with educational access and participation, Nepal also faced entrenched gaps related to education quality and learning. Conducted in 2014, the country’s first nationally representative Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) found that the majority of students read far below international standards. This poor performance was compounded by language, with 55% of grade 2 children whose mother tongue was not Nepali scoring zero on an oral reading fluency assessment.5 Although 97.3% of primary teachers in Nepal had received basic pedagogical training as of 2017,6 the 2014 EGRA study identified that teachers demonstrated only a minimal command of evidence-based instructional techniques for teaching EGR. Promisingly, over EGRP’s 5-plus years, Nepal moved toward a strengthened, skills-based national assessment system and invested substantially in improving the reliability and quality of administrative data captured through the IEMIS. In addition, Nepal consistently devoted a substantial percentage of public institution spending to the education sector in recent years— with the lion’s share allocated to primary education—in recognition of the critical role that basic education and skills can play in socioeconomic development.7 Nepal’s investments in education have evolved alongside a global shift in emphasis, through the SDGs, on achieving equitable, high-quality basic education as measured through reading and math outcomes in grade 2 or 3 of primary school. After the Incheon Declaration in 2015,8 the GON began revising its education sector strategies and indicators to better align with the country’s global SDG commitments, which will also inform the next iteration of Nepal’s SSDP, to take effect post-2023. The 2016–2023 SSDP was jointly financed by eight bilateral and multilateral development partners, and was supported by USAID through investments such as EGRP as well as direct G2G funds for EGR activities and the Reading for All Program, which focused on disability and inclusion in EGR. EGRP was implemented against the backdrop of substantial shifts in the Nepali political and governance context. Sweeping changes were instituted with the promulgation of Nepal’s new Constitution in 2015, which ushered the country out of a prolonged period of conflict and

4 UIS. (2020). Nepal education and literacy data [Interactive database]. Paris: UIS. http://uis.unesco.org/en/country/np 5 Sitabkhan, Y., & DeStefano, J. (2014). Nepal Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) study. Prepared for USAID under Education Data for Decision Making (EdData II), Data for Education Programming in Asia and Middle East, Task Order No. AID-OAA-BC-11-00001 (RTI Task 15). Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI International. https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PBAAF535.pdf 6 UIS. (2020). Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 country profile: Nepal [4-page brief]. Paris: UIS. http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/countryprofiles/NP.pdf 7 NIRT & AIR (2016). 8 Incheon Declaration: See Education 2030: Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning and opportunities for all, at https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000245656.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 7 uncertainty and established a federal democratic republic with three levels of governance: central, provincial, and local. Administrative divisions were redrawn, with 7 provinces, 77 districts and 753 local government units, which were further subdivided into wards. Local elections took place in 2017 for the first time since the ratification of the new Constitution, with more than 35,000 local representatives chosen by the Nepali people. In addition, structures such as the education divisions in the provincial MOSDs, the EDCUs at the district level, and the LEUs at the local level were established to govern decentralized education policy making, revenue allocation, and service delivery. At the same time, the MOEST and Central Level Agencies (CLAs) in Kathmandu remained in place, with the expectation that they would provide technical guidance and support to the lower levels even though they no longer had line authority over subnational education service delivery. Despite some progress, as EGRP came to a close, the vast majority of local governments had yet to promulgate the legal acts and regulatory frameworks necessary to govern the complex web of services to be provided at the local level—including basic education—much less operationalized those laws through education strategies and budgets. Lack of human resources at lower levels also remained a key constraint, with an estimated 33% of LEU positions remaining unfilled. Apart from these governance shifts, EGRP weathered significant shocks in the external country context. These troubles included powerful earthquakes and aftershocks in 2015 that caused widespread loss of life, damage to schools and other property, and disruptions to children’s learning. The earthquakes, combined with trade disputes with India from late 2015 through early 2016, drove economic growth down to its lowest level in more than a decade and led to long-term reconstruction challenges in the country’s social sectors.9 In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered schools, forced a push toward increased online and distance learning, and was expected to result in a substantial drop in economic growth as well as learning loss for affected children and families.

4 Program Overview EGRP was a 5-year program of technical assistance to the GON with two overarching goals: (1) to improve the reading skills of public primary school students in grades 1–3 in the 16 target districts; and (2) to support the GON through Phase 1 of NEGRP and complete the design and demonstration of a national model that the GON could then implement nationwide within its budget. These goals were achieved through meeting the following three Intermediate Results (IRs): • Improved Early Grade Reading Instruction (IR 1) • Improved National and District Early Grade Reading Service Delivery (IR 2) • Increased Family and Community Support for Early Grade Reading (IR 3) Based in Kathmandu and working in the following 16 districts—Banke, Bardiya, Bhaktapur, Dang, Dadeldhura, Dhankuta, Dolpa, Kailali, Kanchanpur, Kaski, Manang, Mustang, Parsa,

9 World Bank. (2020). Update: 2015 earthquake [Web page]. Washington, DC: World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/nepal/overview#4

8 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Rupandehi, Saptari, and Surkhet—EGRP supported MOEST and its CLAs, the CDC, CEHRD,10 and the ERO to develop an EGR program that the GON could replicate and expand to all districts of the country in a cost-effective and sustainable manner. Key EGRP activities centered on collaborating with the GON to develop and distribute TLMs and SRMs; develop teacher training manuals and deliver training; and bolster the system of teacher professional support in the early grades. In addition, the program provided technical assistance to strengthen the MOEST’s IEMIS and built capacity of District Administration Offices, EDCUs, and LEUs to effectively manage school-based EGR activities. EGRP also sensitized and mobilized families and communities to support EGR activities in schools and communities. Finally, EGRP assisted the GON to design and conduct reading assessments in the primary grades and other ongoing formative classroom assessments and national-level assessments to improve measurement and decision making regarding children’s learning outcomes in the first three grades of primary school. The RTI team’s technical approach to implementing EGRP emphasized: • Providing embedded and other direct technical assistance services to the GON for the implementation and continuing evolution of the GON’s NEGRP Plan. This included supporting the GON to harmonize and organize the multiple contributions to EGR that were already under way. • Maintaining consistency with GON NEGRP standards, making it feasible for the GON to replicate and implement on a national scale. This included utilizing and helping to improve the policies, systems, and resources that were available to the GON. • Employing multiple first-language instructional methods and materials according to dominant L1, in selected languages in addition to Nepali. • Utilizing evidence-based strategies to increase family and community support for EGR. EGRP had four subcontractors over its period of performance, each of which played a significant role in implementing the program, as follows: • Another Option’s contributions focused on EGR social and behavioral change communication and advocacy (primarily IR 3); • Plan Nepal oversaw much of EGRP’s community sensitization and mobilization work (IR 3); • Room to Read provided expertise in EGR policy, materials, and curriculum development, as well as teacher training (IR 1 and IR 2); and • SIL LEAD applied its expertise in mother-tongue development to EGRP’s IR 1 activities (especially IR 1.1). RTI and its subcontractors formed a strong team. In the interest of program integration and seamless implementation and reporting, references to individual organizations are limited in this report as in prior progress reports (see list of reports in Volume 2, Annex E).

10 The GON organized the CEHRD after EGRP began implementation, as part of the shift to federalism. As noted in the Executive Summary, it combines the former DOE, NCED (now HRDD), and the NFEC.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 9 5 Results and Impact In collaboration with the GON at every step, EGRP collected reading and school management impact data from a representative sample of students and schools in grades 1–3, at three time points (baseline, midline, and endline); and built research-based evidence around key programmatic and policy aspects of EGR in Nepal. In addition, EGRP established a comprehensive system to monitor program outputs and outcomes and to promote continuous reflection and improvement. This section describes the results, impacts, and evidence that the program generated, from start to finish. 5.1 Impact Evaluation Findings EGRP’s outcomes were measured through an impact evaluation that drew upon the data collected at baseline in 2016, at midline in 2018, and at endline in 2020. This evaluation was designed using technically sound, global-standard methods for early grade reading assessment, and resulted in internationally-comparable findings. EGRP oversaw in-country data collection conducted by local firms and provided final data sets to NORC at the University of Chicago, which completed the external analysis. At baseline, the evaluation set out to answer three questions: 1. To what extent did EGRP (Nepali L1 program) improve the reading outcomes of pupils who speak Nepali as a first language (L1 learners) in Cohorts 1 and 2? 2. To what extent did EGRP (Nepali L1 program) improve the reading outcomes of pupils who speak Nepali as a second language (L2 learners) in Cohorts 1 and 2? 3. To what extent did EGRP (Nepali L2 program with and without mother-tongue reading instruction) improve the reading outcomes of pupils who speak Nepali as a second language (L2 learners) in Cohort 2? Two additional questions were added to probe the midline and endline data: 4. To what extent has the EGRP Nepali L1 program changed teachers’ reading instructional practices in the classroom? 5. To what extent has the EGRP Nepali L1 program changed the school leadership and management index (as defined in monitoring index), demonstrating active support for EGR? The evaluation methodology was quasi-experimental, assessing cross-sections of students in grades 1–3 at each phase. The sample consisted of randomly assigned schools in 20 districts, including 14 program districts plus 6 comparison districts, which were located nearby the sampled program districts to achieve a similar socio-economic and demographic profile. The study employed a difference-in-differences analytical approach, with treatment and comparison schools statistically equated using propensity score matching. Because EGRP interventions rolled out in cohorts, the impact evaluation design allowed for capture of effects on a cohort-wise basis. As indicated in Figure 2, Cohort 1 was fully implemented between baseline and midline, and continued to endline; while Cohort 2 received a partial intervention between baseline and midline and full intervention between midline and endline.

10 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Figure 2: Cohort-wise rollout of interventions and assessment phases Activities Activities

Development and Distribution of EGR TLMs distribution of EGR TLMs Teacher training Distribution of classroom In-school teacher support Cohort 1 library books Teacher training Baseline Midline Endline 2016 Community mobilization and 2018 2020 grants

Distribution of classroom Distribution of EGR TLMs library books Teacher training Limited stakeholder training ohort 2 Limited community mobilization and grants In-school teacher support

Baseline data were collected between February and May 2016 (with an interruption for terminal exams), midline data were collected between February and March 2018, and endline data between February and March 2020. Table 1 breaks down the sample of schools and students11 in the treatment and control groups, as well as the overall totals, at baseline, midline, and endline.

Table 1: Sample breakdown at baseline, midline, and endline Treatment (14 districts) Control (6 districts) Total Time point Schools Students Schools Students Schools Students Baseline 170 4,965 115 3,029 285 7,994 Midline 169 4,761 113 2,813 282 7,574 Endline 170 4,802 114 2,867 284 7,669

Data collection instruments included the EGRA tool plus student background questions that had been adapted to the Nepali context for the 2014 national-level EGRA.12 The EGRA assessed subtasks such as letter and matra13 identification, nonword decoding, oral passage reading, and both reading and listening comprehension. In addition, an Education Management Efficiency Survey (EMES) incorporated a classroom inventory and observation forms; interviews with head teachers, teachers, parents, and members of SMCs; and a school information form. At all phases, the evaluation instruments were prepared by the EGRP team in consultation with USAID, GON officials, and NORC; translated into Nepali; and finalized for data

11 Table 1 counts only the analytical sample of children, not the total number of children included in the sample overall. Annex L in Volume 3 is a list of the EGRP Cohort 1 and 2 participating schools. 12 Sitabkhan & DeStefano (2014). 13 The Nepali writing system includes consonants as well as independent and dependent vowels. A matra is a combination of a consonant plus a dependent vowel sign that together form a syllable, such as the matra क /ka/ + ो /o/ = क /ko/. The dependent vowel signs (diacritics) in matras can appear before, after, above, or below the base consonant.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 11 collection. The instruments were rendered into Tangerine™ software and loaded onto tablets. Data were collected by local firms at each wave: New Era in 2016, the Institute of Integrated Development Studies in 2018, and the Foundation for Educational Change in 2020. ERO, EGRP, NORC, CAMRIS, and USAID staff guided selection and training of assessors, who were trained into two lots and deployed in the 20 districts after satisfying assessor accuracy measures for the quality and consistency of their work. Teams of assessors then collected data using tablets and uploaded those data into RTI’s cloud server. RTI home office statisticians, with support from the EGRP M&E team, checked data quality on a rolling basis during fieldwork, and handed over cleaned data sets to NORC for analysis. While the external evaluator, NORC, prepared the impact evaluation reports, EGRP also conducted data analysis for the purposes of PMP reporting, learning, and course corrections at each phase. Evaluation Findings The baseline evaluation identified low skill levels overall in areas such as letter and matra identification, and very low performance in nonword decoding, oral reading fluency, and both reading and listening comprehension. L2 learners scored substantially below L1 learners on all subtasks. These findings indicate that non-Nepali-speaking learners were at a substantial disadvantage as compared with their Nepali-speaking peers, but that overall performance for all learners was low across the board, although there was a natural improvement in skills development between grades 1 and 3. The evaluation of the midline results found that EGRP had substantial effects on all skills for L1 and L2 learners in Cohort 1 schools, with the largest effects for L1 students, and particularly those in grades 1 and 3. NORC estimated that the program had led to average oral reading fluency score increases of 5.4 correct words per minute (cwpm) for students in grade 1, and of 12.8 cwpm for students in grade 3. EGRP also contributed to a decrease in the percentage of oral reading fluency zero scores of roughly 20 percentage points in both grades. At the same time, however, as anticipated, the midline data produced little evidence of positive impacts for learners in Cohort 2 because full implementation in those districts started shortly after that round of data collection. The midline identified that the program tended to benefit L1 learners more than L2 learners and had not closed the large gap between the two groups that was identified via the baseline data (see Figure 3).

12 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Figure 3: Program impacts in grades 1–3 at midline: Students with Nepali as L1, and L2

Credit: NORC at the University of Chicago (2018).14

Evaluation question 3, around improvements for L2 learners, could not be answered at midline because L2 interventions in schools had not yet begun. With regard to the fourth and fifth evaluation questions, the midline evaluation showed positive program impacts on the availability of student textbooks in EGRP-supported classrooms; and improvements in the reading instructional practice index in Cohort 1, but no effects in Cohort 2. Finally, the analysis of midline results uncovered that EGRP had led to an improvement of almost one point out of 14 in the management index for Cohort 1, but again no impacts in Cohort 2. Based on these findings, NORC’s report on the midline results recommended increasing efforts to improve learning for L2 children, strengthening teacher professional support, and ensuring fidelity of implementation of all elements of the EGR model. EGRP responded to these recommendations in Year 5 of the program, after midline results were available, through teacher materials for L2 learners, support for the rollout of the new TPS system, and subsequent research on the TPS system. In addition to NORC’s reporting on endline findings, RTI conducted extensive analyses of the endline data to enable PMP reporting (see also Table 5 below and Annex A in Volume 2 for this reporting) and identify actionable recommendations that could inform future interventions as EGRP was coming to a close. As indicated in the summary in Figure 4, the endline findings were similar to those revealed at midline for Cohort 1, and showed significant improvement from midline in Cohort 2.

14 NORC at the University of Chicago. (2018). USAID Early Grade Reading Program in Nepal: Impact evaluation midline results. Chicago, IL: NORC. https://shared.rti.org/content/usaid-early-grade-reading- program-nepal-impact-evaluation-midline-results-2018

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 13 Figure 4: Summary of key endline findings Key Endline The EGRP interventions for both Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 had a significant impact on student reading skills at endline, with gains Findings comparable to those achieved in other USAID-supported reading programs.

The impact on Cohort 1 reading skills at endline remained unchanged from midline.

The impact on Cohort 2 reading skills at endline was significantly higher than at midline.

Native Nepali speakers (L1 learners) gained more than their nonnative Nepali-speaking (L2) peers.

There was a significant reduction in the percentage of nonreaders; however, there was only a small percentage change in the number of students reading fluently with comprehension. Impact on learning outcomes is explained by the results from approximately one-third of the schools.

Overall, the endline results showed that EGRP had a significant impact on student reading skills, comparable to similar reading programs in other contexts, including Jordan, Rwanda, and Uganda.15 As noted above, at midline, Cohort 2 districts had not yet begun implementing interventions. From midline to endline, Cohort 2 districts made gains comparable to what Cohort 1 had accomplished from baseline to midline. At the same time, Cohort 1 maintained the baseline-to-midline gains but appeared to have plateaued. These findings are summarized in Table 2. Table 2: Baseline-to-endline changes in cwpm, by grade and cohort Endline minus Impact Effect Grade Cohort Baseline Endline baseline change Impact* p value size One Control 1.3 0.9 −0.4 Cohort 1 1.7 3.7 2.0 2.4 .0261 0.37 Cohort 2 1.5 3.5 2.0 2.4 .0007 0.41

Two Control 6.5 6.2 −0.3 Cohort 1 7.0 10.8 3.8 4.0 .0476 0.29 Cohort 2 6.9 13.0 6.1 6.3 .0009 0.45

Three Control 14.1 13.6 −0.5 Cohort 1 13.6 21.1 7.5 8.1 .0062 0.40 Cohort 2 17.1 24.1 7.0 7.6 .0096 0.38 * Impact captures the difference in baseline-to-endline changes for the two treatment groups, taking into account the change in the control group. For example, the grade 1 control group decreased –0.4 from baseline to endline, while the Cohort 1

15 Stern, J. M. B., & Piper, B. (2019). Resetting targets: Why large effect sizes in education development programs are not resulting in more students reading at benchmark. Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI Press. https://doi.org/10.3768/rtipress.2019.op.0060.1904

14 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 treatment group increased by 2.0. Thus, the impact is 0.4 plus 2.0 for a total impact of 2.4. Some impact figures in Table 2 do not total exactly due to rounding.

The positive impact overall in both cohorts was indicative of the ability of the EGRP model to improve reading outcomes despite a number of contextual factors that hampered implementation. These factors included the government’s transition to decentralization beginning in 2017, and associated staff transfers and confusion around roles and lines of authority; lack of education staff at the LEU level; elimination of the position of Resource Persons, who had served as coaches, thereby effectively removing a key element of the TPS model; CDC-required changes in the TLMs after midline; and delayed funding flow for GON activities. With regard to the plateau effect witnessed in Cohort 1, EGRA/EMES data, together with M&E data and field research, pointed to a number of possible explanations. First, it appeared that teachers had taken up some, but not all, of the instructional practices on which they were trained, and that even this degree of “uptake” was uneven among teachers. Field research further indicated that schools with more positive gains at midline had teachers who were effectively implementing the EGR instructional practices. Given a similar distribution of progress at endline (i.e., about one-third of schools accounting for most of the gains in achievement), it is likely that the trend in the level of uptake continued. Such findings suggest that fidelity of implementation of instructional practice had not improved sufficiently among the Cohort 1 schools to continue to increase learning outcomes. One of the most crucial elements to strengthen instruction implementation is provision of ongoing support to teachers—another area raised at midline as needing improvement. After the midline, CEHRD began implementing a new TPS model. Subsequently, however, as indicated above, one of the key mentor/coaching actors in that model, the Resource Person, was removed from the system. As a result, a continued lag in fidelity is not highly surprising. Aside from fidelity of implementation, it is likely that schools and teachers were facing some locally specific challenges that the model had not yet been able to address. Some locations, for example, had high rates of transience among students; while in others, the desire for English language instruction and preference for private schools continued to draw well- performing students away from community schools. Teachers also must support children from different language backgrounds, and the mix of language profiles varied significantly among regions and schools. Attendance and poverty are other, often interrelated, challenges that can impact students’ ability to achieve, and that teachers and schools must try to overcome. Centrally led solutions are unlikely to solve these types of localized challenges. With the transition to decentralization, incorporating more locally driven solutioning into NEGRP implementation in the future may help to better address some of these local challenges, which could help LEUs and schools to benefit from the NEGRP model. Looking specifically at the findings in relation to Nepali L1 and L2 students, the endline results were similar to the midline results: L1 students performed significantly better than L2 students, and L1 students had greater gains from baseline to endline (see Figure 5). These findings indicate that, in effect, L1 students benefited more from the EGRP interventions than L2 students. After similar results were seen at midline, EGRP worked with CDC to develop materials that would provide guidance and strategies for teachers to use for supporting L2 learners. The same guidance and strategies were also integrated into refresher

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 15 training for Cohort 2. Unfortunately, the materials and revised training were completed only by the beginning of 2020, which means that they were not yet incorporated into EGRP implementation before the endline. As such, the L1/L2 gap at endline was similar to that seen at midline and was not unexpected.

Figure 5: Endline results: Average oral reading fluency, non- Nepali versus Nepali speakers, Cohorts 1 and 2 combined, by grade

It is also important to note that the program appeared to result in greater change at lower reading proficiency levels than at higher levels (Figure 6). When the evaluators compared the students’ endline results to baseline, and to the results from control schools, EGRP-targeted schools demonstrated a significant reduction in zero scores—that is, they had fewer nonreaders and more beginning and emergent readers. Although the increase in fluent readers was also significant, it was less than the shift from nonreaders to readers. This differential occurred, in part, because of the large proportion of nonreaders and beginning readers at baseline, indicating the hurdles that EGRP had to overcome. Moving these children to the next level of proficiency represents important progress.

16 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Figure 6: Learners categorized by proficiency levels at endline, by cohort and grade

These findings also demonstrate that the explicit and systematic instruction promoted by EGRP benefited students at the lower end of the distribution. Moreover, this finding is typical of what has been noted in other new, large-scale reading programs, where lower-level skills improve first and more quickly. Over time, and particularly as the proportion of students at higher levels of proficiency grows, further incorporating higher-level skills into lesson plans and instruction will demand even more support to teachers and more time for practice and extension of skills. Finally, in addition to the findings related to reading outcomes, RTI’s preliminary analysis of endline data identified several important points regarding instructional practices, knowledge, and skills; time allocation to reading instruction; school remediation practices, management, and leadership for EGR; and parent reading practices with their children. These findings are summarized here and also detailed in Table 5 below and Annex A in Volume 2. The endline highlighted that teachers had continued to improve their EGR instructional practices, with 48.8% of teachers scoring above the set threshold on a reading instructional index at baseline, a figure that increased to 72.9% at midline and 80.1% at endline. In addition, the percentage of teachers who scored above the threshold on an index of EGR- related knowledge, skills, and attitudes increased from 27.9% at baseline to 31.5% at midline and 35.5% at endline. At the same time, however, the percentage of target schools allocating

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 17 at least 1 hour a day to reading instruction in grades 1–3 dropped by 26 percentage points between midline and endline. In-depth analysis indicated that many schools were implementing only 45 minutes for Nepali lessons, a reflection of the fact that CDC elected not to officially change the timetable until it implemented the integrated curriculum with 60 minutes mandated for Nepali lessons. The endline also uncovered that there was a plateau effect in schools’ remediation practices to provide supplemental support for struggling students: between midline and endline, there was an increase in the percentage of Cohort 2 schools meeting the threshold on this index, but a decrease in Cohort 1 schools. At the same time, there was largely positive movement on a school leadership and management index for EGR between baseline and endline, with 72.3% of schools meeting the established threshold by endline. In addition, in a testament to the strength of EGRP’s parent and community engagement approach, a large percentage of parents or guardians reported reading to their children at least once a week, a figure that climbed steadily from 69.2% at baseline to 90.2% at midline, reaching 96.2% at endline. 5.2 Performance Evaluation Findings In addition to the impact evaluation, USAID commissioned an external performance evaluation of EGRP, conducted by CAMRIS through USAID Nepal’s Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning activity. The performance evaluation was conducted in two parts: a baseline, with data collected in August and September 2016 and the report published in 2017; and a follow-up, with data collected from February through April 2019 and the report published in February 2020. The design of the 2016 study focused on establishing a baseline against which the viability, scalability, and sustainability of EGRP approaches, as well as the program’s ability to strengthen GON capacity, could eventually be judged. However, between the baseline and the endline, decentralization and other contextual factors and programmatic changes necessitated a revision in the evaluation objectives. As such, at follow-up, the performance evaluation focused on answering five key questions: 1. To what extent did EGRP demonstrate a viable and sustainable model for increasing EGR skills that could be scaled to other districts? 2. To what extent did EGRP strengthen GON EGR service delivery at the central and local levels? 3. To what degree have the findings and recommendations of the baseline performance evaluation been addressed? 4. To what extent are the local governments within the EGRP districts able to continue and sustain EGRP interventions? 5. To what extent have the MOEST and CLAs built capacity at the central level to support the national scale-up of the NEGRP minimum package at the federal and local levels? The methodology for the performance evaluation was largely qualitative at both waves. At baseline, 256 key informant interviews were conducted at the central level and in 2 regions, 6 districts, 12 clusters, and 24 schools. The follow-up employed more than 250 individual interviews, focus group discussions, and rapid classroom assessments. It covered 24 schools, 13 palikas (municipalities), 4 EGRP-assisted districts, and 2 control districts, as well as GON officials at the provincial and central levels.

18 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Under research question 1, the follow-up report identified that EGRP had demonstrated viable components of an EGR model. However, elements such as motivated teachers, support for non-Nepali-speaking children, and orientation and training on NEGRP implementation at local levels were identified as critical for sustained success. For research question 2, the evaluation categorized EGRP progress on strengthening GON service delivery using four stages: latent, emerging, initially established, and institutionalized. The researchers found that no EGRP IRs or sub-IRs had achieved “institutionalized” status, but that several elements had become “initially established,” representing substantial improvements since the 2016 baseline. This included evidence-based instructional materials; in-service professional development; data collection and analysis systems and use of data for decision making; policies, standards, and benchmarks; planning and management; and family engagement to support reading. Monitoring and coaching for teachers in EGR instruction was the only area still identified as “latent” at follow-up, while aspects of community awareness and contributions of PTAs and SMCs to high-quality reading instruction were “emerging.” Under research question 3, the follow-up study found some improvement in areas such as enthusiasm for NEGRP, more timely disbursement of G2G funds, and resource mobilization from external donors and local governments. At the same time, no progress was identified in issues such as parental demand for English as a medium of instruction, lack of stakeholder recognition of the importance of learning, threats to time on task for EGR, effective use of TLMs under the encouragement of TPS providers, use of a continuous assessment system, implementation of small-scale research and evidence-based innovation to improve the EGR model, or limited existence of EGR champions inside or outside of the GON. The findings related to research question 4 indicated that EGRP had made some progress in building institutional capacity of local governments to sustain EGR interventions even in the face of decentralization, but that more needed to be done to develop and implement an institutional capacity strengthening plan for local governments. Finally, under research question 5, the evaluation found that more emphasis was needed to build capacity of MOEST and the CLAs to support lower levels of government in implementing NEGRP, and that a revision to the NEGRP strategy was required to take into account the new decentralized structures across the country. A summary of key recommendations from the report is captured in Figure 7.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 19 Figure 7: Recommendations from the follow-up performance evaluation of EGRP Performance Encourage the GON to clarify confusion around the use of the EGR Evaluation Follow-Up workbook versus the old Nepali textbook and materials used during the Recommendations transition to the integrated curriculum that the CDC piloted in 2019–2020.

Reduce the number of Nepali reading lessons and encourage CDC to prioritize EGR and issues of L2 learners in the new integrated curriculum.

Develop a more effective strategy for replenishing TLMs and providing refresher TPD through GON systems.

Issue guidance to schools on how to use conditional grants for establishing or maintaining book corners, and on using local resources to stock SRMs.

Incorporate EGR best practices into pre-service TPD and strengthen training on Nepali L2 and management of small, large, and multilingual classrooms. Review and improve the TPS system, consider restoring the Resource Person model or similar, and emphasize time on task for both teachers and students.

Build stronger buy-in at local levels for conducting CB-EGRAs.

Establish stronger partnerships to improve EGR with civil society and elected officials at local levels.

Institute more extensive capacity development, with capacity analysis and strengthening plans, to enable GON to implement and scale up NEGRP.

Roll out social mobilization campaigns across the country to encourage behavior change and both public and private financial support for EGR.

EGRP used the baseline findings to redouble efforts to communicate and galvanize a common vision about the benefits of EGR at all levels; apply models of EGR that had already been developed in Nepal as a starting point rather than reinventing the wheel; and push for dialogue on language-of-instruction issues, including mother tongue and Nepali L2 teaching and learning. Although they were not available until after the program’s Year 5 annual work plan (AWP) had been designed, the follow-up findings and recommendations were used to make course corrections during the final year of the program. The adjustments emphasized continuing to advocate for strengthened Nepali L2 teaching and learning approaches and materials, conducting research to identify ways to strengthen TPS, informing the content of workshops to develop local capacity, and collaborating with ERO and local-level structures to institutionalize capacity for CB-EGRAs. In addition, the follow-up performance evaluation findings were addressed to the extent possible in the revision of the NEGRP core document that EGRP supported MOEST to undertake in Year 5.

20 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 5.3 Summary of Research Studies Rigorous research on key policy, practice, and assessment issues was an integral aspect of EGRP’s design and approach to continuous learning and reflection. Descriptions of the various research studies that EGRP supported over the life of the program are included throughout Section 6, which covers major activities and achievements; and research studies and/or briefs are listed in the annexes. Table 3 provides an overview of the studies and their key findings. Table 3: Summary of research studies and findings Study title Study summary Qualitative Research for This qualitative study was conducted in 2015 in Kaski and Banke districts to gain Early Grade Reading in insights on the values and beliefs that motivate parents in their actions and Nepal, 2015 decision making related to their children's education, and how social and cultural norms affect their EGR-related behaviors and practices. Overall research findings indicated that even though parents regarded education as an important factor, they lacked specific knowledge and strategies to support their children’s education. Most parents did not understand the importance of their role in monitoring the children’s progress by interacting with teachers or establishing a routine at home where the child sat quietly to study. As a result, the study recommended SBC campaigns with simple messages targeted to parents that included easily actionable recommendations for increasing their involvement in children’s learning.

Study on Language of Conducted in 2017, this mixed-methods study investigated the perceptions and Reading Instruction, preferences of education officials, head teachers, teachers, SMCs/PTAs, and Parents’ and Community parents in six EGRP-supported districts regarding the language of reading Attitudes, Language Use instruction in the early grades of primary school. In general, the study identified in Instruction, and that most informants favored instruction in Nepali since it is the language of Teacher Assignment. wider communication and commerce around the country and that preference for Final Report, 2017 English as the language of instruction was common. Nevertheless, stakeholders were also generally positive toward mother-tongue instruction, especially in areas with less exposure to Nepali. However, the study also surfaced that many stakeholders viewed mother-tongue instruction as operationally challenging, given the wide range of languages spoken and the linguistic heterogeneity in many classrooms across the country. Use of mother tongue as a helping language in Nepali-dominant classrooms was common, indicating that targeted pedagogical support to teachers using this practice would be useful. Teacher assignment was also a critical factor in language-of-instruction issues, with widespread mismatches between the languages spoken by teachers and their students. Final Report on This report on technical assistance, conducted in 2017, investigated areas where Technical Support: EGR-related parameters—including languages spoken by teachers and Update of IEMIS Data students, and teacher qualifications—could be integrated into the country’s Collection and Analysis IEMIS. This entailed a pilot to integrate EGR parameters into the IEMIS and use Systems for Early Grade the new instrument to collect data in a few schools to test its functioning. The Reading, 2017 report recommended further capacity development and orientation to stakeholders at national and local levels so they could use the revised instrument and act on the data around EGR language and instruction that it generated. Study Report on Time- This 2017 study, largely qualitative in nature, was conducted with education on-Task/Timetable for stakeholders at central, district, and school levels. It aimed to uncover current Reading Instruction in practices as well as perceptions and recommendations regarding time Early Grades in Nepal, requirements for reading instruction in the early grades to inform decisions 2017 about curriculum design and time tabling. The study laid out a detailed timeline of policy decisions and practices related to language of instruction and dedication of time to the Nepali language subject over the past few decades. The study concluded that, given the centrality of language skills for accessing other subject content, it would be possible and recommended to increase the time dedicated to Nepali lessons from 45 minutes to 90 minutes by using time on Fridays, or borrowing time from the local subject period or other subjects if possible.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 21 Study title Study summary Feasibility Study on Cell In 2017, EGRP supported a study on the feasibility of cell phone applications Phone Application for to promote home-based EGR practices. This qualitative study conducted in a Home-Based Early sample of 72 schools/communities across three of EGRP’s target districts Grade Reading Practice, assessed the situation of mobile phone use related to children’s learning and 2017 explored future alternatives to use cell phones in home-based support of EGR children. The study identified that mobile phone use was ubiquitous among parents and education officials, but also recognized that these users were often limited in the amount they could afford to spend. About half of parents used their mobile phone to communicate with their children’s school; and there was widespread agreement that cell phones should be used for educational purposes, especially monitoring of children’s learning through text messages (SMS). However, connectivity and affordability continued to be a concern and could have implications for the equity of technology-based EGR solutions.

Early Grade Reading EGRP conducted research on public awareness of SBC messages in two Public Awareness phases, first in 2018 and then again in 2020. Mixed methods, including Studies, 2018 and 2020 interviews and discussions as well as surveys, were used in both cases. Both studies, conducted across a selection of Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 districts, identified high levels of awareness of EGR-related SBC radio messages among parents, teachers, and other education stakeholders. The studies also uncovered evidence of parents’ behavior change in reading more to their children, creating home reading spaces, and following up on their children’s learning. Study on the Mother- A follow-up to the 2017 study on EGR parameters in the IEMIS, this quantitative Tongue Status of study conducted in 2019 entailed a language survey in a sample of schools that Students and Teachers was then used as the basis to generate larger-scale global positioning system in 16 EGRP Districts, (GPS)-based language maps covering all EGRP-supported districts. The study 2019 identified that Nepali was the most common mother tongue in the target areas, followed by Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Maithili, and Tharu. It also found that a large percentage of grades 1–3 classrooms included a mixture of students with various mother tongues, and that there were mismatches between the languages spoken by teachers and by students. The study uncovered challenges related to the quality and consistency of language and GPS mapping in the IEMIS and recommended that CEHRD continue its analysis and improvements of language tracking in education administrative data. It also recommended more effective use of language data by MOEST and all of the CLAs.

Evaluation of Mother- EGRP conducted EGRAs to evaluate the effectiveness of mother-tongue Tongue Materials to materials for Rana Tharu-speaking children, with a baseline before pilot Promote Early Grade interventions in 2018 and an endline in 2019, as well as qualitative follow-up to Reading for Rana Tharu examine stakeholder perceptions about the materials. Grade 2 children in 20 Children: Findings and schools in Kailali and Kanchanpur districts were assessed using an EGRA tool Recommendations from that had been adapted in the Rana Tharu language; and parents, teachers, head a Mixed-Methods Study, teachers, and education officials were interviewed. The assessment findings 2020 indicated that the Rana Tharu pilot had led to a reduction in zero scores and an increase in children’s average oral reading fluency scores, although relatively small. However, the lack of improvements in average EGRA subtask scores may indicate that it was too early for the benefits of the intervention to have taken hold, or that the benefits were too modest to lead to substantial improvements in core reading skills. The qualitative findings from some parents and teachers indicated mixed feedback about the pros and cons of mother-tongue instruction. In addition, some teachers noted that they faced challenges related to the Rana Tharu orthography (spelling rules) and reported needing more training and support to use the Rana Tharu materials.

22 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Study title Study summary Study on Effectiveness of This qualitative study, conducted in 2020, focused on assessing the the Teacher Professional functionality of the TPS system, and identifying innovative local practices that Support System in the could be used to strengthen and sustain TPS in the decentralized system of Early Grades, 2020 government. Using data from education stakeholders in 10 schools across five EGRP districts, the study found that the implementation and effectiveness of the TPS system was uneven. In schools with more active head teachers or primary in-charge teachers16 who were undertaking regular class observations and providing feedback, the system appeared to be functioning well. In schools where the head teacher or primary in-charge teacher was not observing classes, the model was essentially not implemented. In addition, the model was working better in schools where the SMC and/or PTA was active. The study recommended appointing dedicated TPS actors at school and LEU levels, regularizing TPS-related meetings and follow-up, and providing avenues for cross-school and cross-LEU sharing of good practices in TPS.

Study on Teacher Carried out in 2020, this mixed-methods study investigated the factors Motivation in the Early underpinning teacher motivation in the early primary grades. The study was Grades, 2020 conducted with schools and LEUs in six EGRP-supported districts, and identified a mix of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, such as love of working with young children, job security, and access to support and training opportunities. The study also uncovered a link between higher levels of teacher motivation and moderate to higher levels of student performance in the sampled schools. The study extrapolated from these findings to recommend that, in order to increase EGR teacher motivation and contribute to stronger learning outcomes across the board, policy makers should pay more attention to making teacher status more permanent, increasing teacher quotas, and filling vacant positions to reduce pressure on existing teachers. In addition, school leaders should use targeted approaches to praise and value EGR teachers and strengthen links between schools and communities so that parent engagement will further motivate high teacher performance. Finally, the study recommended that local governments should increase their support to EGR teachers to further encourage high performance and continuous improvement. Assessing the The main objective of this qualitative study carried out in 2020 was to assess the Functionality and functionality and sustainability of structures and systems for EGR-related Sustainability of community mobilization, including TRGs and SMCs’ EGR subcommittees. Ten Community Engagement schools across five EGRP-supported districts were included. The study Structures in Nepal’s concluded that several factors were critical to the continued sustainability and National Early Grade effectiveness of the community structures. Among them were head teacher Reading Program, 2020 engagement and leadership, shared mindsets in support of EGR, strong relationships and networks between the community and school, and inclusiveness of TRG and EGR subcommittee membership to represent the diversity of people and views in the community.

5.4 Status of Deliverables At the end of the program, all required program deliverables had been submitted (see Table 4). The specific content and the completeness of activities related to some deliverables were affected by delays in follow-up by CLAs such as CDC and CEHRD over the life of the program that were beyond EGRP’s control, as well as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Year 5.

16 For schools serving both primary and secondary students, a person assigned primary-level leadership responsibilities similar to those of the head teacher.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 23 Table 4: EGRP deliverables Deliverable due date and activities completed by Program deliverables the due date and end of program Program deliverables for IR 1 Evidence-based grades 1–3 materials, in Nepali as Completed (March 2018) a first and second language, adapted, tested, and revised. Evidence-based grades 1–3 materials in three local Completed by March 2019: languages—assuming GON concurrence— • Rana Tharu grade 1 development and piloting developed, piloted on a small scale, and revised. • Rana Tharu grade 2 draft materials MOEST supported through technical assistance to • Awadhi and Maithili grade 1 draft materials develop and pilot, on a small scale, grades 1–3 materials in other languages as determined Completed by end of program: appropriate by language mapping results and • Rana Tharu grade 1 materials revised and MOEST, where applicable. finalized • Rana Tharu grade 3 materials finalized • Awadhi and Maithili grade 1 materials finalized • Awadhi and Maithili materials for grades 2–3 drafted and finalized Target districts begin implementing evidence-based Completed (April 2016) reading instruction. 16 target districts implementing global evidence- Completed (March 2019) based reading instruction. Costs for TLMs and teacher training for Completed by March 2019: EGRP supplied MOEST implementation of EGR instruction are reflected in with cost figures for TLMs for budgeting of minimum the SSDP and the revised NEGRP strategy package under SSDP document. Completed by end of program: NEGRP document revised, with costing incorporated The proportion of students who, by the end of two Completed by March 2019; presented in the midline grades of primary schooling, demonstrate that they analysis report can read and understand the meaning of grade- level text is documented for all 16 target districts. Program deliverables for IR 2 NEGRP 5-year costed plan developed and agreed Completed by April 2017: Costs for EGRP inputs upon by NEGRP working group. provided to MOEST and support given for budgeting of minimum package under SSDP Completed by end of program: NEGRP document revised, with costing incorporated Standards, frameworks, and benchmarks for EGR Completed by March 2018: instruction adopted. • Development of minimum package • Establishment of student reading benchmarks Completed by end of program: Teacher performance standards finalized As appropriate based upon available evidence, Completed by March 2019: Review of SSDP report target districts/LEUs develop measures to mitigate on teacher motivation conducted teacher management issues that affect EGR. Completed by end of program: EGRP study on teacher motivation carried out; report finalized and shared with GON decision makers National ministry and line agencies begin adjusting Completed by April 2018: IEMIS updated to their national data collection procedures to include incorporate language data of teachers and students data on optimal language of instruction for EGR in each school. Completed by end of program: Capacity building of GON officials at multiple levels to collect, understand, and use language data to inform discussion and planning around language of instruction EGR results for grades 2 and 3 collected via Completed (October 2018) CB-EGRA or an ERO-administered national assessment, and results shared using a web-based data system.

24 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Deliverable due date and activities completed by Program deliverables the due date and end of program Program deliverables for IR 3 Advocacy campaign for raising awareness about the Completed (March 2019) importance of EGR, and language of reading instruction as appropriate, implemented. Locally developed supplementary EGR materials in Completed (March 2019) the language(s) used for reading instruction produced and used outside of the classroom to support reading acquisition. Quantifiable change in parental attitudes toward Completed by March 2019: Increase in PMP reading—and, where appropriate, languages of indicators #12 and #18 between baseline and reading instruction—in parent and community midline evaluations support to reading instruction, as demonstrated by EGRP endline assessment. Completed by end of program: Additional increase in PMP indicators #12 and #18 between midline and endline evaluations

5.5 Monitoring of Outputs EGRP’s monitoring system consisted of a PMP with 19 indicators. Six indicators related to program activity implementation were reported quarterly and annually. They covered aspects such as the numbers of learners reached, materials provided, teachers and education administrators trained, PTAs supported, civil society organizations engaged, and policies formulated. Ten indicators were reported on the basis of the EGRA and EMES administrations at baseline (2016), midline (2018), and endline (2020). These indicators addressed children’s reading fluency and comprehension (two indicators), reading instruction and remedial practices indices, languages spoken and taught at schools, parent dedication of time to children’s reading, time allocation for reading instruction, school leadership and management index, positive SMC feedback on EGR, and teachers’ EGR-related knowledge and attitudes. The remaining three indicators were reported annually from the ERO records and touched on the number of schools reporting progress toward reading performance, the number of learners reached, and capacity development of local organizations. Annex A in Volume 2 reports in detail on each of these indicators, with both yearly and life- of-program (LoP) targets and actual achievements. In addition, Section 5.1 above on the program’s impact evaluation described in more depth the findings related to the indicators that were dependent on an EGRA or EMES for measurement. Table 5 is a snapshot of the status of all PMP indicators by the end of the program, classifying each indicator as “not achieved,” “achieved,” or “exceeded,” and providing explanations as well as the percentage deviations from the targets.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 25 Table 5: Achievement of PMP targets LoP Deviation Target status / No. Indicator target LoP actual from target explanation 1 ES. 1-1: Percent of 4% 3.21% –0.79 Not achieved learners who percentage demonstrate points This target was missed by reading fluency 0.79 percentage points. The and comprehen- LoP target assumed that sion of grade-level midline-to-endline progress text at the end of in Cohort 1 districts would grade 2 with U.S. be as great as the progress Government between baseline and (USG) assistance midline, and that midline-to- endline progress in Cohort 2 would be greater than Cohort 1 progress at midline. In fact, the percentage did increase in both cohorts from midline to endline. Cohort 2 increased by 2.41 percentage points (similar to Cohort 1 baseline- midline), and Cohort 1 increased by 0.53 percentage points. This increase, however, was not sufficient to meet the target. 2 ES. 1-5: Number of 553,595 551,439 –0.4% Not achieved learners reached in reading programs This target was missed by at the primary level 2,156 learners, or 0.4%, with USG due to declining trends in assistance enrollment in community schools in the EGRP districts and nationwide. The overall population growth rate has also been declining in Nepal. As the 2019 GON IEMIS report (p. 26) pointed out, “A reduced number of enrolments are reported for the current year, with 6.4 percentage points less for lower basic education and 2.3 percentage points less for upper basic education.”

26 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 LoP Deviation Target status / No. Indicator target LoP actual from target explanation 3 ES. 1-7: Number of 14,780 14,311 –3.2% Not achieved primary school educators who This target was missed by complete 469 educators, or 3.2%. Not professional all planned training events development could be completed in a few activities on districts due to the release implementing of G2G budgeted funds evidence-based nearly at the end of the reading instruction GON's fiscal year (FY) and with USG bottlenecks experienced by assistance the reduction in number of Education Training Centers (ETCs) (from 35 to one per province (7), in Years 4 and 5, to roll out large-scale trainings at the same time. These obstacles resulted in the small underachievement of this target. 4 ES. 1-10: Number 10,284,597 11,728,075 14.0% Exceeded of primary or secondary This target was exceeded textbooks and by nearly 1,443,478, other teaching and because the SRM learning materials distribution to 22 NEGRP (TLMs) provided expansion districts in 2020 with USG was not originally assistance anticipated. 5 ES. 1-12: Number 8,147 8,185 +0.5% Exceeded of education administrators and This target was exceeded government by 38 administrators (0.5%). officials who complete professional development activities with USG assistance 6 ES. 1-13: Number 3,766 3,744 –0.6% Not achieved of PTAs or community This indicator was missed governance by 22 PTAs, or 0.6%, due structures engaged to the merging or closure of in primary or 22 schools in Bardiya, secondary Dang, Dhankuta, Dolpa, education Kailali, Parsa, Rupandehi, supported with and Surkhet, which meant USG assistance that PTAs could not be engaged in those schools.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 27 LoP Deviation Target status / No. Indicator target LoP actual from target explanation 7 3.2.1-38: Numbers 7 7 — Achieved of policies / regulations / This target was met through administrative EGRP’s support to policies, procedures in each regulations, and procedures of the following such as materials stages of development guidelines, development as a teacher training guidelines, result of USG social and community assistance in each mobilization guidelines, case: 1. Analysis, SMC grant implementation 2. Stakeholder guidelines, student consultation / assessment guidelines, public debate, monitoring and evaluation 3. Drafting or guidelines, and the national revision, reading benchmark. 4. Approval (legislative or regulatory), 5. Full and effective implementation 8 2.4.1-9: Number of 15 15 — Achieved civil society organizations This target was met through receiving USG EGRP’s grants to and assistance capacity building for 14 engaged in partner NGOs in Cohorts 1 advocacy and 2 districts plus one interventions national-level advocacy organization. 9 3.2.1-Z03: 75% 80.1% +5.1 percentage Exceeded Percentage of points grade 2 teachers This target was exceeded that scored 9 or by 5.1 percentage points, more out of 13 driven by large score on a reading improvements in instructional index, instructional practices demonstrating between midline and fidelity to effective endline for teachers in EGR teaching Cohort 2 and modest practices improvements among Cohort 1 teachers.

28 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 LoP Deviation Target status / No. Indicator target LoP actual from target explanation 10 3.2.1-Z04: 85.0% 78.5% –6.5 percentage Not achieved Percentage of points schools that score This target was missed by 5 or above out of 7 6.5 percentage points. It on the remediation should be noted that there practice index, was a significant increase demonstrating on this indicator between supplemental baseline and midline, well support for above the midline target. struggling students This LoP target was set with the assumption that this indicator would continue to increase along the same trend. In fact, there was an increase in Cohort 2 schools but a decrease in Cohort 1 schools between the midline and endline. The endline data did not provide evidence explaining the decline in Cohort 1 schools, but it may be noted that the social and community mobilization activities that would have encouraged additional support to struggling learners did not continue in Cohort 1 after the midline. 11 3.2.1-Z05: Percent No target – 52.5% — Not applicable of schools that status deliver reading reporting This status indicator had no instruction in a only target as it was not directly language spoken impacted by EGRP. It was and understood by reported on the basis of the majority of teacher interviews from the students (including impact evaluation. Nepali as a second language) 12 3.2.1-Z06: 92.0% 96.2% +4.2 percentage Exceeded Percentage of points parents or This indicator was guardians who exceeded by 4.2 report reading to percentage points, driven their children or by IR 3 activities related to listening to their SBC, peer education, and children read to community mobilization. them at least once There was some evidence a week of a cohort effect, with parents in Cohort 1 reporting larger average increases between midline and endline than those in Cohort 2, possibly due to the more limited community engagement interventions in Cohort 2.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 29 LoP Deviation Target status / No. Indicator target LoP actual from target explanation 13 3.2.1-Z07: Average 11.0 12.2 1.2 cwpm Exceeded grade 2 oral (+10.9%) reading fluency This target was exceeded (cwpm) scores by 1.2 cwpm. As reported in among students in Section 5.1 above, USAID/Nepal’s increases were largely EGRP target driven by Cohort 1 schools districts for Nepali between baseline and language midline, and by Cohort 2 schools between midline and endline; and by larger increases for L1 children than L2 children. 14 3.2.1-Z08: 75.0% 49.0% –26.0 Not achieved Percentage of percentage target schools points This target was missed by allocating at least 1 26 percentage points. The hour a day to target assumed that Cohort reading instruction 2 would see a significant (grades 1-3) increase, as Cohort 1 had between baseline and midline (a 75-percentage- point increase), and that Cohort 1 would increase slightly. In fact, both cohorts decreased significantly on this indicator by endline, and detailed analysis indicates that many schools were implementing only 45 minutes for Nepali lessons. The endline data did not provide evidence to explain this decline. However, it may be noted that the CDC chose not to officially change the timetable (which had set Nepali lessons at 45 minutes) until the implementation of the integrated curriculum starting with grade 1 in 2020, at which time Nepali would be mandated at 60 minutes per lesson. 15 CBLD-Z10: 85% 100% +15 percentage Exceeded Percent of local points organizations with This target was exceeded improved capacity by 15 percentage points, and/or driven by EGRP performance investments in capacity scores development for both Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 partner NGOs, and as measured through baseline and endline organizational capacity assessments.

30 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 LoP Deviation Target status / No. Indicator target LoP actual from target explanation 16 Percentage of 50% 72.3% 22.3 percentage Exceeded schools that score points at least 10 of 14 This target was exceeded total possible by 22.3 percentage points. points on the Improvements on this school leadership indicator were underpinned and management by the investments in index, school-level capacity demonstrating development, including active support for support with annual school EGR improvement plans (SIPs) and SMC grants, and monitoring and support by partner NGOs. Note: Due to a calculation error, progress against this indicator was incorrectly reported at midline. EGRP reported that 16.6% of schools met the benchmark, but in fact the correct figure was 60.9% of schools. This undercount has been corrected in the final report Volume 2, Annex A, on indicators. 17 3.2.1-Z15: Number 4,426 4,426 — Achieved of schools reporting progress This target was exactly met, toward standards based on ERO for reading administrative data counting performance the number of schools completing CB-EGRAs and disseminating major findings of the assessments to parents and community members. 18 3.2.1-Z18: 92% 90.2% –1.8 percentage Not achieved Percentage of points parents and school This target was missed by management 1.8 percentage points. committee Note: Due to a calculation members error, progress against this expressing positive indicator was incorrectly attitude toward reported at midline. EGRP EGR and mother reported that 91.3% of tongue parents expressed positive attitudes, but in fact the correct figure was 79.5%. This overcount has been corrected in the final report Volume 2, Annex A, on indicators. The endline target may have been missed, in part, because of the previous error, which may have led to an unrealistically high target.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 31 LoP Deviation Target status / No. Indicator target LoP actual from target explanation 19 3.2.1-Z19: Percent 40.0% 35.5% –4.5 percentage Not achieved of teachers who points score 18 or above This target was missed by of 25 score on a 4.5 percentage points. knowledge / skills / There was an increase on attitudes index this indicator between midline and endline in both cohorts’ districts (8 percen- tage points in Cohort 1 and 11 percentage points in Cohort 2), with a combined increase of 9 percentage points. However, this increase was not sufficient to reach the target of 40%.

32 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020

6 Major Activities and Achievements This section describes EGRP’s major activities and achievements from 2015 to 2020. The section is structured to follow along with EGRP’s results framework, including the three IRs and each of their sub-IRs, as captured in Figure 8. Activities and achievements in M&E, which has been referred to as EGRP’s fourth IR, are also discussed. Figure 8: EGRP results framework EGRP GOAL: Public primary students in the early grades (1–3) in the 16 target districts with improved reading skills

IR1: Improved Early IR2: Improved National IR3: Increased Family Grade Reading and District Early and Community Instruction Grade Reading Service Support for Early Delivery Grade Reading

Sub IR 1.1: Evidence- Sub IR 2.1: Early grade Sub IR 3.1: Community based early grade reading reading data collection and awareness of the instructional materials analysis systems improved. importance of early grade designed, distributed, and reading and language for in use. SUB IR 2.2: Policies, stan- reading instruction as dards, and benchmarks appropriate increased. SUB IR 1.2: In-service that support improved early professional development grade reading instruction SUB IR 3.2: Family for teachers in public institutionalized. engagement to support schools on reading reading increased. instruction and the use of Sub IR 2.3: Planning and these materials provided. management of financial, Sub IR 3.3: PTA/SMC material, and human ability to contribute to Sub IR 1.3: Monitoring and resources devoted to early quality reading instruction coaching for teachers in grade reading improved. increased. early grade reading instruction provided. Sub IR 2.4: National Sub IR 3.4: Parent and standards for early grade community ability to Sub IR 1.4: Classroom- reading improvement contribute to quality based and district-based adopted and reading instruction early grade reading geographically expanded. increased. assessment processes improved.

6.1 IR 1: Improved Early Grade Reading Instruction IR 1 was at the core of EGRP’s programmatic effort to improve EGR instruction. Under this IR, key EGRP activities focused on developing, printing, and distributing early grade TLMs and SRMs; developing teacher training manuals and delivering training on the use of materials; providing orientation and training for head teachers to support their teachers in enhancing their teaching skills; and conducting EGRAs and other ongoing formative classroom assessments. This section describes activities and achievements under IR 1’s four sub-IRs, related to EGR instructional materials, TPD, teacher monitoring and coaching, and assessment.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 33 6.1.1 Sub-IR 1.1 Evidence-based EGR instructional materials designed, distributed, and in use

Key Achievements: Sub-IR 1.1 • Developed and revised Nepali L1 TLMs for grades 1–3 • Distributed 2,257,969 TLMs to schools • Distributed 9,470,106 SRMs to schools, including 8,036,226 to schools in the 16 Cohort 1 and 2 districts and 1,433,880 to schools in 22 NEGRP expansion districts • A grand total of 11,728,075 TLMs and SRMs were distributed over the life of the program • Developed grades 1–3 TLMs for Rana Tharu, Awadhi, and Maithili mother tongues • Distributed and piloted Rana Tharu grades 1 and 2 TLMs in schools • Distributed Awadhi and Maithili grade 1 TLMs to EDCUs • Provided technical assistance for grades 1–3 integrated curriculum development, including TLMs and curriculum guides; offered orientations to the new curriculum • Developed and distributed teacher resource materials to support Nepali L2 children • Supported CDC with font and library development

Figure 9 gives an overview of how activities under IR 1 flowed.

Figure 9: IR 1 activity flow Nepali L1 Curriculum and TLMs In 2015, EGRP began with meetings and orientation workshops with CLA and MOE representatives to establish an initial grounding in EGR principles and best practices. Both CDC and EGRP focused on developing a new set of learning outcomes for grades 1, 2, and 3 for first languages (Nepali and some selected mother tongues), which would ensure that curriculum and materials would be based on learning outcomes that support EGR. During the startup/work- planning phase, in March–May 2015, it was recognized that several organizations in Nepal had already developed materials to support EGR. Given the desire to have standard EGR TLMs, it was agreed that EGRP would support CDC to review and select from existing materials for possible revision and use in schools for the

34 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 2016/2017 school year.17 During June–July 2015, EGRP supported CDC in revising expected learning outcomes for grades 1–3. A CDC-convened review committee examined the TLMs shared by different organizations, and in October 2015 selected Room to Read’s Nepali TLMs due to their explicit scope and sequence and systematic support of skill development according to the desired EGR learning outcomes. Upon CDC’s agreement and the NEGRP Steering Committee’s approval, EGRP worked closely with Room to Read and a CDC-identified expert Nepali language consultant to revise the materials during the October–December 2015 quarter. Because Room to Read had materials only for grades 1–2, CDC’s agreement involved revising grades 1 and 2 TLMs and using a modified version of grade 2 materials in grade 3. The revised TLMs for grades 1 and 2 were ready for CDC’s review and approval by the end of December 2015. However, due to a transition in leadership at CDC, the approval process was delayed, with the new leaders requiring additional revisions that were not in the original list. The newly requested revisions to grade 1 TLMs were completed in February 2016. In order not to delay production of the TLMs further, EGRP reached an agreement with CDC that grade 2 revisions would be kept minimal. At the same time, CDC agreed not to distribute materials for grade 3 during the 2016/2017 school year because CDC officials had reservations about using a modified version of grade 2 materials in grade 3. Once this agreement was reached with CDC, EGRP completed development of the grades 1 and 2 TLMs for the 2016/2017 school year. When EGRP received CDC approval on the materials, as well as agreement on branding, in early April 2016, SAMA Printers was selected through a competitive bidding process to print and distribute the TLMs (sets of 14 types of materials, including student workbooks, teacher’s guide, decodable readers, and multiple teaching aids) to all schools in Cohort 1 districts. Although only the TLMs for grades 1 and 2 had been revised and were ready for printing and distribution, EGRP and CDC reached an agreement to print and distribute SRMs for grade 3 as well, because the reading materials would still be beneficial for teachers and learners. Previous to supporting CDC to develop the new Nepali TLMs, EGRP had provided emergency reading materials in response to the 2015 earthquake. As mentioned in Section 3, Nepal witnessed a devastating earthquake on April 25, 2015, with many schools destroyed and temporary learning centers erected in their place. In June 2015, the MOE and USAID requested EGRP to supply a set of supplementary readers to support the affected children and schools. EGRP agreed to undertake an emergency procurement of supplementary readers for about 5,800 schools and temporary learning centers in the 14 districts of Nepal that were most affected. After a competitive bidding process, Rato Bangala Foundation was selected to provide sets of 200 of their books. Rato Bangala printed and delivered all of the books to the DEOs of the 14 identified districts (Bhaktapur, Dhading, Dolakha, Gorkha, Kathmandu, Kavre, Lalitpur, Makwanpur, Nuwakot, Okhaldhunga, Ramechhap, Rasuwa, Sindhuli, and Sindhupalchowk) in November 2015. Development of New Sets of Nepali L1 Materials At the beginning of Program Year 2, in mid-July 2016, CDC informed EGRP that it intended to develop new TLMs. There was much debate around the usefulness and efficiency of

17 The school year in Nepal normally runs from mid-April to mid-March.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 35 developing another new set of materials when the new EGR materials had just been distributed. However, CDC ultimately made the decision to develop a new set of materials. Work on the new TLMs began in December of that year, for which EGRP contracted consultants upon the request and approval of CDC. Because there was not sufficient time to finish developing the materials for all three grades (1–3) in order to have materials distributed for the 2017/2018 school year, CDC and EGRP agreed to focus on completing the grade 3 materials and to do a less extensive revision of the books for grades 1–2. This work was completed in April 2017. In March 2017, CDC informed EGRP that a new integrated curriculum would be released in July 2017, and that the grades 1–2 TLMs would be revised or developed based on that curriculum. As such, EGRP expressed the hope that no new Nepali materials would be developed until after the integrated curriculum’s release, to avoid confusion among school and teaching staff and also to avoid spending time on developing new materials that were likely to have to be revised soon after they were developed. During the July–September 2017 quarter, EGRP and CDC held several discussions to determine which Nepali TLMs would be printed and distributed for the 2018/2019 school year. CDC indicated that even though the integrated curriculum framework had not been developed, they intended to finalize and distribute new TLMs that CDC had created. In October 2017, CDC informally shared a draft of these materials with EGRP. A meeting was held between EGRP, CDC, and USAID in the first week of November 2017, during which EGRP shared findings from a rapid assessment, which reflected positively on the quality of the existing TLMs. EGRP, CDC, and the then-DOE jointly conducted the rapid assessment during the July–September 2017 quarter. The assessment focused on the use of TLMs and the effectiveness of teacher training and the teacher support system. It aimed to inform further revision and development of TLMs, as well as the review and redesign of the then-ongoing teacher support system. EGRP also cautioned that significant content revision, editing, and design work remained to be done on the new TLMs before they could be printed and sent to schools. The CDC concluded that it would go ahead with the new TLMs and requested EGRP’s assistance only with illustration and design. However, CDC later requested technical assistance also for editing and content finalization, although this support would have to be limited due to the timeline constraint. During the January–March 2018 quarter, CDC developed new Nepali student workbooks and teacher’s guides for grades 1–2, which were finalized for use in the 2018/2019 school year. At the same time, with EGRP support, grade 3 materials were revised by incorporating feedback received during the rapid assessment and discussions with local stakeholders (teachers and teacher trainers). Additionally, CDC developed four new decodable books and a revised consonant–vowel chart. EGRP assisted with illustration, layout design, and finalization of print-ready copies (PRCs) for all of the Nepali TLMs. Teacher’s guides, student workbooks for grade 1–3, and other TLMs (decodable books, big books, letter and window cards, word and picture cards, pinwheel cards, and consonant–vowel and rhyme charts) were printed and distributed to all schools in 16 districts during the April–June 2018 quarter for the use in the 2018/2019 school year.

36 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Revision of CDC-Developed TLMs During the July–September 2018 quarter of Year 4, joint monitoring teams were formed in order to receive feedback and prepare for refining the existing Nepali grades 1–3 TLMs. The teams visited four districts, observed 48 classrooms, and interviewed teachers and head teachers. A TLM revision team (formed of CDC and EGRP technical staff) revised the teacher’s guides and workbooks based on the feedback received from the field. EGRP prepared the final PRCs of consumable TLMs in January 2019. Additionally, drafts of 28 new CDC-developed titles of SRMs that were shared with EGRP in September 2018 were finalized in January 2019. (EGRP’s support for the finalization included editing and rewriting as needed.) The Nepali TLMs and the new titles of SRMs were printed and distributed to all schools in 16 districts, by April 2019, for the use in the 2019/2020 school year. In total, 2,257,969 TLMs were distributed over the life of the program (SRMs are totaled separately, below). Support for Integrated Curriculum Materials In addition to revising the existing TLMs and Elements of the Integrated Curriculum 1. Retains subject distinctions, such as preparing new SRMs, from December 2018 through Nepali, mathematics, and English March 2019, CDC concentrated its energies on 2. Introduces themes that cut across subjects, such as “me and my family” developing a new integrated curriculum (see text and “our community” box) and a grade 1 student workbook that aligned 3. Incorporates “soft skills” such as with this curriculum. EGRP provided illustration and interpersonal, communication, and citizenship skills throughout design support from March through June 2019. CDC printed and piloted the material in some 100 schools in 18 districts. The piloted workbook was then reviewed and revised by CDC officials and TLM writers in December 2019. At the same time, EGRP offered expert support to ensure the quality of the material, but CDC declined the program’s support. Meanwhile, the EGRP technical team thoroughly reviewed the revised version of the workbook and developed a list of feedback that aimed to improve the workbook’s quality and make it more user friendly and shared the feedback with CDC in January 2020. CDC identified small corrections that were easy to integrate quickly, and otherwise requested EGRP to focus only on illustration/design. EGRP provided support with illustration, layout/design, and PRC development. The final PRC, along with printing specification, was handed over to CDC during the end of January 2020. CDC continued focusing on developing and finalizing integrated curriculum materials throughout 2019. A capacity-development workshop facilitated by an international expert on linguistics, reading, and second language learning in January 2019 focused on developing materials to support Nepali L2 learners and developing theme-based mother-tongue materials (discussed later in this section). The CDC and EGRP team expressed deep appreciation for the workshop, and the CDC requested a similar workshop in the future focusing on theme- based materials development. EGRP suggested that CDC conduct this workshop during August–September 2019, given that CDC was planning to develop the integrated curriculum materials for grades 2 and 3 at that time. However, after some negotiations regarding timing, CDC proposed the workshop be held toward the end of January 2020, which would comparatively be a less busy time for them. EGRP communicated with the international expert who had facilitated the January workshop, for her short-term technical assistance to organize this workshop. EGRP organized a 5-day capacity-development workshop during the

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 37 first week of February 2020, at which the participants discussed the integrated curriculum and developed sample lessons that could be included in student workbooks and teacher’s guides. In February 2020, CDC shared the first draft of the workbook for grade 2 and teacher's guide for grade 1 based on the integrated curriculum. EGRP hired illustrators and designers who worked intensely from the second week of February through the last week of March 2020 to accomplish illustration and design tasks. The final PRC of the grade 2 workbook was submitted to CDC in March 2020. Also in March, CDC shared a first draft of the student workbook for grade 3 based on the integrated curriculum. EGRP provided illustration and design support and submitted the final PRC to CDC by the end of April 2020. Additionally, EGRP provided layout design support for the grade 1 teacher’s guide in March and April 2020. Supplementary Reading Materials During July–August 2016, upon CDC’s request, international NGOs that were active in EGR and had developed children’s reading books made their materials available for setting up classroom libraries. CDC, with EGRP support, reviewed the materials provided by Save the Children and Room to Read, as well as materials that CDC had previously produced. For grades 1–3, 149 SRM titles were selected from among those reviewed. EGRP supported CDC to identify a set of books for each grade, with appropriate levels and a mix of topics. For the classroom libraries in each grade, 66 titles were identified, including some books that were selected for multiple grades. EGRP also helped with editing and, in some cases, retyping, illustration, and design of CDC-developed books where soft copies could not be found. EGRP prepared a booklet containing a book register and information and instructions to teachers on how to use the SRMs. Further, EGRP developed an inventory of the books to document themes, gender balance, reading levels, and appropriateness for L2 learners. The inventory allowed EGRP and CDC to collaborate on a gap analysis, yielding information about what additional SRMs may need to be identified or developed in the future. Subsequently, a gap-analysis review of the full set of SRMs was carried out in May 2018, involving CDC staff and CDC-recommended technical consultants. This step resulted in a gap-analysis report that identified themes or levels that were underrepresented in the existing SRMs. However, CDC had already developed 28 titles of additional SRMs by outsourcing the work to their roster authors during 2016–2017. CDC shared drafts of those SRMs with EGRP in September 2018 to support editing (including rewriting where needed), illustrating, and developing PRCs. The final copies were printed and distributed to all schools in the 16 EGRP districts, along with TLMs, for use in the 2019/2020 school year. Around June 2019, toward the end of Year 4, CDC requested EGRP to reprint the SRMs that had previously been distributed to all schools in the 16 program-supported districts because most of the schools did not have full sets of materials. The books in many schools, particularly in Terai districts, had been damaged due to a flood in the previous year, and in other places they had become worn out. It was also necessary to review and edit the books after CDC changed the Nepali language spelling rules in 2018. Therefore, during the July– September 2019 quarter, CDC staff, together with the EGRP team, reviewed all 149 titles of SRMs for compliance with the recently changed spelling rules. EGRP then developed PRCs of those SRMs and conducted a competitive bidding process for printing and distribution during the July–September 2019 quarter. The selected printer began the printing process in

38 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 September and completed distributing the SRMs in all 16 districts in the October–December 2019 quarter. In June 2020, USAID requested EGRP to print and distribute Nepali SRMs to 22 NEGRP expansion districts during the July–October 2020 quarter. The EGRP team classified the 177 SRMs into three groups based on level of difficulty, which were later packed and labeled for grades 1–3. EGRP again conducted a competitive bidding process and the vendor selected began distributing the materials to schools in the 22 new NEGRP districts. By the end of the program, 1,433,880 additional SRMs had been distributed to 6,968 schools, 208 LEUs, 22 EDCUs, 7 ETCs, and 3 CLAs. Distribution to the remaining schools in those 22 districts will be carried out under the EGRP II program. A total of 9,470,106 SRMs were distributed over the life of the program, with 8,036,226 distributed in the 16 original EGRP target districts, and 1,433,880 to the 22 NEGRP expansion districts. Mother-Tongue TLMs and SRMs Along with Nepali language materials, EGRP began focusing from Year 1 on developing a new set of TLMs for grades 1, 2, and 3 for selected mother tongues. The task of creating mother-tongue TLMs began with a training for local experts on SynPhony software for linguistic analysis (letter and word frequency), followed by a Rana Tharu scope-and- sequence development workshop in August 2015. Next, in September 2015, the Rana Tharu/Nepali L2 grades 1–3 scope and sequence (transitioning from Rana Tharu to Nepali over grades 1–3) was drafted, with the involvement of language specialists, writers, and teachers working in classes where Rana Tharu was the mother tongue, as well as linguists, researchers, writers specializing in Nepali language, and representatives from CLAs. The draft scope and sequence—designed to support a program in which students develop Rana Tharu reading skills as well as skills in Nepali L2—was shared with the CDC materials review committee in October 2015. CDC agreed to develop materials that could be piloted during the 2016/2017 school year, and the decision was approved by the NEGRP Steering Committee in November 2015. Although NEGRP calls for mother tongue to be phased in beginning in Year 3 of the GON’s national program (2017–2018), the CDC team remained hesitant to move forward with Rana Tharu materials development, while raising several important technical questions regarding implementation of a mother-tongue approach. However, EGRP and CDC ultimately agreed that EGRP would lead development of pilot grade 1 Rana Tharu + Nepali L2 TLMs. The materials were developed during August– September 2015, with short-term technical assistance from an international expert in linguistics and literacy, and with plans to pilot the TLMs in the 2016/2017 school year. However, there were delays in piloting these materials due to uncertainty around mother- tongue issues (such as how the languages were selected for piloting) and CDC’s decision not to use a bilingual approach. This situation was understandable since language issues have always been sensitive in Nepal’s political context and prioritizing some languages over others is generally challenging. Toward the end of March 2017, the new Executive Director of CDC informed USAID and EGRP that it would revise Rana Tharu grade 1 TLMs to be stand-alone materials (i.e., not linked to Nepali L2) by removing the Nepali L2 portion, because CDC was no longer

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 39 supportive of implementing a bilingual program. Before starting these major revisions, EGRP and CDC organized a workshop of Rana Tharu-speaking teachers in May 2017 to gather feedback on the Rana Tharu grade 1 TLMs. Based on the feedback received from the teacher workshop and an analysis completed by an experienced Rana Tharu writing team, with the support of EGRP technical experts, the bilingual scope and sequence and materials for Rana Tharu were revised by CDC, EGRP, and the writing team by during June–July 2017. The writers finalized the revised materials in October 2017, and EGRP developed the final PRCs in January 2018. Because CDC had agreed to roll out Rana Tharu TLMs for grade 1 as a local subject for the use in the 2018/2019 school year, EGRP, together with CDC and DOE, identified 27 schools in Kailali and Kanchanpur districts that were eligible as well as willing to participate. The materials were printed and distributed to all 27 schools in April 2018. Although Rana Tharu grade 1 materials were piloted in the 2018/2019 school year, the scopes and sequences for grades 2 and 3 were not developed until September 2018. Upon CDC agreement, EGRP organized a Rana Tharu grade 2 scope and sequence development workshop with participation of Rana Tharu writers and Nepali and Rana Tharu linguists. The grade 1 scope and sequence, developed during Year 1 of the program (2015–2016), was also revised during the workshop under CDC’s guidance because it was based on letter and word frequency order, and CDC wanted to it be in alphabetical order, similar to the Nepali language scope and sequence it had developed. The workshop participants also expressed disagreement on Rana Tharu spelling rules, requiring a revision in the language’s spelling guide. Upon CDC’s request, EGRP supported CDC to conduct a workshop in December 2018 with Rana Tharu stakeholders, in consultation with Language Commission linguists from Tribhuvan University, to resolve the issue of spelling rules. After the completion of the scope and sequence and revised spelling guide, in January 2019, CDC contracted Rana Tharu writers to develop a student book and teacher’s guide for grade 2. The grade 2 materials were finalized in May 2019 and were printed and distributed to the schools in June 2019. A 2-day Rana Tharu grade 2 teacher orientation workshop was also held during the last week of June 2019 to promote effective use of the materials. Development of TLMs in Remaining Mother Tongues Although the CDC G2G work plan coinciding with EGRP Year 3 (2017-2018) suggested that the mother-tongue materials should have been developed within that GON fiscal year, multiple concerns about the appropriate roles and responsibilities for CDC in mother-tongue materials development in the new federal context led EGRP and CDC to focus on building capacity for writers and linguists in three language groups (Rana Tharu, Awadhi, and Maithili). EGRP had already assisted CDC with a capacity-development workshop for TLM writers in June 2017. During the workshop, writers who work in the three mother tongues mentioned above were oriented on existing Nepali L1 and Rana Tharu TLMs, on the priorities of NEGRP, and on EGR practices around the globe. However, CDC requested another capacity-development workshop for its staff and TLM writers, and EGRP initiated a process of inviting two international consultants (one expert in SynPhony software and a linguistic and literacy expert), who also had provided short-term technical assistance while developing Rana Tharu materials for grade 1 in 2015. In August 2018, EGRP held a workshop for CDC staff, TLM writers, and Nepali and mother- tongue linguists on the use of SynPhony software, with the SynPhony developer, a SIL

40 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 LEAD consultant. The SynPhony training covered the software’s use in the Nepali, Rana Tharu, Awadhi, and Maithili languages. In January 2019, EGRP supported CDC to organize another capacity-building workshop for CDC officials and TLM writers on “developing materials to support Nepali L2 learners and developing theme-based materials in Nepali and mother tongues.” The workshop was facilitated by the same international expert on linguistics, reading, and second language learning (see the subsection above, “Support for Integrated Curriculum Materials”). EGRP considers this workshop to have been an important milestone in mother-tongue and L2 materials development, since it provided an impetus to move forward in developing mother-tongue materials in addition to Rana Tharu. It also motivated CDC to reach an agreement on developing teacher resource materials to support Nepali L2 children, a topic that had presented ongoing challenges for EGRP when the program was trying to gain traction. Soon after the workshop, in February 2019, CDC held an Awadhi scope-and-sequence development workshop with EGRP support, after which CDC assigned the task of writing the grade 1 student workbook and teacher’s guide to the writing team. Because the writers were new to the EGR concept, it took longer than expected to develop the materials and required several consultation meetings among CDC, EGRP, and the writers. Final drafts of the materials were ready by June 2019. However, CDC raised issues about language uniformity across the lessons developed by different writers, meaning the draft materials still required further edits, along with significant amendments to the illustrations. A CDC-recommended Awadhi expert was assigned for the final edit of the materials from November through December 2019. EGRP provided additional support with illustration, design, and final PRC development in the January–March 2020 quarter. Similarly, Maithili language experts and TLM writers developed scopes and sequences for grades 1–3, with EGRP technical assistance, in May 2019. CDC then assigned the writers to develop the grade 1 student book and teacher’s guide. The writers continued developing these materials throughout the July–September 2019 quarter, while consulting regularly with the CDC team. EGRP supported illustration and design work in the July–September 2019 quarter. Similar to Awadhi, a CDC-identified Maithili expert was assigned to help with a content and language edit of the Maithili grade 1 student workbook and teacher’s guide in January 2020 in order to maintain language uniformity and to ensure the quality of the content across the lessons developed by different writers. This step led to additional time being required to finalize the PRCs for both Awadhi and Maithili grade 1 TLMs, which was accomplished in February 2020. During the July–September 2019 quarter, CDC assigned and commissioned mother-tongue writers to develop TLMs for Rana Tharu grade 3 and Awadhi and Maithili grades 2–3, and to revise the previously developed Rana Tharu grade 1 TLMs. A writers’ orientation workshop was held in October 2019, in which CDC instructed the Rana Tharu writers to make major revisions to the Rana Tharu grade 1 TLMs to align the materials with the newly revised scope and sequence. The EGRP technical team consistently followed up with the writers to ascertain the status of the materials. The Rana Tharu writing team shared the draft materials of both grades 1 and 3 with the EGRP team in December 2019. The illustration and layout/ design of the Rana Tharu materials began in January and were completed in March 2020. EGRP selected a vender through a competitive bidding process in March 2020 to print and

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 41 distribute Rana Tharu grade 1 and 3 and Awadhi and Maithili grade 1 materials for piloting in the 2020/2021 school year. CDC, CEHRD, and EGRP jointly identified 113 schools eligible to pilot Awadhi TLMs in Rupandehi and Banke and 100 schools to pilot Maithili TLMs in Saptari. Finalization of the Awadhi and Maithili grade 2–3 materials was delayed while the CDC team focused on finalizing the new Nepali integrated curriculum materials for grades 2 and 3 and subsequently because of the COVID-19 pandemic and restricted mobility. CDC shared partial drafts of student workbooks in July, and EGRP received the remaining lessons in August after regular follow-up with CDC and the curriculum writers. Drafts of the teacher guides were received by the end of September 2020. EGRP then conducted a workshop to finalize the draft materials during the first and second weeks of October 2020. A group of seven writers (four for Maithili and three for Awadhi) reviewed, edited, and finalized the materials in close collaboration with the CDC and EGRP technical teams. Additional editing, layout, and design were required as a result of the workshop, and PRCs were finalized and handed over to CDC by the third week of October 2020. At the same time, CDC also informed EGRP that 40 titles of Nepali SRMs had been translated into each mother tongue, and CDC expected support with layout design before program closeout. As such, in the July–October 2020 quarter, EGRP supported CDC to finalize these 120 titles. In September, all of the adapted SRMs were edited. During the finalization workshop for mother tongue TLMs, the drafts of the SRMs were reviewed and finalized by mother tongue experts/curriculum writers. Final PRCs of the SRMs were prepared and handed over to CDC by the third week of October 2020. Development of Teacher Resource Materials to Support Nepali L2 Readers Per the program’s original design, EGRP had long intended to support CDC to develop materials for teachers so that they, in turn, could better support Nepali L2 students. Targeted dialogue on this topic took place periodically during Years 3 and 4 of the program (2017– 2019), but forward progress was affected by CDC’s competing priorities. In January 2019, CDC agreed to work on developing Nepali L2 teacher resource materials. To initiate the process, EGRP helped to organize a workshop in July 2019, to discuss the modality and contents of the anticipated L2 materials. Upon CDC’s request, EGRP hired a consultant in the July–September 2019 quarter. However, CDC had to focus again on developing the integrated curriculum materials and could not begin to work on L2 support materials until January 2020. A draft of teacher resource materials to support Nepali L2 children was developed with close supervision of the EGRP-hired consultant in January 2020. The consultant, CDC, and the EGRP technical team reviewed the draft, and it was finalized by the end of March 2020. The final draft was shared with CDC and approved in April 2020. Other Activities CDC Font Development The CDC and EGRP teams identified that the writers and editors had used a variety of fonts while developing TLMs and SRMs, which might confuse beginning readers. There were also some mismatches between the Devanagari font and Unicode symbols, which often led to problems during layout and design and hampered later sharing and possible revision or adaptation. To overcome these problems and maintain font uniformity across CDC-developed

42 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 materials, particularly for early readers, CDC requested EGRP to develop a standard Nepali font. In response to their request, in June 2019, EGRP helped CDC organize meetings with CDC officials and linguists as well as linguists from Tribhuvan University to identify the criteria for the font. After the criteria were set in July 2019, EGRP contracted a qualified and experienced consultant to develop the font in September 2019. The consultant accomplished the assigned task and handed over the font during the last week of October 2019. CDC Library Strengthening EGRP had been providing hard and soft copies of all CDC-developed materials for use in the CDC library. CDC developed an EGR corner in its library to display all the hard copies of the materials, whereas the soft copies of the materials were uploaded onto CDC’s website. Similarly, hard copies of the EGRP-developed materials were provided to HRDD and all provincial-, district-, and local-level education offices. To provide soft copies of the materials to the relevant offices from the federal to local levels, EGRP purchased hard drives as well as USB drives in December 2019. All the materials were compiled and transferred to the drives in the January–March 2020 quarter to distribute to all provincial-level ETCs, EDCUs, and LEUs. In addition, upon USAID’s request and in coordination with MOEST, EGRP provided digital versions of TLMs (grades 1–3) and SRMs to Open Learning Exchange in March 2020, to make them accessible to the students for remote learning during COVID-19 restrictions and beyond. 6.1.2 Sub-IR 1.2 In-service professional development for teachers in public schools on reading instruction and the use of the materials provided

Key Achievements: Sub-IR 1.2 • Developed 7-day EGR TPD package plus 3-day teacher training “Bridge Course” and 5-day school-based practice for Cohort 1 schools; supported rollout for Cohort 1 teachers • Developed 10-day EGR TPD package plus 5-day school-based practice, and supported rollout for Cohort 1 teachers who had not received the previous 7-day training • Revised the 10+5-day training package and supported rollout of the revised training for Cohort 2 teachers • Developed and rolled out refresher training for Cohort 1 and, and conducted master training of trainers (MTOT) for refresher training in some Cohort 2 locations • Created videos of strong EGR classroom practice • Developed capacity of GON officials involved in EGR TPD

Provide Master Training of Trainers on the Use of Material Packages In addition to the curriculum-related activities under Sub-IR 1.2, EGRP supported the GON to improve in-service professional development for EGR. During program Year 1 (March 2015–June 2016), EGRP provided technical support for orientation workshops followed by a series of meetings with the then-NCED (renamed HRDD in 2018). The goals of the orientation workshops and meetings were twofold: first, to familiarize NCED staff with evidence-based principles and practices for providing systemic teaching and learning support for EGR; and second, to plan development of training packages for master trainers, teacher trainers, district staff, Resource Persons, and Resource Teachers, as well as rollout of initial teacher training.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 43 From September 2015 onward, EGRP held numerous meetings with NCED to discuss the implementation of teacher training, since it was noted that the NCED G2G budget supported a 7-day initial training of teachers with no follow-up. EGRP had expected that there would be a total of 9 days of training, including initial and follow-up training. Because of this discrepancy, EGRP began discussions with NCED on the possibility of combining the NCED planned “library management” training with a refresher training of teachers—a technically reasonable plan, since in most cases the “library” was the book corner that teachers needed to utilize as part of instruction. Further, since grade 3 teachers were not expected to be trained on the use of new TLMs during Year 1 (2015), they could be included in the follow- up/library management training in order to receive training on the use of SRMs. EGRP closely worked with the NCED to support the development of the teacher training manual to be used by master trainers and teacher trainers during the initial in-service rollout of teacher training for the Nepali TLMs during the 2016/2017 school year. A training package was designed to enable teachers to become familiar and comfortable with the new TLMs and EGR approaches. EGRP and NCED organized a 7-day workshop to develop the training manual with participation of CLA officials and prospective trainers from selected districts. In March 2016, EGRP and NCED worked together to finalize the manual and facilitate a 7-day training of master trainers to prepare 20 master trainers from the six Cohort 1 districts, who would in turn train teacher trainers in their home districts. During the April–June 2016 quarter, EGRP and NCED trained the district-level trainers, then began the rollout of cluster-level teacher training. The district-level training of trainers (DTOTs) and cluster-level teacher trainings were observed by NCED and EGRP central, regional, and district staff. Their feedback and suggestions were compiled for improvements in future trainings, including the 10+5-day TPD module that was planned to be developed in Year 2. A total of 3,109 teachers (1,283 men and 1,826 women) received the initial in-service training in 2016 on the use of Nepali TLMs for grades 1 and 2. Orientations for Head Teachers and SMC Members on EGR During Year 1 of the program (2015–2016), EGRP supported NCED to develop a manual to be used by district-level trainers for the orientation of head teachers and SMC members. The 2-day orientation program introduced core EGR principles, relevant to these stakeholders, and the roles that they and others could play to support EGR. The head teacher/SMC manual was given to district-level trainers, and EGRP provided technical support for orientations held from May through July 2016 in all six Cohort 1 districts. A total of 4,952 head teachers (3,686 men and 1,266 women) and 3,177 SMC members (2,255 men and 922 women) received an orientation on the importance of EGR. Library Management and Follow-Up Training A 3-day library management and follow-up training—which came to be called the “Bridge Course”—was planned for the teachers who had received initial training on the use of the new materials in 2015. This training was required for two reasons. First, the training would supplement the 7-day initial training to enable teachers to complete NCED’s 10-day professional development credit. Second, it would help teachers understand the purpose and uses of TLMs and SRMs. With support from EGRP, NCED convened a workshop to develop

44 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 an initial draft of the course materials, with a small group of writers in June 2016 and participation of NCED staff and library specialists from CDC and the National Library. Although the training was expected to be organized during the April–June 2016 quarter, it was delayed because of the end of the GON’s fiscal year and NCED’s competing priorities, followed by a change in NCED leadership. In particular, the change in NCED leadership brought a shift in the teacher training plan. It was subsequently agreed that EGRP and NCED would work on a 10-day TPD module to accompany the training for all grade 1–3 teachers in Cohort 1 districts in 2017 and in Cohort 2 districts in 2018. NCED also aimed to receive formal approval of the 10-day TPD module followed by a 3-day follow-up module. The follow-up module would focus on bridging the gap by adding content related to library management as well as content from the 10-day module that was not included in the 7-day initial training. During the July–September 2017 quarter of Year 3, EGRP supported NCED to develop a training manual for the 3+5-day Bridge Course, composed of 3-day face-to-face and 5-day school-based training. The training of trainers (TOT) for the Bridge Course was organized in October 2017, while the cluster-level training was rolled out in March and continued through May 2018. A total of 1,651 teachers in Cohort 1 districts received the Bridge Course training in Year 3 of the program. Teacher Training on 10+5-Day TPD Module on EGR In Year 2 of the program (2016–2017), both NCED and EGRP focused on developing a 10- day TPD module, which was subsequently approved by NCED to enable teachers to complete NCED’s required 10-day professional development credit toward promotion. The TPD module development was followed by rollout of training for teachers who did not receive the initial 7-day training on EGR in the six Cohort 1 districts. Because the TPD module was considered to be material-based, targeted to prepare early grade teachers for teaching reading using the new curricular TLMs that support EGR, the delay in developing and finalizing the grade 3 TLMs affected the development of the training module. EGRP and NCED convened a workshop in April 2017 to develop the detailed training manual and materials, which included 10 days of face-to-face training and 5 days of school- based practice teaching. When the manual was finalized, the next step was to plan MTOTs and DTOTs. To remove a layer from the cascade model of training and to avoid the possibility of the content being delivered in less-effective ways, it was decided to merge the MTOTs and DTOTs. The combined trainings took place in Chitwan and Kaski in May 2017, to develop 50 and 26 trainers respectively from all six Cohort 1 districts. Once the TOT sessions were completed, the trainers began conducting cluster-level teacher trainings in their home districts. Most of the districts started their training at the beginning of June and finished by July 2017; however, the trainings in some districts were affected by local elections (Banke) and teachers’ strikes (Manang). A total of 1,568 teachers (775 men and 793 women) received TPD module training in Cohort 1 districts in 2017. While planning for Year 2 in April 2016, NCED requested EGRP to support training for an additional 2,000 teachers in Cohort 1. With this appeal in mind, at the beginning of July 2017, EGRP approached NCED to discuss the possibility of training additional teachers beyond the 1,568 who had been trained by NCED. However, NCED determined that its statistics on the

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 45 teaching cadre were inaccurate, and no additional teachers were eligible to participate in the TPD module. As such, no additional training took place in Cohort 1 districts in 2017. Revision of 10+5-Day TPD Module and Training of Teachers in Cohort 2 Districts CDC decided to roll out new, CDC-developed TLMs in the 2018/2019 school year, requiring NCED to revise the existing 10+5-day TPD training manual. With EGRP support, NCED organized a 2-day preliminary workshop in January 2018 to plan for revising the manual to align with the new TLMs. At this workshop, CDC shared its new sets of TLMs with a brief introduction on how those TLMs were structured. Following the preliminary workshop, with EGRP support, NCED held a 5-day residential workshop and developed a draft of the training manual. Since it was observed in the preliminary workshop that the new teacher’s guide would not be sufficient for the teachers to plan their classroom activities, teacher resource materials were also developed together with the training manual. The teacher resource materials consisted of additional information that would be useful to plan lessons and conduct teaching and learning activities in classrooms. The manual and resource materials were finalized at the end of March 2018. The MTOT on the 10+5-day TPD module was then conducted in early April, at which 22 trainers—two from NCED and two from each Cohort 2 district—received master training. Soon after the MTOT, the trainers, in collaboration with ETCs, started planning DTOTs in their assigned venues. The DTOTs were completed by the end of April 2018. The EGRP team, jointly with NCED, monitored the DTOTs and provided support as needed. Although the original plan was to train 250 trainers at district level, a total of only 169 trainers benefited from a DTOT because NCED’s G2G budget was reduced during the process of receiving approval from the Ministry of Finance. As soon as the DTOTs were completed, the cluster-level trainings began rolling out in all 10 Cohort 2 districts in May 2018. Because of the reduced number of district-level trainers, several rounds of training had to be organized at the same training venue. As a result, the training continued until June in many districts, but in Dang, training continued until July 2018, due to the large number of teachers to be trained. In total, 6,753 teachers were trained on the TPD module in 2018—Year 3 of the program. For Year 4 (2018–2019), the TPD module for the remaining teachers in Cohort 2 districts was expected to roll out in April 2019. It started in many districts, as expected; however, restructuring in the GON system in the changed federal context, as well as reshuffling of staff in the ETCs, caused delays in in some districts, particularly in Provinces 1 and 7 (i.e., Eastern and Far-Western Regions). Delayed budget flows caused further challenges. Only through continuous follow-up—with CEHRD/HRDD from the EGRP central office and with the respective ETCs from the regional offices—was it possible to plan the training in Eastern and Far-Western Regions in June 2019. In Dadeldhura and Kailali, the training began in late June and continued until July 2019. However, in Dhankuta, the training began rolling out even later, in mid-July, and due to the GON end of fiscal year, only one round of training was conducted, reaching 98 teachers. In all, 2,901 teachers in Cohort 2 districts received training on the 10+5-day TPD module in 2019. Rana Tharu and Mother Tongue Teacher Training and Materials Development Although Rana Tharu L1 and Nepali L2 materials were developed during Year 1 of the program (2015–2016), due to uncertainty around piloting the materials in the form in which

46 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 they were originally developed, Rana Tharu teacher training could not be scheduled. After the materials were revised and finalized, in Year 3 (2017–2018), a series of informal discussions with CDC and NCED was held with regard to Rana Tharu teacher training, and ultimately, agreement was reached on developing a 5-day training material package. In coordination with NCED, a core team of Rana Tharu writers who had been previously involved in the materials development process developed the training materials in late April 2018. Subsequently, the Rana Tharu teacher training was rolled out in selected pilot schools in May 2018. Awadhi and Maithili grade 1 TLMs were finalized in the October–December 2019 quarter. EGRP approached CEHRD/HRDD to plan to develop training materials to train Awadhi and Maithili teachers, with an understanding that the manuals could still be used to prepare teachers who use a mother tongue to teach reading, even if rolled out after EGRP ended. Thus, EGRP and CEHRD/HRDD held a 7-day workshop during the first week of December 2019, with participation of TLM writers and teachers in all three mother tongues. During the workshop, the Rana Tharu participants revised the existing teacher training manual based on feedback received while rolling out the training, whereas the Awadhi and Maithili participants developed draft manuals to train Awadhi and Maithili teachers. The draft manuals were reviewed, edited, and finalized by CEHRD officials, with EGRP support, in February 2020. EGRP designed the layout and submitted the final materials to CEHRD in March 2020. Refresher Teacher Training Federalism and staff reshuffling within the government system significantly affected development of the refresher training manual for the teachers in Cohort 1 districts. Production of the refresher training course was delayed as NCED merged with CEHRD and staff were shifted, making it difficult for EGRP to coordinate with point persons responsible for teacher training. After the program leadership held a series of meetings and discussions with the Deputy Director General of HRDD and other staff, it became possible to plan a refresher training manual development workshop in February 2019. The workshop participants, HRDD, and other CLA representatives drafted the training materials, and a core team of HRDD and EGRP staff subsequently finalized them in March–April 2019. To reduce a layer in the cascade model of training, as was done in 2017 for the TPD module training, DTOT sessions were merged with MTOT sessions, creating a single TOT. The TOT sessions were organized at three different venues—Nepalgunj, Pokhara, and Biratnagar— during April and May 2019 to develop a pool of 75 trainers in Cohort 1 districts. As soon as the TOTs were completed, the trainers, together with respective EDCU and ETC personnel, planned cluster-level trainings in each Cohort 1 district. The refresher trainings were rolled out in most of the districts between May and June 2019. However, due to issues with G2G budget flow in Dhankuta and Kanchanpur, refresher training rollout began in late June and continued through July 2019 in those districts. Overall, 4,177 teachers (2,166 men and 2,011 women) received refresher training in 2019. Revision of Refresher Training Manual and Training of Trainers in Cohort 2 Although the original refresher teacher training manual had included a session to inform teachers on how to support EGR children who speak Nepali as L2, EGRP intended to support

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 47 CEHRD to revise the refresher training manual by incorporating the more in-depth elements of anticipated Nepali L2 teacher resource materials. Delays in developing the “Teacher Resource Materials to Support Nepali L2 Learners” caused downstream delays in revision of the refresher teacher training manual. With EGRP support, CEHRD organized a workshop to revise the refresher training manual as soon as a complete draft of Nepali L2 materials was received, in early February 2020. The participants revised the refresher training manual by incorporating the contents of the L2 materials and finalized it in late February 2020. EGRP, in close coordination with CEHRD, then developed a plan to organize TOTs in four venues: Itahari, Rupandehi, Surkhet, and Dhangadhi. The first two training events, in Itahari and Rupandehi, were organized successfully in March 2020, according to the plan. In all, 62 trainers were trained from Dhankuta, Parsa, Rupandehi, and Mustang at those two venues. The training that was planned in Surkhet for the third week of March 2020 was rescheduled for the first week of April 2020 because the schedule conflicted with the forthcoming Secondary Education Examination. However, due to the countrywide lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the subsequent trainings in Surkhet and Dhangadhi were postponed until further notice and eventually were canceled by CEHRD. Development of Classroom Videos In Year 5 of the program (2019–2020), EGRP planned to film six classroom videos of 30 minutes each in different locations that could be used during training and ongoing teacher support in the future. EGRP contracted a videography team and worked closely with the team to identify appropriate schools and teachers and to capture classroom footage. Because of competing priorities, the team captured only five model classroom videos by the end of February 2020. The video clips taken by the vendor required some edits to ensure their quality, originally planned to occur during the third week of March 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide lockdown, the IR 1 team worked with the vendor remotely to finalize the videos in April 2020. NCED/CEHRD Staff Capacity Development Although EGRP originally had anticipated holding a capacity-development training for CEHRD/HRDD earlier in the life of the program, it was delayed due to staff reshuffling. Several rounds of discussions on developing a capacity-building plan took place throughout Year 3 (2017–2018), but CEHRD ultimately decided to wait until the reshuffling was finished and the expected new staff were on board. Because most of the HRDD staff, including the NEGRP focal point person, were new to the program’s EGR approach, EGRP worked with CEHRD/HRDD to develop a scope of work for the training and to identify an expert facilitator. The training on developing training materials and facilitation skills was planned for the first week of August 2019 and was facilitated by an RTI home office literacy specialist after approval from CEHRD. The feedback on the workshop was very positive, and therefore CEHRD requested EGRP support with organizing another workshop on training facilitation skills. Due to the earlier trainer’s limited availability, EGRP proposed an alternative plan for the Senior Reading Advisor to facilitate in her place. CEHRD concurred with this arrangement and the workshop was scheduled for April 2020. Unfortunately, due to international travel cancellations in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Senior Reading Advisor could not travel to Nepal. As such,

48 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 the EGRP team, in collaboration with CEHRD, worked to identify an appropriate in-country facilitator and switch to a mostly virtual training modality so that the workshop could be organized in June 2020. The workshop ran for 10 days, with 3-hour sessions each day. The contents of the workshop focused on enhancing participants’ skills in effective facilitation of EGR trainings. 6.1.3 Sub-IR 1.3 Monitoring and coaching for teachers in early grade reading instruction provided

ey Achievements: Sub-IR 1.3 Developed Reading Motivator approach to TPS Developed revised TPS system and training materials, and supported rollout of TPS TOT • Developed and distributed TPS resource materials Supported training for LEU heads on TPS Supported research and policy dialogue on strengthening the TPS system

Development and Review of the Reading Motivator System Providing ongoing support to teachers is an essential element for improving EGR instruction and performance and is included in the NEGRP strategy document. Throughout Year 1 (2015–2016), EGRP held numerous discussions with government officials to identify an approach that was likely to yield sufficient support for teachers while also meeting sustainability requirements. Because the initial NEGRP document explicitly named “Resource Teachers” who would visit schools to act as reading coaches, the DOE developed a plan for mobilizing “Reading Motivators,” which involved deploying surplus teachers where available or reconfiguring work duties of qualified master teachers, allowing them time to visit neighboring schools regularly. The Reading Motivators were meant to be supervised and supported by Resource Persons. With the support of EGRP’s IR 2 and IR 1 teams, the then-DOE developed and updated guidelines for the selection of Reading Motivators and shared them with the DEOs, NEGRP focal point persons, and Administration and Finance Officers from Cohort 1 districts, to inform them about the Reading Motivators’ roles and responsibilities. With regard to the recruitment of Reading Motivators, EGRP’s IR 2 team facilitated a series of formal and informal meetings with the MOE and DOE to decide on recruiting 149 Reading Motivators from the existing pool of primary-level schoolteachers in the six Cohort 1 districts. The MOE and DOE also finalized the Reading Motivator job description, including selection criteria. In coordination with the DOE, EGRP facilitated the Reading Motivator appointment process at the district level, using the same selection criteria for all six DEOs. The DOE, with support from EGRP, facilitated an initial orientation for Reading Motivators in July and August 2016. NCED, with technical assistance from EGRP, developed technical guidelines for Reading Motivators, including a school visit and classroom observation guide, as well as materials for training Reading Motivators. These resources were drafted by a team of representatives from CLAs and international NGOs active in teacher coaching and mentoring. EGRP supported NCED to compile and edit the developed materials, incorporating feedback and suggestions from a senior reading expert from USAID/Washington. NCED, with support from EGRP, delivered a 5-day training for the newly appointed Reading Motivators in all six Cohort 1

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 49 districts. Soon after their training, the Reading Motivators began visiting schools to support teachers who were using the new TLMs and applying new teaching techniques to improve EGR. Over time, EGRP and the GON encountered challenges, both financial and technical, with regard to Reading Motivator mobilization. The financial challenge was associated with a complicated reimbursement process for field allowances, which needed to meet both government concerns and USAID and RTI requirements. Mixed feedback was received from the field on the situation. Some Reading Motivators reported positively on their support to teachers to use the new TLMs and had initiated teacher meetings to discuss teacher experiences with the new materials. Also, they reported that the Reading Motivator system resulted in more school visits than under the regular system, generating more information for planning at the Resource Center and DEO levels. Nevertheless, some Reading Motivator positions remained vacant because no qualified individuals had been identified who met the criteria set by the DOE. In addition, some Reading Motivators had to leave their teaching posts to visit schools in their catchment area, or head teachers barred them from visiting other schools because of their teaching duties. Other issues raised centered on reservations about the Reading Motivators’ capacity to be mentors, difficulties with time management, the large geographical area that needed to be covered, and lack of support from head teachers and senior teachers. All of the above issues were raised at the workshop on planning for reading contests during May 15–19, 2017, in Kathmandu. The participants at the workshop proposed some alternatives for providing ongoing teacher support based on their experiences. EGRP and the GON recognized the need to address these issues by working together to develop an alternative effective, feasible, and sustainable model of ongoing teacher support. To identify possible alternatives, a rapid assessment of the use of TLMs and the effectiveness of training and the teacher support system was carried out during the July–September 2017 quarter of Year 3. The purposes of the rapid assessment were twofold. The assessment aimed to inform further revision and development of the TLMs, as well as the review and redesign of the then-ongoing teacher support system, referred to as the Reading Motivator system. EGRP central and regional teams and District Coordinators—along with CDC, NCED, DOE, and district-level GON representatives and two colleagues from USAID—jointly visited 42 schools in five Cohort 1 districts (Manang District was not included). They observed classes and interviewed teachers, head teachers, Reading Motivators, and Resource Persons to gather local stakeholders’ opinions on the use of TLMs and the effectiveness of the teacher training and the Reading Motivator teacher support system. The findings on the use of TLMs were shared with CDC during the first week of November 2017, and the findings regarding the effectiveness of ongoing teacher support (Reading Motivator system) were shared with the NEGRP Steering Committee and CLAs in November 2017. In addition to presenting the finding from rapid assessments, EGRP suggested some options for adjusting/replacing the Reading Motivator system by reviewing some international approaches for ongoing teacher support within similar large-scale, government-led programs. At that time, the DOE had also presented four possible modalities it had devised for the then-ongoing teacher support system, one of which was similar to the mixed-modality approach presented by EGRP.

50 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Development of the New “Teacher Professional Support” System During the October–December 2017 quarter, the NEGRP Steering Committee decided on a mixed-modality approach as a replacement to the Reading Motivator system. Under the new approach, the head teacher or the primary school teacher-in-charge was tasked to be a mentor or coach for teachers to enhance their classroom teaching skills, and Resource Persons and school supervisors would provide cluster-level support for teachers. In addition, Teacher Learning Groups held at school and cluster levels would provide an opportunity for teachers to share their learning and solve problems together. A subcommittee of the MOEST and other CLA representatives, with the Director of DOE as chair, developed a “Guideline for the Ongoing Teacher Support System.” This TPS guideline was approved by the NEGRP Steering Committee during the January–March 2018 quarter. Given that NCED would be responsible for training the head teachers and Resource Persons or school supervisors under this new model, EGRP worked with NCED and DOE to agree on the modality for the training and to begin planning for developing the training program and materials. Further, it was agreed that there would be a 5-day TPS training, and NCED planned to develop the training program and materials shortly after the completion of the 10+5-day TPD trainings in Cohort 2 and the Rana Tharu teacher training described above. Development of TPS Training Materials and Training of Trainers With support from EGRP, HRDD (previously NCED) developed a draft of the 5-day TPS training manual during a workshop for GON personnel and EGRP staff in June 2018. The manual later was edited and finalized by a core group of HRDD and EGRP staff. In July 2018, HRDD, with EGRP support, planned to organize TOTs on TPS training. To eliminate a layer of the cascade model of training (as described for other trainings), CEHRD/HRDD decided to merge the typical MTOTs and DTOTs to create one TPS TOT. In all, 193 TPS trainers were trained in four different venues (i.e., four regions)—Biratnagar, Dhangadhi, Nepalgunj, and Pokhara—with all the district trainers joining the trainings at the regional venues. In the July–September 2018 quarter, EGRP also prepared a TPS guide (mentoring and coaching guide) with detailed instructions for observing lessons and supporting EGR teachers by using accompanying tools, including guidance for conducting Teacher Learning Group meetings. The TPS guide was printed and distributed to all schools in 16 districts in the October–December 2019 quarter. One of the aspirations for this TPS guide was that it would be useful to head teachers and primary in-charge teachers, especially in terms of providing productive feedback to teachers, even before they received the TPS training or if they could not receive it for some reason. Rollout of TPS Training Although the TPS TOTs in all four regions were completed by October 2018 and cluster- level trainings were planned to begin in September 2018, the cluster-level trainings were delayed due to systemic transitions and confusion around the province-level training budget under G2G. EGRP worked closely with CEHRD to remedy this situation and to ensure that rollout could begin. After a series of discussions with CEHRD and the respective ETCs, the first TPS training at cluster level was rolled out in Bhaktapur in December 2018. However, in many districts, the rollout began in February 2019. By March 2019, the cluster-level TPS

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 51 training had been completed in most of the districts. However, in Rupandehi, and Surkhet, with changes in ETC leadership taking place, the training rollout took longer than expected and continued until July 2019. In total, 4,747 TPS actors—head teachers/primary level in- charge teachers and LEU officials (3,752 men and 995 women)—received TPS training in 2019. Development of TPS Resource Materials During Year 3 (2017–2018), EGRP supported CEHRD/HRDD to develop the TPS system followed by developing TPS guidelines and training materials to train and support head teachers and school supervisors, key TPS actors under the new (at that time) TPS system for providing ongoing support to teachers. In Year 4 (2018–2019), EGRP supported CEHRD/HRDD to develop a detailed TPS guide, including tools, for observing lessons and providing feedback to teachers and guidance on organizing Teacher Learning Group meetings. However, given the removal of Resource Persons from the system (who were also meant to be key actors for TPS), and acknowledging the need expressed by multiple officials, EGRP and CEHRD/HRDD discussed providing more resources (e.g., self-study materials) to LEU heads and other municipality education staff who might be in a position to support and mentor head teachers and to organize cluster meetings. In July 2019, CEHRD/HRDD, with EGRP support, organized a one-day workshop to begin planning the structure and content to be included in the TPS resource materials. The workshop participants, MOEST and CLA representatives, outlined the structure and contents of the proposed resource materials. In the October–December 2019 quarter, CEHRD, with EGRP support, developed draft materials to guide LEUs and other TPS actors, who were responsible for supporting teachers to improve their classroom practices. As such, the common practical challenges that teachers and head teachers often face during teaching and when supporting teachers were highlighted as cases, and possible ways to resolve those challenges were discussed in the resource materials. EGRP finalized the materials in April 2020 by incorporating feedback from GON colleagues and teachers and printed and distributed them to all EDCUs in the 16 districts before closeout, after experiencing delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 6.1.4 Sub-IR 1.4 Classroom-based and district-based early grade reading assessment processes improved

ey Achievements: Sub-IR 1.4 Provided technical support for developing various assessment approaches: EGRA, EMES, CB-EGRA, and Rana Tharu EGRA For all assessments, built capacity for data collection, cleaning, visualization, and reporting

EGRP worked closely with the GON to institutionalize EGR-related assessments within the education system. After 5 years of collaboration with MOEST/ERO, several different EGR- related assessments—such as EGRA, EMES, CB-EGRA, and the National Assessment for Reading and Numeracy (NARN)—were established in the national system. Figure 10 shows, in chronological order, the combined efforts that ERO and EGRP introduced, developed, established, and institutionalized.

52 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Figure 10: EGRP support to GON to institutionalize EGR-related assessments Development stablishment Phase Institutionalization Phase Phase Adapta- evelop- Item development, Item Item development, NARN tion of ent and testing, ERO development, testing, ERO execution EGRA piloting of approval, and testing, ERO approval, and CB-EGRA in and CB rollout of CB- approval, and rollout of CB- 3,023 schools EMES EGRA EGRA in 2,605 rollout of CB- EGRA in 3,818 before the schools EGRA in 3,046 schools COVID-19 EGRA item bank schools Development and response development, Development and dissemination of lockdown piloting, and ERO dissemination of web-based CB- CB-EGRA item approval web-based CB- EGRA results development Development and EGRA results CB-EGRA data at the district dissemination of CB-EGRA data use by local-level and local web-based CB- use by local-level governments, levels EGRA results governments, communities, and CB-EGRA data communities, and schools for further use by schools for planning communities and further planning NARN item schools for further Development and development, planning finalization of piloting, and item Revision, piloting, NARN framework finalization and ERO approval CB-EGRA item of EMES tools development at the district and local levels

2015 2016 2017 201 2019 202 Central Central Central, district and Central, district, Central, district, and Central, district, level level cluster/Resource and local levels ocal levels and local levels Center levels • Supported ERO and CLAs to develop assessment items at the central level • Supported DEOs/EDCUs to plan, monitor, and analyze EGR-related assessment data at the district level • Supported local-level governments and clusters to plan, monitor, and analyze EGR-related assessment data at district and local levels • Supported schools to conduct, disseminate, and report EGR-related assessment data at the school level • Supported communities to use EGR data to develop school-level action plans

Early Grade Reading Assessment and Education Management Efficiency Survey EGRP provided technical support to ERO and the CLAs to institutionalize the EGRA and EMES tools (see text box), from adaptation to rollout. By arranging technical capacity- development workshops and seminars, EGRP EMES tools supported ERO to adapt the EGRA and EMES tools 1. School information form in 2015, and the tools were then used in 2016 to 2. Head teacher interview form collect EGRP baseline data. At the same time, ERO 3. SMC member interview form accepted EGRA as the main tool to measure the 4. Parent interview form 5. Classroom observation form impact of the EGR interventions and assess student 6. Classroom inventory form reading achievement in the early grades. 7. Teacher interview form Furthermore, EGRP supported ERO to develop 8. Student interview form different sets of EGRA item banks, which were then used by development partners such as Save the Children, World Food Program, Good Neighbors International, and World Education to administer their own EGRAs. The item

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 53 banks helped create a uniform data collection methodology and enhanced the national assessment repository. EGRP provided technical support to ERO to revise the EMES tools in 2017, and by EGRP closeout, ERO had all eight EMES tools collected in its repository. EGRP used the same tools during the midline and endline assessments in 2018 and 2020, respectively. ERO also adapted the same head teacher interview form and teacher interview form while collecting NARN data in 2020. More importantly, EGRP contributed to lasting capacity development so that ERO can support further development of EGRA and EMES tools as needed in the future. By the end of EGRP, ERO had five sets of EGRA item banks in its repository, which were being used by development partners as required. Classroom-Based Early Grade Reading Assessment CB-EGRA—an economical, classroom-based, group-administered assessment of reading achievement—was developed, piloted, and rolled out by ERO. CB-EGRA’s main objectives were (1) to provide data to measure school-level learning achievement so that head teachers, EGR teachers, and SMCs/PTAs could identify areas for improvement and track progress; and (2) to ensure that parents would have a better understanding of their children’s reading performance. EGRP supported ERO to develop, pilot, and roll out CB-EGRA tools in Nepali language in 2016 and further supported development of additional items and tools in 2017. The items were refined with the support of EGRP in 2018 and 2019. More importantly, EGRP supported localization of CB-EGRA by helping education personnel in EGRP target districts to develop and test the items at the local level. By program end, ERO had 27 sets of CB-EGRA items as part of its national item-bank repository. Conducting CB-EGRA in the EGRP target districts was one of the SSDP disbursement- linked indicators in 2017 and 2018. To achieve this indicator, EGRP supported ERO, districts, clusters, and local levels to conduct CB-EGRA and hence to measure EGR outcomes through a cost- and time-effective means of assessment. The GON met the disbursement-linked indicator by conducting CB-EGRAs in 2,605 schools in 2017, in 3,046 schools in 2018, in 3,816 schools in 2019, and in 3,023 schools in 2020 before the COVID-19 response lockdown. Moreover, the central government began allocating funding to local levels annually to conduct CB-EGRAs. The CB-EGRA was used as an important tool for local-level educational planning during local-level capacity-development workshops. Starting in 2017, EGRP helped ERO visualize the CB-EGRA results by using a web-based platform known as Power BI.18 District and local levels used these data to identify the status of EGR outcomes in their areas and prepared and implemented educational strategies to respond to the results. As a sustainable strategy while it prepared for phase-out, EGRP built the capacity of districts and local-level personnel to analyze and present the CB-EGRA or other assessment-related data visually in open-source software.

18 Full link to the GON MOEST Power BI webpage (in Nepali): https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiNTBhZmE0MzgtZTk5OC00NjRjLTgzNDAtYmM1MzBkNzk2ZjRlIi widCI6IjJmZmMyZWRlLTRkNDQtNDk5NC04MDgyLTQ4Nz%20M0MWZhNDNmYiIsImMiOjF9.

54 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 National Assessment for Reading and Numeracy ERO understood the importance of EGR and initiated integration of EGR components into the National Assessment of Student Achievement. With support from EGRP, ERO conducted various levels of discussions and interactive workshops on the assessment’s design and decided to incorporate the measurement of children’s numeracy skills along with literacy skills. ERO shared the lessons learned from the CB-EGRA and developed a blended numeracy and literacy assessment tool, the NARN, to be used as an assessment for grade 3 students. EGRP supported ERO to develop and disseminate the NARN framework (see Section 6.2.1). Following the NARN framework development, ERO developed the assessment items and piloted the tools with more than 1,800 students in EGRP districts in mid-2019. With technical assistance from RTI home office experts, EGRP provided capacity-development support to ERO for item analysis and assessment reporting by applying item response theory, using Item and Test Analytics (IATA) software. ERO used IATA software to analyze the pilot data and incorporated suggestions on the items that had been provided by the SSDP Technical Working Groups. ERO used item response theory to select the best-functioning items; the selected items were further examined by the Subject Committee that is responsible for reviewing and approving assessment items and were finalized based on the committee’s feedback. Afterwards, ERO conducted NARN at the beginning of 2020. Analysis and reporting of the findings were still under way as EGRP came to a close in October 2020. It is expected that the findings from the NARN will be shared by ERO in November 2020. Rana Tharu EGRA EGRP supported the GON in developing a program of mother tongue as a “local curriculum”19 subject in three target local languages. The first step in this effort was to help the CDC develop and distribute grade 1 Rana Tharu TLMs in schools where the majority of students speak this language. These materials, which included a teacher’s guide and student workbook in Rana Tharu, were developed and rolled out on a pilot basis in the target schools in Kailali and Kanchanpur in the 2018/2019 academic year. For the Rana Tharu pilot, EGRP conducted baseline data collection in May 2018 at the beginning of the 2018/2019 school year, with the children in the baseline sample at the beginning of grade 2. EGRP then conducted an endline study in May 2019, with the children in the sample also starting grade 2, but these children had received the intervention. A comparison of baseline and endline results helped the program to understand the effectiveness of using Rana Tharu materials in the participating schools. A sample-based EGRA of grade 2 students in 20 total schools selected randomly was conducted at baseline before the implementation of the mother-tongue intervention as a local curriculum and again at endline after the intervention had been implemented for one school year. The EGRA tool, originally developed in Nepali for previous evaluations, was especially adapted into Rana Tharu for the purpose of this evaluation. This evaluation found that for all but one subtask, the proportion of zero scorers decreased between baseline and endline, as shown in Table 6.

19 The local curriculum is the 4-credit-hour course that a school can implement by covering local content that may include local language, festivals, traditions, culture, etc. Many schools have implemented English as the local curriculum. However, EGRP supported GON to develop and roll out the reading-focused curriculum, TLMs, and teacher training modules in three different languages: Rana Tharu, Awadhi, and Maithili.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 55 These data show that in most of the subtasks, the percentage of students who could not attempt a single question (e.g., read a single letter or word or answer a single question) decreased. The reduction in zero scorers for matra reading is particularly remarkable and statistically significant. In addition, the zero-score decrease of 5.5 percentage points for the oral passage reading (oral reading fluency) subtask was also substantial and statistically significant. The percentage of zero scorers on the listening comprehension increased slightly; however, this percentage increase in zero scorers was not statistically significant. It should be noted that the effect sizes of the changes were modest, that improvements in average scores on each subtask were minimal, and that there was only a small effect (0.22 SD) on oral reading fluency.

Table 6: Prevalence of zero scorers, Rana Tharu EGRA baseline and endline Effect size % of zero % of zero Percentage (standard scores, 2018 scores, 2019 point deviations, Subtask baseline endline change SD) Listening Comprehension 11.8 13.6 +1.8 0.05

Letter Reading 16.4 13.2 -3.2 0.09

Matra Reading 51.1 42.7 –8.4** 0.17

Simple Word Reading 40.9 37.7 –3.2 0.07

Oral Passage Reading 43.7 38.2 –5.5* 0.11

Reading Comprehension 57.7 54.0 –3.7 0.07

* p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001.

Similar to the findings on the reduction of zero scores among the Rana Tharu students, the assessment also demonstrated that the percentage of learners meeting certain thresholds of correct words per minute increased between baseline and endline. During the baseline study, for example, the percentage of students who could read more than 40 words in a minute20 was only 0.67%. After the program had been implemented for a year, the proportion of students who could read fluently had nearly doubled, to 1.3%. The study concluded that, on the one hand, the reduction in zero scores and the increase in children’s average oral reading fluency scores, although relatively modest, pointed to some benefits from the Rana Tharu materials pilot. The qualitative findings from some parents and teachers indicated that some stakeholders valued the mother-tongue approach because it recognized local language and culture, and enabled children to grasp new vocabulary more easily, in a language they could understand. On the other hand, the lack of improvements in average EGRA subtask scores indicated that it may have been too early for the benefits of the intervention to take hold, or that benefits were too modest to lead to substantial improvements in core reading skills. In addition, the qualitative findings highlighted that some stakeholders were resistant to a mother tongue-

20 Although the national oral reading fluency benchmark is 45 correct words per minute, none of the students in this study crossed that threshold; instead, a 40 cwpm benchmark was used because it was a more realistic target for the children in the sample.

56 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 based approach. Moreover, some teachers felt they did not receive adequate training and support to successfully use the Rana Tharu materials, and that challenges related to orthography were difficult to overcome without support. 6.2 IR 2: Improved National and District Early Grade Reading Service Delivery IR 2 underpinned the work of IR 1 by ensuring that the improved EGR instructional materials, coaching materials, and assessment approaches would be supported by an educational system with capacity to deliver high-quality EGR services. This section describes activities and achievements under IR 2’s four sub-IRs, related to EGR data collection and analysis; instructional policies, standards, and benchmarks; planning and management capacity; and adoption and expansion of national EGR standards. 6.2.1 Sub-IR 2.1 Early grade reading data collection and analysis systems improved

ey Achievements: Sub-IR 2.1 Developed LEU profile template and back-end code for linking the template to IEMIS • Mapped languages of schools, teachers, and students Conducted policy studies to inform decision making on language, time-tabling (i.e., scheduling time for reading instruction), use of technology in instruction, and teacher motivation Built capacity for national-level EGR assessments as well as data analysis, visualization, and reporting

Integration of EGR Parameters into the Integrated Education Management Information System CEHRD is responsible for collecting educational Components incorporated into IEMIS 1. Language of students administrative data and issuing reports. Thus, 2. Language of teachers CEHRD identified the need to incorporate language- 3. Teacher assignments and qualifications related data into the IEMIS to support planning, monitoring, and evaluation of EGR implementation. EGRP supported CEHRD to improve and update data collection procedures to enable the government to collect key data on teachers and students (text box). In 2016, through a series of consultation meetings and workshops and expert support facilitated by EGRP, DOE and the NCED incorporated EGR parameters into the electronic instrument to collect, analyze, and use EGR-related data for policy formulation and decision-making purposes. Updating of the IEMIS was completed by the end of 2017. EGRP supported CEHRD to roll out the updated IEMIS instrument through orientations in the April–June and July–September quarters of 2018 to education personnel in EDCUs and LEUs. This dissemination included orientation on system indicators in the education sector; new data fields related to EGR; data analysis techniques; and the use of data for decision making, planning, and program monitoring. The orientation program built the capacity of 292 district and local-level education personnel on IEMIS electronic instruments, data analysis, and utilization. The orientations helped education personnel at the district and local levels to use the updated IEMIS instrument and to employ data in policy formulation, planning, monitoring, and evaluation.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 57 Local Government Education Profile To help local governments develop education profiles, enabling them to carry out informed decision making and planning, EGRP supported CEHRD to develop an LEU profile template in the April–June 2019 quarter. The template consists of education system indicators generated from IEMIS data and other contextual information from local levels. EGRP provided technical support to CEHRD to design and finalize the education profile template based on a needs assessment and consultations with MOEST, CLAs, and other key stakeholders. During local capacity-development workshops conducted in the January–March 2020 quarter, EGRP coordinated with CEHRD, EDCUs, municipal elected representatives, LEUs, selected head teachers, EGR teachers, and SMC and PTA chairpersons from the 16 target districts to prepare for developing education profiles using their own time and resources. EGRP also supported CEHRD to integrate the LEU profile into IEMIS’s web-based software so that large portions of the profile could be auto-populated from the IEMIS. The back-end software engineering for this linkage was completed and handed over to CEHRD by the time EGRP was closing. However, CEHRD will still need to operationalize the software within the IEMIS, in order to make the data directly available to LEUs and facilitate the process of generating quantitative indicators and measuring annual progress for each LEU. This could not be achieved during EGRP’s final year due to COVID-19 lockdown conditions, competing priorities for time within CEHRD, and lack of access to the IEMIS system by the engineering firm hired by EGRP. In future, CEHRD will need to obtain additional software engineering services or other technical assistance to ensure that the profile is fully integrated and operational within IEMIS. Both the blank LEU template and a sample LEU report card from a selected municipality are included in Annex D, Volume 2. Preparation of School Maps Coded by Language In 2017, RTI’s home office geographic information system specialists developed a School Mapping and Analysis Program web application, called NEPALSmap, as a sample for Kaski District (photo), to demonstrate and encourage the MOEST to replicate this initiative in other EGRP districts for planning and Sample image from NEPALSmap monitoring purposes. This application was designed to provide information on geographical locations of the schools; numbers of students by grade; teacher information, including training; information related to other program inputs (materials and other EGR activities); and information on language of communication. Initially, EGRP intended to help GON develop similar school

58 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 maps for the other 15 EGRP districts, but this effort could not be pursued due to the lack of accurate GPS coordinates for all schools in the IEMIS. Policy Studies EGRP, in consultation and collaboration with MOEST and the DOE, conducted three policy studies under IR 2 during the life of the program, focusing on (1) teacher motivation in the early grades, conducted in Year 5 (2019–2020); (2) feasibility of cell phone applications for home-based reading for the early grades, in 2017; and (3) parent and community attitudes and beliefs on language use in EGR instruction and teacher assignment, also in 2017. The main purpose of the studies was to inform policy makers about the crucial issues that stakeholders in the education sector were facing related to EGR. After completion of each report, EGRP staff shared the findings and recommendations of the policy studies with GON policy makers, technical officials, and other key education sector stakeholders. Policy makers at federal, provincial, and local levels considered the relevant findings and recommendations of the policy studies in the process of improving existing policies and formulating new education directives and programs to improve the quality of school education. The findings of the policy studies were also shared with participants at EGR review workshops, and at interactive seminars during provincial and district study tours between 2018 and 2020. Sharing the findings encouraged elected representatives and education personnel of the target palikas to make decisions on language in education, adequate time allocation for Nepali instruction, and the use of cell phones for communicating with parents/guardians to inform them of students’ learning progress. ERO Capacity Development EGRP continuously worked with ERO staff to enhance their capacity to conduct assessments, analyze data, manage data, and prepare analysis reports. In 2017, EGRP provided technical support to ERO and CLAs through training on Stata statistical software, focusing on how to apply item response theory. Further, the 2019 training on item response theory used IATA, an open-source item response analysis software. ERO began using IATA to create item analyses of pilot study data in national assessments. Similarly, in 2018, EGRP provided training on complex sampling methods by using SPSS. This training became very useful to ERO because the software requires the same skills to select the national-level samples. In addition to these sessions, in 2019, EGRP trained ERO and CLAs in quasi-experimental methods. This capacity building helped government agencies and universities to understand the practical aspects of calculating the comparative effectiveness of program inventions. Now, ERO is well skilled to conduct national assessments, manage the resulting data, analyze the data, and prepare reports. National Assessment for Reading and Numeracy ERO realized the importance of EGR and initiated a request for assistance to integrate EGR components into the National Assessment of Student Achievement. With EGRP support, ERO conducted various levels of discussions and interactive workshops, and decided to incorporate measures of children’s numeracy skills into this assessment along with literacy measures. ERO imparted the lessons learned from the CB-EGRA and developed a blended

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 59 numeracy and literacy assessment tool—the NARN—to be used as an assessment for grade 3 students. As noted above, EGRP supported ERO to develop and disseminate the NARN assessment framework. After the framework was ready, ERO developed the assessment items and piloted the tools among more than 1,800 students in EGRP districts. EGRP—with the help of experts from RTI’s home office—built ERO’s capacity for item analysis and assessment reporting in the light of the latest assessment theory, known as item response theory, by using IATA software. ERO used IATA software to analyze the pilot data and incorporated suggestions from the SSDP Technical Working Group. ERO used item response theory to select the items, and the ERO Subject Committee then further examined the items. Then at the beginning of 2020, ERO conducted the NARN, followed by data cleaning and analysis; reporting was pending as EGRP neared its close. EGR-related assessments in Nepal have now become a part of the national assessment system: ERO is committed to reconducting the NARN periodically. Thus, with continuous effort by EGRP to work collaboratively, supply needed technical support, and train ERO, the EGR-related assessment was established and institutionalized.

6.2.2 Sub-IR 2.2 Policies, standards, and benchmarks that support improved early grade reading instruction institutionalized

Key Achievements: Sub-IR 2.2 Developed national student EGR benchmarks Developed framework for EGR teacher performance standards • Developed evidence-based guidance on time-tabling and time on task

Standards Framework and Benchmarks for Student Performance Through a series of Figure 11: Steps followed for developing consultations and workshops student literacy benchmarks during 2016–2018 (see Figure 11), the IR 2 team 1. Review related documents worked closely with CDC and CEHRD to develop a 2. Hold capacity-development workshops standards framework for 3. Consult with national and international experts student literacy performance, setting benchmarks of 4. Form writing team and lead workshops for the team 45 cwpm for reading fluency and 80% of questions 5. Collect feedback from experts and concerned agencies

answered correctly for 6. Interact with MOEST/CLAs comprehension. The benchmarks were based on an 7. Organize workshop with teachers analysis of EGRA and 8. Arrange and hold Subject Committee meetings CB-EGRA assessment data

undertaken with support from 9. Hold NEGRP Steering Committee meeting RTI statisticians. These

60 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 benchmarks were established for grades 1, 2, and 3, using grade-level texts. Once the benchmarks were finalized, they were widely utilized to assess student reading proficiency at the school and policy level, and to inform reporting on EGRP’s PMP. EGRP continued to support CEHRD, CDC, EDCUs, and LEUs during orientation programs and capacity-development workshops in 2018 and 2020 to introduce the benchmarks to elected representatives, education personnel of 145 LEUs, head teachers, EGR teachers and chairpersons, and members of SMCs and PTAs. Provincial and district-level study tours, cluster-level meetings, and local-level capacity-development workshops enabled them to use the student benchmarks to monitor students’ reading progress. Standards Framework for Early Grade Teacher Performance Likewise, with EGRP support, CEHRD began development of a standards framework for teacher performance, defining the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for teachers to succeed in EGR instruction. To start creating the framework, CEHRD and EGRP together reviewed the existing teacher competency framework developed in 2014. This framework defined the eight generic competencies of a good teacher, but CEHRD determined that subject-specific teacher performance standards also were required, including EGR teacher standards. In the January–March 2020 quarter, EGRP prepared a concept note to present a proposed standards development process and next steps. Subsequently, a technical task team consisting of CEHRD and other CLA staff began to review existing policies as well as legal and procedural provisions and national and international practices and research reports relevant to EGR teacher performance standards. The technical task team planned to meet to develop a competency framework in late March 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, key CEHRD staff were not available to conduct in-person or virtual meetings. The EGRP team followed up to begin gathering feedback and inputs remotely as much as possible, and they resumed discussions with CEHRD in May 2020. By the end of the program in October 2020, the standards had been handed over to the GON for further action and approval. Study on EGR Time-Tabling In close coordination with CDC, in 2017, EGRP conducted a study on EGR time-tabling (scheduling time for reading instruction) and time on task in 2017 to identify the best instructional approaches. The findings and recommendations of the study were shared with policy makers at federal, provincial, and local levels to inform their decisions on optimum time allocation for Nepali instruction. To comply with NEGRP requirements, many Cohort 1 schools had been setting aside 90-minute periods for Nepali language instruction, often employing alternative approaches, such as borrowing time from other subjects to add to Nepali instructional time or extending the school time. EGRP shared the findings of the study during orientations and review workshops at the federal, provincial, and local levels in 16 EGRP districts to encourage them to dedicate 90-minute class periods for Nepali instruction without affecting the allocated time for other subjects. As a result, education personnel at EDCUs and LEUs understood the need for dedicating adequate time to teaching Nepali language through 90-minute periods and committed to implement the recommendations at the school level. Many schools, however, did not begin implementing 90-minute lessons because they were anticipating, and opted to wait for, the new curriculum to replace the timetable.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 61 Language of Instruction for EGR Throughout 2017, EGRP conducted frequent interactive discussions and consultation meetings with senior officials of MOEST and CLAs, particularly with CDC, about the language of instruction for EGR. At the heart of the meetings was (1) implementing the existing provisions of the Constitution of Nepal and (2) honoring the trilingual policy of the government regarding language of instruction. Although a plan to conduct a detailed language survey of 16 EGRP districts was dropped, with the expectation that the Language Commission would produce policy guidelines on language of instruction, in Year 5 (2019– 2020), EGRP used the language data collected by CEHRD to produce a language report on the 16 EGRP districts, identifying the language status of the schools in the palikas. With EGRP support, CEHRD, EDCUs, and the LEUs shared the language report with federal, provincial, and local-level education stakeholders during local-level capacity-development workshops in the January–March 2020 quarter to encourage them to understand students’ and teachers’ language diversity and make decisions on language of instruction based on the language status of the schools. In addition to the language report, EGRP worked with MOEST and CEHRD to conduct a study in 2017 on parent and community attitudes and beliefs on language use in instruction and teacher assignment to identify local desires regarding language of instruction. The study findings were shared with education stakeholders at the federal, provincial, and local levels— during orientation programs, provincial and district-level study tours, and capacity- development workshops—to inform them about local preferences regarding language of reading instruction. EGRP also encouraged MOEST, CEHRD, and the education stakeholders to use the information while updating and formulating policies, strategies, and guidelines related to language of instruction for EGR. 6.2.3 Sub-IR 2.3 Planning and management of financial, material, and human resources devoted to early grade reading improved

ey Achievements: Sub-IR 2.3 Supported development and revision of NEGRP core document and related costing • Supported NEGRP annual planning, orientations, local-level capacity building, and review workshops • Conducted district and provincial study tours and joint monitoring for EGR promotion Conducted local-level orientations and capacity-development sessions for local governments/LEUs • Developed CLAs’ capacity in EGR policy making and planning • Provided information and communication technology (ICT) equipment to CLAs, MOSDs, Education Development Directorates (EDDs), and LEUs • Supported G2G planning and implementation at provincial, district, and LEU levels • Participated in international learning visits (Philippines and Kenya) and organized conference panels (China, San Francisco) • Disseminated midline EGRA and EMES results

62 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Review and Revision of the NEGRP 5-Year Plan With EGRP support, in 2020, MOEST reviewed and Figure 12: Process for updated the existing NEGRP core document with the revising NEGRP intention of preparing an updated and costed NEGRP core document strategy document in line with the SSDP (2016–2023) and the new decentralized federal system. EGRP Form task team supported MOEST to organize a series of consultations, policy discussions, and workshops (see Organize task team Figure 12) in the second half of Year 5 (2019–2020). meetings The effort involved policy makers from MOEST, CLAs, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Hold consultation Planning Commission as well as representatives from meetings and workshops USAID, development partners, the Association of International NGOs in Nepal, provincial-level Collect and share MOSDs, District Coordination Committees (DCCs), feedback EDCUs, local governments, and LEUs. They jointly developed the strategy document reflecting the goals, objectives, and key program indicators, aligned with Finalize document the new decentralized education governance system in Nepal. The costed and updated NEGRP strategy Hold Steering document paved the way to sustain and expand EGR Committee meeting interventions throughout the country. As of preparing this final reporting, the document had not yet gone through the full approval process within the GON. Capacity Development for EGRP Implementation NEGRP Annual Planning Each year in the April–June quarter, EGRP supported MOEST and the CLAs with annual planning in close coordination with USAID, supported preparation of G2G AWPs, and prepared EGRP AWPs and budgets. MOEST, with support from EGRP, organized planning meetings and workshops with the involvement of policy makers and technical staff from MOEST, CLAs, EGRP, and USAID to plan program activities for the upcoming year and to review G2G and EGRP program progress and achievements. These planning meetings and workshops were an opportunity to discuss the issues and challenges of implementation and to identify possible mitigation solutions. In addition, capacity-building needs and activities were identified and planned to maximize EGRP training for the GON, and to improve G2G and EGRP implementation and support for the government. These workshops helped to produce the final G2G program activities and budget to upload into the GON’s Line Ministry Budgetary Information System, and EGRP activities aligning with the G2G program activities. The workshops also furnished the opportunity to prepare budget narratives for NEGRP and EGRP. NEGRP Orientations EGRP supported MOEST and CEHRD to organize orientation programs at federal, provincial, and local levels to disseminate EGR concepts and principles along with NEGRP

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 63 goals, objectives, strategies, and program activities. The orientations also covered the roles and responsibilities of each level and of the concerned authorities, to encourage them to implement the program interventions effectively. The programs were conducted in 2015 in Cohort 1 districts and in 2018 in Cohort 2 districts. Policy makers, education personnel, elected representatives, members of SMCs/PTAs, head teachers, EGR teachers, EGRP staff, and community leaders were oriented during these meetings. The events were helpful to build coordination at all levels and to increase stakeholder ownership of program implementation. Altogether, 1,243 participants attended the orientation programs. Local-Level Capacity Building for Elected Representatives To encourage full implementation of federalism and decentralization, EGRP provided technical support to CEHRD to build the capacity of newly elected local government representatives, executive officers, and LEU representatives at local levels. The workshops were conducted in the 16 EGRP districts starting from the October–December 2017 quarter to the July–September 2018 quarter. The following topics were covered during these workshops: • constitutional provisions for education • existing education policies and programs • Local Government Operation Act, 2074 (2017) • NEGRP policies and programs • roles and responsibilities of local government representatives to plan and implement NEGRP Altogether, 641 participants, including mayors, deputy mayors, chairs, deputy chairs, DCC members, ward chairpersons, and local-level education personnel were oriented during programs in all 16 EGRP districts. The presence of the Minister of MOEST, Provincial Ministers of Social Development, Provincial Chief Secretaries, and

Secretaries of the MOSD The Education Minister lights a lamp at the inauguration of a workshop encouraged the participants with local government representatives organized by EGRP and MOEST. to internalize the significance (Photo credit: Sanjay Gupta) of the program; to promote coordination and cooperation among federal, provincial, and local governments; and to improve education service delivery at the local level to enhance the quality of education.

64 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 NEGRP Review and EGR Promotion Workshops EGRP supported EDCUs to organize NEGRP review and EGR promotion workshops to enhance the capacity of local-level education personnel to implement NEGRP effectively. These workshops included discussions on NEGRP progress status, NEGRP policies and strategies, NEGRP standardization and harmonization guidelines, TPS procedures, student reading benchmarks, and the NEGRP minimum package. The participants reviewed NEGRP implementation status at the local level and became acquainted with the NEGRP policies and strategies that are crucial for promoting EGR interventions at district and local levels. As a result, participants became more aware of EGR concepts and principles, better able to identify the challenges and possible solutions in program implementation, and better equipped to promote coordination and collaboration at local levels. Altogether, 1,220 participants in the first phase, which took place in the October–December 2018 quarter, and 931 participants in the second phase, which was conducted in the January–March 2019 quarter, joined the workshops. Participants included the chairs or vice chairs of DCCs, heads of EDCUs, EDCU program officers, LEU heads, Resource Persons, selected head teachers, local government representatives, and chairs of SMCs and PTAs. Provincial and District Study Tours for EGR Promotion With EGRP technical assistance, MOSDs at the provincial level and EDCUs at the district level organized 4-day study tours followed by interactive seminars throughout 2018–2020. The purpose of the tours was to sensitize provincial and district senior education EDD Director giving a speech at a combined provincial and district-level study officials on the tour in Birgunj. (Photo credit: Bharat Sahani) importance of EGR; NEGRP implementation processes and impacts on EGR; and the officials’ role in incorporating EGR activities into their education plans for achieving high-quality education in the long term. During the study visits, the participants interacted with local stakeholders to learn about good practices and lessons learned from actual NEGRP implementation. Altogether, 232 provincial-level officials and 484 district-level officials participated in the study tours, representing MOSD, the Education Development Directorate (EDD), ETC, DCC, EDCU, LEUs, schools, and both urban and rural municipalities (see Table 7).

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 65 Table 7: Participants in district-level study tours and seminars No. District Total Women 1 Banke 35 14 2 Bardiya 37 10 3 Bhaktapur 41 12 4 Dadeldhura 36 2 5 Dang 48 10 6 Dhankuta 53 8 7 Dolpa 53 9 8 Kailali 47 6 9 Kanchanpur 81 23 10 Kaski 55 22 11 Parsa 84 4 12 Surkhet 95 15

Grand total 665 135

Local-Level Capacity Strengthening To strengthen the capacity of local governments to integrate NEGRP interventions into local- level policies and programs in their respective palikas, EGRP provided technical support to MOEST, CEHRD, EDCUs, and LEUs to conduct 3-day local-level capacity-development workshops in 145 palikas in the 16 EGRP districts. First, in December 2019, EGRP supported MOEST to organize 2-day TOTs in four regional hubs—Biratnagar, Dhangadhi, Nepalgunj, and Pokhara—aiming to prepare facilitators to conduct the local-level capacity- development workshops at palika level. The participants in the program were EDCU heads and representatives, LEU heads and representatives, and EGRP regional and district-level technical staff. Altogether, 158 people participated in the TOTs. The local-level workshops were then conducted in the January–March 2020 quarter. Local government elected representatives, LEU education personnel, selected head teachers and early grade teachers, SMC/PTA members, TRG coordinators, and SMC EGR subcommittee members participated in the workshops. During the events, participants were oriented on existing education policies and programs; NEGRP policies, strategies, programs, and achievements; IEMIS data analysis and utilization; analysis and use of CB-EGRA data; preparation of LEU profiles; management and utilization of instructional materials (TLMs and SRMs); and implementation and institutionalization of TPS. Of the 145 palikas, the workshop was completed in 126 localities during the January–March 2020 quarter, but the events in 19 palikas had to be postponed because of the outbreak of COVID-19. EGRP initially attempted to organize the remaining workshops virtually, but a survey of the 19 municipalities made it clear that connectivity issues and unwillingness of local stakeholders to participate in virtual events would pose a challenge in most locations. Because of these constraints, in the July–October 2020 quarter, the EGRP team was able to complete one training of trainers for Dolpa District and 17 out of 19 of the remaining

66 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 workshops by reverting to an in-person workshop modality, with strict adherence to sanitation, social distancing, and group size guidelines. EGRP also adjusted the workshop contents to add an overview of USAID’s recent (June 2020) follow-on program, called EGRP II; and to share GON guidelines for flexible-learning strategies in the midst of prolonged school closures. The remaining two workshops—in Suryabinayak Municipality in Bhaktapur and Chharkatangsong Rural Municipality in Dolpa—could not be completed because local officials declined to conduct those workshops. Altogether, 6,290 participants were oriented in these workshops. Figure 13 breaks down the various categories of officials who joined. On the last day of each workshop, the participants expressed their commitment to continuing key EGR activities at the palika level by preparing action plans using their own resources.

Figure 13: Categories of participants in the LEU capacity-development workshops (N=6,290 )

166

1,143 1,305

1,107

2,569

Elected personnel Government officials Head teacher/Teacher SMC/PTA/NGO Others

MOEST and CLA Capacity Building EGRP supported capacity strengthening for MOEST/CLA personnel responsible for implementing EGR activities throughout the program’s 5 years. EGRP conducted capacity needs assessments for MOEST (then called MOE) and the CLAs in the October–December 2016 quarter. The needs assessment was completed, and the consultant submitted a final report in December 2016, which provided a comprehensive picture of the capacity needs of MOEST, DEO/NCED, CDC, and ERO. Based on the recommendations of the report, EGRP developed an action plan for GON institutional strengthening and human resource capacity building, focusing on EGR. Further, in July 2019, EGRP supported MOEST to conduct a capacity needs assessment workshop to identify the major capacity gaps in the areas of institutional strengthening and human resources capacity building at federal, provincial, district, and local levels. The purpose was to permit capacity-building activities to be planned and implemented to address the gaps. High-level officials from the MOEST system, USAID,

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 67 and EGRP attended the workshop, with a total of 49 participants. The participants identified gaps in the areas of legal structures and governance, human resources, management system and practices, and financial resources. They also noted several other priorities across the agencies regarding capacity enhancement, including the following: • timely provision of job descriptions and orientation to new/seconded staff assigned to the EGR portfolio in the CLAs • a review of job descriptions of relevant officials at the district and school levels • EGR refresher training for education personnel • opportunities for observation of EGR best practices nationally and internationally • capacity development on EGR policy and planning • implementation of NEGRP-related orientation and training activities at the local and school levels in the additional NEGRP minimum package districts • redefinition of community support mechanisms for NEGRP Workshop on EGRP Policy and Planning and International Best Practices Based on the recommendations from the capacity needs assessment workshop, in December 2019, EGRP provided technical support to MOEST to organize a capacity- development workshop for education personnel from MOEST, CLAs, and provincial-level MOSDs on EGR policy and planning. The objectives of the workshop were to: • share international best practices in EGR • review EGR research, MOEST Undersecretary facilitating group work during a capacity-development workshop on EGR policy and planning experiences, and lessons held in Kathmandu in 2019. from NEGRP (Photo credit: Sandip Kunwar) implementation to date • develop a common framework for planning NEGRP scale-up • identify critical implementation challenges and means to address them through policy and institutional capacity building at each level of the system • identify key aspects of decentralized planning and management that need to be addressed for successful scale-up • plan for monitoring, evaluation, learning, and reporting. A senior advisor in education policy, systems, and governance from RTI’s home office facilitated the workshop, with support from the EGRP Chief of Party (COP) and other team members and presentations by MOEST and ERO representatives. In total, 42 officials participated.

68 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Courtesy Meetings at Provincial Level Throughout 2019, EGRP organized courtesy visits with the newly formed provincial MOSDs to share NEGRP policy provisions, strategies, program interventions, and key achievements with the provincial-level ministers, secretaries, and education personnel. These meetings also covered the expected roles of MOSDs, EDDs, and ETCs in planning and implementing NEGRP in each province. The participants acknowledged the significance of NEGRP policy and strategy in promoting the reading skills of the students in the early grades, which has been the foundation for enhancing the overall quality of the primary education system. The MOSDs shared the scope and priority areas for the provincial ministries and emphasized that regular monitoring and supervision support for the teachers, short-term research on the effectiveness of the educational interventions, use of standardized reading/learning materials, harmonization of the programs implemented through NGOs, timely distribution of materials, and scale-up of the lessons learned during the piloting process were crucial for program achievement. They also assured the EGRP team that they would lead the program interventions at the provincial level; incorporate NEGRP policy provisions into their provincial-level education policies, strategies, and programs; and coordinate with district and local-level governments for effective implementation of the program. Joint Monitoring of NEGRP Implementation Joint monitoring visits were organized with the MOEST Secretary and Joint Secretary and the CEHRD Director General and Deputy Directors General, to observe NEGRP implementation status and the impacts of EGR interventions on improving students’ reading skills in 2018 (Bardiya, Dadeldhura, Kanchanpur, Kaski, and Surkhet) and in 2019 (Banke, Dadeldhura, Kailali, and Kanchanpur). The visits also aimed to show the on-the-ground realities of program interventions to the MOEST/CLA officials so that they could better contribute to resolving common challenges. The activity increased these officials’ sense of ownership in the program interventions and their commitment to extend and expand NEGRP based on the learning from the field. ICT Equipment Support to GON As part of capacity development for the MOEST system, EGRP provided ICT equipment support to CDC, CEHRD (i.e., the then-NCED), ETCs, MOSDs, EDDs, and LEUs to facilitate the service delivery of the concerned agencies. EGRP provided an alternative power backup system, eight laptops, five multifunctional printers, and one photocopier to CDC in the July–September 2016 quarter. Similarly, EGRP provided 10 laptops, 11 multifunctional printers, and 10 liquid-crystal display projectors to CEHRD (the then-NCED) for its central office and for use by the ETCs in the October–December 2016 quarter. The support helped the CLAs and ETCs work more effectively and efficiently on NEGRP and EGRP tasks. EGRP provided ICT support to ERO in the October–December 2016 quarter to enable them to prepare reports on the CB-EGRA, and 200 tablets and one printer in the January–March 2020 quarter to support NARN data collection. In addition, EGRP provided ongoing technical support to the CLAs to upgrade and manage their ICT systems. In Year 5 (2019–2020), EGRP also provided ICT equipment support to seven provincial MOSDs (2 laptops, 1 printer, and 1 projector each), seven EDDs (2 laptops, 1 printer, and 1 projector each), and 145 municipalities/rural municipalities (2 laptops, 1 printer, and

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 69 1 projector each) in 16 EGRP districts. The purpose was to strengthen the capacity of provincial and local-level educational authorities to carry out technical tasks related to IEMIS data collection, compilation, analysis, use, and storage; and to encourage routine reporting and documentation. This equipment enhanced their day-to-day delivery of educational services and supported planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of educational programs at the local level. Support to G2G Activity Implementation at Provincial, District, and LEU Levels For the first four years of the program, EGRP regional and district teams regularly provided technical support to provincial, district, and local-level education offices to carry out NEGRP G2G activities. The EGRP field teams facilitated orientation and review programs, planning meetings, IEMIS data updates, education cluster meetings, Reading Motivator meetings, head teacher meetings, monthly meetings, DCT meetings, program coordination meetings, educational interactions, cluster-level meetings, interactions with local government representatives, meetings and interaction with DCCs, and joint monitoring visits. In addition, during the LEU capacity-development workshops described above, EGRP regional and district-level officials supported LEUs to review and present updates on the implementation of NEGRP G2G activities and the activities under the NEGRP minimum package. A dedicated session was planned and carried out on the status of educational activities at the palika level and the implementation of the NEGRP minimum package. At this session, the participants were oriented on NEGRP G2G program activities and issues related to G2G budget flows. This extensive technical support from EGRP to district and local-level education authorities assisted them to carry out G2G activities effectively and smoothly, and built rapport and created a positive environment for coordination and collaboration at the local level. Exposure and Learning Visits Study Tour to Philippines As part of EGRP’s capacity-development approach, USAID organized a week-long study tour in September 2015 to the Philippines so that the participants could observe and learn from the USAID-supported EGR model being implemented there by the Government of the Philippines. A group of 15 officials from the MOE, CLAs, USAID, and EGRP participated in the tour. The visit was useful in many ways, especially in terms of demonstrating to the Nepal team how to effectively implement a USAID program in partnership with the host government. XVI World Congress of Comparative Education Societies EGRP supported the participation of four individuals from Nepal (two from EGRP, two from GON, accompanied by one from USAID) at the XVI World Congress of Comparative Education Societies held August 22–26, 2016, at Beijing Normal University, China. The theme was “Dialectics of Education: Comparative Perspectives.” The 5-day conference brought together educational professionals, scholars, and practitioners representing universities and education societies globally. The EGRP-supported team presented as a panel under the theme “Early Grade Reading in Nepal: A Case Study of the Globalization of International Evidence.”

70 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 63rd Annual Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Conference EGRP supported the attendance of five participants from Nepal (three from EGRP and two from government, accompanied by one from USAID and one from NORC) at CIES’s 63rd annual conference, which took place April 14–18, 2019, in San Francisco, California, USA, on the theme “Education for Sustainability.” The conference was another opportunity to represent and share best practices and evidence from EGRP. At the conference, the team presented on a panel titled “Nepal’s National Early Grade Reading Program: Learning from Data and Experience.” For this panel, the papers presented were (1) Introduction: An Overview of Nepal’s National Early Grade Reading Program (NEGRP), (2) The Impact of NEGRP on Native and Nonnative Nepali Speakers, (3) Teacher Training and Support in Nepal’s National Early Grade Reading Program, (4) School Performance Factors in Nepal’s National Early Grade Reading Program, and (5) Language Data for Planning in Nepal’s National Early Grade Reading Program. Study Tour to Kenya As part of capacity development, EGRP supported a week-long study tour to Kenya during July 14–20, 2019, to observe and learn from Kenya’s USAID-funded Tusome EGR program and to gain insights into how to apply the experiences to improve EGR in Nepal. A group of 13 officials from the MOEST, CLAs, USAID, EDCUs, and EGRP participated in the tour. The visit provided several useful takeaways for the Nepal team, especially regarding teacher training and management, pedagogical support and coaching, use of technology at a large scale, and M&E for continuous improvement. 64th Annual CIES Conference To provide additional opportunities for GON officials to learn more about international best practices in EGR, the EGRP team planned to send a group to participate in the annual CIES conference, scheduled for March 2020 in Miami, and USAID’s Global Education Conference, planned for April 2020 in Washington, DC. In collaboration with USAID, the EGRP team prepared and had four proposals accepted to these conferences. It was planned that altogether, eight participants from Nepal representing NEGRP (three from GON and five from EGRP) would attend the CIES conference and share presentations on innovative practices in (1) Teacher Professional Support for EGR in Nepal, (2) Parent and Community Mobilization for EGR in Nepal, (3) Inclusive Early Grade Reading in Nepal, and (4) Planning and Budgeting for EGR at the Local Level. All the requirements for conference registration were completed, but the onsite conference in Miami was cancelled in February due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although CIES decided to organize a virtual conference, with the goal of providing an engaging and meaningful experience for everyone, it was difficult for the participants from Nepal to participate in the conference virtually due to the time difference between the two continents and heavy team workloads in April 2020. EGRA Midline Evaluation Results Dissemination In early January 2020, EGRP supported MOEST to organize a dissemination seminar on the 2018 EGRA midline results—the seminar was for high-level officials, including the Minister for Education, Science and Technology as well as the USAID Acting Mission Director. Altogether, 66 participants from MOEST and its CLAs, the Ministry of Finance, the National Planning Commission, USAID, the World Bank, UNICEF, the European Union, the Finnish

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 71 Embassy, Save the Children, the RTI home office, and EGRP attended the program. Similar dissemination workshops were held with 408 representatives from seven provinces, including Ministers of Social Development and other MOSD representatives, Provincial Planning Commissions, EDDs, ETCs, EDCUs, LEUs, head teachers, EGR trainers, and journalists (see Figure 14). Questions and discussion from these audiences focused on the methodology used in the impact evaluation, the reasons why treatment districts performed better on average than control districts on key reading metrics, why L1 speakers continued to outperform L2 speakers, areas for further improvement based on the midline findings, and mechanisms to ensure sustained improvements in learning as NEGRP continues to expand across the country.

Figure 14: Numbers of participants at sessions to disseminate EGRA midline results

82 83

66 64 62 62

53 54

6.2.4 Sub-IR 2.4 National standards for early grade reading improvement adopted and geographically expanded

Key Achievements: Sub-IR 2.4 Developed NEGRP standardization and harmonization guidelines Developed the NEGRP minimum package Promoted public–private partnerships for EGR advocacy

Leverage and Advocate for Sufficient Resources to Support EGR at National Level During the SSDP strategic plan development process initiated by MOEST in 2016, EGRP contributed by engaging in expert discussions and thematic groups and advocated to include EGR components in the plan. As a result, NEGRP components and costing were thoroughly

72 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 integrated. In addition, as a participant in various ongoing EGR technical working group orientations, review workshops, and capacity-development events throughout the life of the program, EGRP advocated for increased attention and resource mobilization for EGR in national and local plans and budgets. MOEST committed to implementing the NEGRP minimum package throughout the country in a phased manner and agreed to allocate sufficient resources for implementation. As of mid-2020, the government had selected 38 out of Nepal’s 77 districts to expand the NEGRP minimum package in community schools. In the January–March 2020 quarter, EGRP also provided technical assistance to MOEST to revise and update its existing NEGRP core document and costing for the minimum package, aligning with SSDP priorities and the new federalist structure. In Year 5 (2019–2020), the GON began developing the post-SSDP strategy, covering the period up to 2030, and demonstrated its commitment to incorporating EGR components as the key element in the new strategy. NEGRP Standardization and Harmonization Guidelines Through a series of consultations, policy discussions, and workshops in 2017, DEO/NCED, with support from EGRP, developed NEGRP standardization and harmonization guidelines to streamline EGR-related efforts, prevent duplication, and maximize the use of resources for planning and implementing EGR activities. The guidelines were developed using the GON’s five established NEGRP components (see text box). The Five NEGRP components guidelines informed GON and NGO priorities, helping 1. Curriculum and reading materials them to maintain the uniformity of EGR programming 2. Teacher training and support and implementation around the country, avoid 3. Student assessment 4. Community mobilization duplication of effort, and increase resource allocation for 5. Monitoring and evaluation EGR programs. The guidelines were disseminated from 2017 onward to a wide range of stakeholders during orientations, review workshops, and capacity-development workshops, with several aims: (1) communicating expectations for EGR interventions, (2) enabling participants to clearly articulate possible provisions in local-level policy and planning, (3) institutionalizing the NEGRP policies and strategies, and (4) sustaining and expanding the program to new geographical areas. Elected representatives, EDCU and LEU education personnel, selected head teachers and EGR teachers, and SMC/PTA chairpersons were the main audiences for the dissemination efforts. NEGRP Minimum Package To harmonize activities and drive investments in EGR under the NEGRP, EGRP supported MOEST to develop the NEGRP minimum package. To achieve this objective, in 2016 and 2017, EGRP supported then-MOE to organize a series of consultations, policy discussions, and workshops, with representation from MOE and the CLAs, development partners, international NGOs, and local NGOs. The NEGRP minimum package was presented to the NEGRP Steering Committee for review and was approved in June 2017. The package recommended curriculum and TLMs, teacher training, community mobilization, student assessment, and M&E as key EGR standards, each with detailed costing. EGRP supported MOEST/CEHRD, EDCUs, and LEUs to share the EGR standards recommended in the minimum package during orientations, review and promotion

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 73 workshops, and capacity-building programs with federal, provincial, district, and local-level education stakeholders in 16 EGRP districts from 2017 onward. This consistent advocacy helped key government officials and stakeholders become more aware of the minimum package and solicited their support for planning and implementing EGR activities at all levels of the government. Public–Private Partnerships for EGR Promotion Throughout the life of the program, EGRP supported MOEST to explore policy options for engaging the private sector in EGR promotion campaigns and activities. EGRP helped MOEST organize consultations and policy discussions on private sector engagement in EGR, and the GON acknowledged the importance of potential private sector contributions and collaboration in the revised NEGRP core document that was developed in 2020. Discussions around possible avenues for private sector support were also held during local-level orientations, EGR promotion workshops, and capacity-development workshops. Individuals and private firms at local levels started supporting EGR efforts by providing carpets to schools to improve classroom flooring, supplying books for classroom book corners, supporting reading fairs, and helping to improve school physical facilities (ceiling fans, low tables, wall paintings, etc.). 6.3 IR 3: Increased Family and Community Support for Early Grade Reading IR 3 strengthened the accomplishments of IRs 1 and 2 by increasing family and community awareness of and support for EGR. This section describes the activities and achievements related to the set of cohesive and mutually reinforcing social and community mobilization interventions across four sub-IRs that focused on increasing community, parent, and SMC/PTA engagement with children’s EGR.

6.3.1 Sub-IR 3.1 Community awareness of the importance of early grade reading and language for reading instruction as appropriate increased

Key Achievements: Sub-IR 3.1 Conducted research and developed mass SBC communications strategy Developed, broadcasted, and conducted SMS promotion for EGR-related radio public service announcements (PSAs) and programs in Nepali and local languages Conducted media orientations and developed mass-media strategy Developed and trained teachers on EGR communications guide for teachers Developed NEGRP documentary and short videos; aired the documentary 42 times on Nepali national television stations Created and published “Ramailo Padhai” mobile app for sharing EGR audio stories, poems, and radio content • Conducted research to monitor the reach and effectiveness of EGR public awareness efforts Developed a social and community mobilization strategy and training tools Supported TRGs and EGR subcommittees to roll out social and community mobilization activities at schools and in communities • Conducted EGR advocacy and awareness events • Conducted meetings with village governance bodies Held reading fairs and celebrations

74 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020

A key component of increasing parent and community support for EGR was raising their awareness of its importance, along with the language of instruction, to long-term academic success. EGRP delivered a two-pronged strategy to achieve this goal: (1) developing mass SBC communication materials to be delivered at a large scale through radio and video, and (2) implementing a more localized SBC approach at the district and school levels through local NGO partners. In the first year of the program (2015–2016), program content and direction were informed by a national panel of experts, convened by the then-DOE and NFEC (now combined with CEHRD). Participants included Ministry personnel, international NGOs, and members of a technical working groups, each of whom shared lessons learned and best practices for social and community mobilization in Nepal. From this panel, EGRP developed technical guidelines for social and community mobilization activities, which local NGO partners, SMCs, and PTAs used to deliver interactive and inclusive advocacy and mobilization activities within their communities. EGRP continued to solicit the participation and insights of these national-level experts and implementers through the formation of a National Social and Community Mobilization Core Team21 that met six times over the course of the program and guided the development of social and community mobilization resource materials for EGR. Mass Social and Behavior Change Communication EGRP’s SBC component under IR 3 focused on raising community awareness of the importance of EGR, aimed at parents and teachers and community leaders. To achieve this outcome, the SBC technical team designed an evidence-based SBC framework for each audience. Among the strategies used and discussed below were interpersonal communication, capacity building, radio mass media, behavior messages and mobilization tools, advocacy, and social mobilization. (Annex K in Volume 2 is a list of recent EGRP-driven media coverage of early grade reading.) Evidence-Based Approach: Qualitative Research In 2015, the first step in designing the SBC framework was EGRP’s SBC technical team’s close collaboration with the then-DOE, now CEHRD, to design and conduct qualitative research among primary and secondary audiences. The Group for Technical Assistance, a Nepali research agency, conducted the research fieldwork in Kaski and Banke Districts, and EGRP’s SBC technical team prepared the research design and analysis. The study aims were to gain insights into parents’ values and beliefs that motivate their actions and decision making related to their children’s education, and to learn more about the ways in which social and cultural norms affect their behaviors and practices. Overall research findings indicated that even though parents regarded education as an important factor, they did not know how they could support their children’s education. The gap that existed between parents and teachers in communicating and understanding their respective roles was identified as a barrier to children’s learning progress. EGRP supported DOE to use the qualitative research findings to design an evidence-based SBC framework. The behavior framework was key to the SBC design for IR 3.

21 Members of the Core Team included Plan International Nepal, Room to Read, Save the Children, Voluntary Service Overseas, World Vision International, and World Education; they were led by the DEO.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 75 Development of Radio Public Service Announcements and Radio Program Between 2016 and 2017, EGRP closely collaborated with DOE’s (CEHRD’s) audiovisual section and developed two 60-second radio public service announcements (PSAs) and four episodes of the 15-minute radio programs. They were produced in Nepali, Awadhi, Maithili, and Rana Tharu, and broadcast at the national, district, and community levels. Digital Broadcast Initiative Equal Access (DBI–EA), a local communication agency, managed the production and broadcast of EGRP’s radio public awareness campaign. The radio PSAs focused on doable behaviors that parents and teachers could adopt to help their children and students learn to read. The radio PSAs were also edited to 30-second versions. The radio programs were designed in three 5-minute segments. One segment focused on EGR teaching tips for classroom teachers; the second was a story-based entertaining drama with key EGR messages; and the third was motivational interviews with renowned guest readers sharing their experiences on the importance of reading and their personal stories on learning to read. Technical Support to CEHRD for Development of New Radio PSAs and Programs From Year 2 to Year 4 (2016–2019), the IR 3 SBC technical team provided technical support to CEHRD’s audiovisual section. Using G2G funds, CEHRD developed two new 60-second radio PSAs―one targeted at parents and another targeted at teachers; and eight new episodes of the 15-minute radio programs in Nepali. This increased the total count of radio PSAs from 2 to 4, and the number of radio program episodes increased from 4 to 12. From 2019 to 2020, upon CEHRD’s request and using G2G funding, the SBC technical team provided additional technical support for development of 15 new episodes of 5-minute radio programs with teaching tips for grades 1–3 teachers. The new radio programs focused on the integrated curriculum introduced by MOEST. For consistency, the new episodes followed the same format and campaign theme of “Ramailo Padhai Digo Sikai” (Reading is Fun), previously developed by EGRP in collaboration with CEHRD. The program episodes, with an EGR signature tune and branding acknowledgment to USAID and MOEST, were finalized in April 2020. They were also made available on the “Ramailo Padhai” mobile app. Translation of Radio PSAs and Programs in Local Languages Upon CEHRD’s request, from 2019 to 2020, EGRP translated the existing four radio PSAs and 12 episodes of the radio program into 10 local languages commonly spoken in the EGRP districts, languages that were proposed by EDCUs from respective districts. The 10 local languages were Awadhi, Bardiya-Kailali Tharu, Bhojpuri, Dang Tharu, Doteli, Gurung, Lhowa, Maithili, Newari, and Rana Tharu. The translations helped expand the reach of EGRP’s radio public awareness campaign to a much larger number of parents and teachers. The translated PSAs and programs were included in a district-level media broadcast. Public Awareness of Early Grade Reading From early 2019 through early 2020, EGRP’s public awareness campaign included media broadcasts of radio PSAs and programs on national and local radio stations in 16 districts, text messaging about radio program schedules to district-based stakeholders, provision of convenient and free access to audiences for the aired radio programs through an interactive voice response service, wall posters containing key SBC messages, and media orientation on the importance of EGR at national and district levels. The public awareness was tied to the

76 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 community mobilization officers’ work in the 16 districts to reinforce efforts employing interpersonal communication, peer educators, and mobilization. Media Broadcast of Radio PSAs and Programs The media broadcast of EGRP’s radio public awareness campaign was carried out in three phases from 2017 through 2020, as summarized in Table 8. Table 8: Broadcast frequency for public awareness campaign Media broadcast frequency

Phase I Phase II Phase III

Broadcast Apr–Aug 2017 Jan–Jul 2019 Sep 2019–Mar 2020 Total period broadcast frequency 2 national radio 2 national radio stations, 31 local 30 local radio stations (11 No. of radio stations, 12 local radio stations (11 in in Cohort 1 and 19 in stations radio stations Cohort 1 and 20 in Cohort 2) (Cohort 1) Cohort 2)

Radio PSAs 118,754 times 136,292 times 174,720 times 429,766 times

Radio program 2,107 times 4,501 times 5,052 times 11,660 times and segments

Text Messaging for Radio Program Promotion DBI–EA also executed the short promotional text messaging service that alerted key stakeholders in target districts about the radio program’s broadcast stations, times, and toll- free numbers with interactive voice response. The promotional messaging occurred from March to August 2017 (Phase I) and from January to July 2019 (Phase II). More than 24,620 stakeholders from Cohort 1 and 2 districts received a total of 396,423 pages of messages (i.e., 198,211 SMS messages). The SMS recipients comprised district education officials; EGRP regional teams; community mobilization officers; influential parents; head teachers; Resource Persons; Reading Motivators; and PTA, SMC, and EGR subcommittee representatives. Interactive Voice Response Service DBI–EA activated the interactive voice response service starting in mid-February 2019, which increased the target audiences’ free access to the aired radio program at their convenience. From February 15 to June 30, 2019, the interactive voice response system received approximately 69,000 calls from over 18,000 unique callers, with about 228,000 minutes of audience engagement. The 5-minute guest reader segment received the highest number and duration of audience engagement, with 42% of the audience listening to it via their phones, followed by the radio drama segment (27%), and interviews of key government officials (11%). Of the total number of callers, 20% listened to the full 15-minute program. Large Poster with Key SBC Messages In late 2019, EGRP printed 17,000 enlarged copies of its SBC message poster that used illustrations to show key behaviors parents could adopt to improve their children’s EGR

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 77 skills. The posters were delivered to EGRP central and regional offices and distributed to schools and relevant government offices at the central, district, and community levels. Media Orientation at National and District Levels EGRP and the then-DOE jointly organized the first national media orientation on EGR in February 2017 in Kathmandu, with 28 representatives from various media houses attending. Participants went on to produce a total of 17 articles and broadcast stories. Each participant received a media kit and a flash drive with the radio PSAs and radio programs. Similarly, 59 journalists from various local media houses, including print, online, and radio and television stations, attended the district media orientation. Participants at the district-level orientation went on to produce a total of 54 media coverage reports, which included 40 news articles in print and online media and 31 news segments on local radio and television channels. Development of Media Advocacy Strategy and Orientation Plan Following the general elections in Nepal in 2017, which called for a restructuring of the ministries, EGRP recognized that its media orientation strategy needed to be revisited. The SBC technical team developed two media advocacy strategies and orientation plans in January 2018. The first strategy involved a 15-minute, “quick” orientation session, and the second involved a full one-hour orientation session. These media orientation presentations aimed to train the newly elected government officials at the national, provincial, and district levels on how to effectively work with and communicate to the media, other stakeholders, and the general public about the benefits and values of EGR. EGRP conducted orientations using the revised strategy in Cohort 1 districts in December 2018. The orientation for government officials in Cohort 2 districts was incorporated into already planned activities in 2019, such as DCT meetings to review progress on social and community mobilization, the community mobilization leadership campaign, and DCT orientation campaigns. Communication Guide for Teachers The formative research showed a communication divide between parents and teachers. This breakdown was identified as a barrier to children learning how to read. Although the research showed that both parents and teachers were focused on the children’s best interest, they were talking past one another. To bridge this communication gap, in 2017, the SBC technical team developed an illustrated Parents–Teachers Partnering Guide for Teachers. The illustrated guide outlined techniques and tools teachers could use to talk to parents more effectively. After the NCED reviewed the guide, the one-day training module was condensed to a 90- minute session. It was then accepted and included in the teacher training manual, which means that it will be taught to all teachers in Nepal and institutionalized as a teaching protocol. Development of NEGRP Documentary Starting in late 2019, EGRP developed and produced a documentary film focusing on the success stories of NEGRP’s initiatives and interventions supporting EGR. Pollen Films, a local documentary film production company, worked under the close direction of the SBC documentary technical manager and shot the film in eight EGRP districts (Banke, Bhaktapur, Dhankuta, Dadeldhura, Kaski, Mustang, Parsa, and Surkhet). The documentary captured interviews with teachers, local educators, and government officials; EGR classroom

78 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 activities; and communities’ activities related to EGR. The more than 90 hours of film were edited to a 15-minute documentary and four 5-minute short videos. The documentary film and short videos were finalized with English subtitles and sign language insets in April 2020. The Nepali version of the documentary was aired on 42 times on Nepali national television throughout September and October 2020, with 11 segments broadcast for free as a result of EGRP’s advocacy with the television stations. The MOEST plans to use the documentary to increase awareness of the importance of EGR among the public and key influential actors. Mobile Application Containing Audio Stories, Poems, and EGR Radio Messages From 2019 to 2020, EGRP developed an Android mobile application named “Ramailo Padhai” (Reading is Fun), designed as an easy-to-use tool for teachers and parents of early grade students, to help students learn to read and to make reading fun. The app has 55 items—audio stories, poems, and pictorial PDF books in Nepali, selected from among the SRMs published by CDC. The app also contains radio messages, radio jingles, and radio programs highlighting simple ways in which teachers and parents can help their students and children learn to read. The radio programs focus on EGR teaching tips for classroom teachers, entertaining radio drama series, and interesting interviews with celebrity guest readers sharing their personal stories on learning to read. The radio messages and radio programs are in multiple languages, including Nepali, Awadhi, Bardiya-Kailali Tharu, Bhojpuri, Dang Tharu, Doteli, Gurung, Lhowa, Maithili, Newari, and Rana Tharu. After they download the app, parents and teachers can access all content anytime and help children learn at home, school, and in their community. The app was published in Google Play Store in March 2020, and is free to download at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kalpacreatives.radio In April 2020, the SBC technical team developed a communication plan outlining audience- specific strategies and tactics for disseminating and promoting the mobile app. Anticipating the need for an easy-to-understand “usage guide” for the target audience and anyone who installs and uses the app, the team also prepared a simple, self-help guide in Nepali, with clear step-by-step instructions about the app installation process. Monitoring Research on Early Grade Reading Public Awareness and Community Mobilization Activities To evaluate the reach and awareness of EGRP’s public awareness and community mobilization activities, EGRP conducted two separate studies in Cohort 1 and 2 districts. Research on EGR Public Awareness – Phase I Avant Garde Solution, a Nepali research agency, conducted the first study from February to May 2018, using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative survey was administered among 450 parents of early grade children (68% women and 32% men) and 315 EGR teachers (53% women and 47% men). Overall, key findings identified that 57.1% of parents and 81.9% of teachers had listened to radio PSAs, and 39.1% of parents and 50.5% of teachers had listened to the radio program. Table 9 shows the percentages of parents and teachers in the study who recalled certain key EGR messages.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 79 Table 9: Study findings on percentages of parents and teachers recalling key EGR messages % who recalled the message Message Parents Teachers “Children will have a bright future if they learn to read.” 62.7 62.9 “Children should read aloud at home at least 10 minutes a day.” 58.0 71.0 “There should be a place outside of school for a child to read.” 38.9 39.7 “Parents should talk to their children’s teachers about the way to help them learn to read.” 25.1 40.0 With respect to the application of the key messages, 54.9% of parents said they ensured their children read aloud at least 10 minutes a day; 44.7% had created a space or made a reading corner at home for their children to read; and 22.7% had talked to their children’s teachers and asked them about ways to help their children learn to read. The findings from this study informed EGRP’s evidence-based strategy for expansion of the SBC initiatives in Cohort 2 districts. Research on EGR Public Awareness – Phase II A similar study was conducted in six of the 10 Cohort 2 districts (Dang, Dhankuta, Kailali, Mustang, Parsa, and Surkhet) by another local research organization, Cosmic Education Training and Research Academy, from January to May 2020. The mixed-methods study included a survey with 580 parents of early grade children (68% women and 32% men) and 348 EGR teachers (64% women and 36% men). The key findings indicated that 65.7% of parents and 90.2% of teachers had listened to the radio PSAs, and 42.1% of parents and 86.5% of teachers had listened to the radio programs. Of those who listened, 99.1% of teachers and 96.4% of parents found the radio program effective in terms of the practicality of the messages conveyed. The top three key messages recalled most by parents were “Children will have a bright future if they learn to read” (96.0%), followed by “Children should read aloud at home at least 10 minutes a day” (94.1%), and “There should be a place outside of school for a child to read” (93.1%). When asked about the application of the key messages in practice, 97.9% of parents shared that they ensured their children read aloud at home at least 10 minutes every day; 95.0% of parents reported that they created a reading corner for their children at home; and 77.8% of parents talked to their children’s teachers about ways to help their children learn to read. The five most effective message channels and messaging methods for parents to help their children learn to read―in the order of priority―were teachers, head teachers, peer education training, wall posters, and radio PSAs. Likewise, teachers prioritized their peer teachers, radio programs, head teachers, wall posters, and peer education training, respectively, as their top five sources to learn techniques and tools to help them teach their students to read. Localized SBC Approach at District and School Levels EGRP developed a suite of SBC activities that were implemented in all 16 districts by local NGO partners, and these organizations in turn helped create community and school-based groups to drive EGR activities for parents and children. Core activities included parent-to- parent peer education, public advocacy campaigns, and reading festivals and competitions.

80 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Development of Social and Community Mobilization Strategy and Training Guidelines From 2015 to 2016, EGRP worked closely with the then-DOE to develop a comprehensive social and community mobilization strategy to guide interventions at the local level. Once the strategy was finalized and endorsed by the DOE, EGRP shared the document with districts. The Social and community mobilization strategy: Guiding principles strategy (see text box) describes the process and guiding principles for three key activity areas, each • Equitable and authentic participation designed to increase parent and community • Accountable and transparent • Good governance engagement in EGR: (1) advocacy and awareness • Do no harm activities (e.g., community forums and sharing of • Strengthen relationships among central, district, and subdistrict CB-EGRA results), (2) family and household government agencies and involvement in EGR activities (e.g., peer education), communities • and (3) after-school reading activities (e.g., reading Build on existing good practices camps and festivals). From this framework, EGRP prepared the scope of work for local NGOs and training guidelines detailing each social and community mobilization activity objective, process, target participants, materials, and expected outputs. Support for TRGs and EGR Subcommittees TRG and EGR subcommittees’ best practices in community- based programming showed that forming and supporting parental groups that share a common goal can shift behaviors within a short span of time. Therefore, EGRP engaged with school leaders to form 2,987 TRGs After-school reading activity, Banke. (Photo credit: Bikash Bajracharya) within the communities of Cohort 1 districts, which reached over 49,307 parents of early grade children, local leaders, teachers, and volunteers (70% of whom were women). Originally, TRGs were expected to align with PTAs; however, due to the nonfunctioning status of PTAs in some schools and districts, some TRGs joined forces with community-based organizations, while others worked independently. With the transition to federalism and the increased mandate of SMCs, EGRP transitioned from TRGs to EGR subcommittees embedded within SMCs, helping to strengthen school governance and the future sustainability of these groups. In all, 1,06222 EGR subcommittees were formed in Cohort 2 districts involving 51,015 participants (55% women). (See Table 10 for details by district.)

22 In total, 1,060 SMC grants were awarded to support Cohort 2 schools; however, 1,062 EGR subcommittees were formed. In Rupandehi, two additional subcommittees formed because two initially selected schools did not meet the requirements for SMC grants, and the grants were subsequently shifted to two other schools.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 81 Table 10: District-level TRGs and EGR subcommittees and total participants by sex, Cohorts 1 and 2 Cohort 1 No. of TRGs Men Women Total district Banke 678 9,142 13,342 22,484 Bhaktapur 250 480 1,980 2,460 Kanchanpur 522 1,580 5,702 7,282 Kaski 686 1,954 5,565 7,519 Manang 36 136 284 420 Saptari 815 1,725 7,417 9,142

Grand total 2,987 15,017 34,290 49,307 Cohort 2 No. of EGR Men Women Total district subcommittees Bardiya 95 1,614 3,191 4,805 Dadeldhura 79 1,652 1,213 2,865 Dang 134 2,730 3,708 6,438 Dhankuta 94 2,163 1,828 3,991 Dolpa 36 943 807 1,750 Kailali 179 3,871 5,596 9,467 Mustang 18 247 277 524 Parsa 115 3,397 2,645 6,042 Rupandehi 153 3,100 3,833 6,933 Surkhet 159 3,486 4,714 8,200

Grand total 1,062 23,203 27,812 51,015

TRGs and EGR subcommittees held 9,054 meetings during the program period, involving 188,733 people (61% women). Monitoring visits and end-of-program assessments showed that parents and school leaders recognized the vital role EGR subcommittees played in bridging the parent-school divide. For example, through their own initiative, schools in Bardiya District formed 57 additional EGR subcommittees involving 641 parents (79% women). EGRP’s small-scale assessment of TRGs and EGR subcommittees identified several factors that contributed to high-performing TRGs and EGR subcommittees, as well as recommendations for future sustainability. Advocacy and Awareness Programs In 2016, to introduce EGRP and help to create an enabling environment, the SBC team collaborated with the then-DOE’s Office of Information to develop and finalize an information package for use by the media and community and national stakeholders. The information package consisted of frequently asked questions about EGR; a fact sheet about the GON’s EGR activities, USAID, and EGRP; and data visualization or infographics highlighting the benefits of EGR, current status of EGR efforts, and EGR goals to achieve. The information package was updated in 2017 and 2018 with relevant and current

82 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 information on the program and was used in the provincial, district, and local-level meetings, workshops, and orientation programs. Using these materials, EGRP conducted joint advocacy campaigns with district, local, and ward-level governments as well as partner NGOs in all 16 districts to raise awareness on the importance of EGR and increase support for the NEGRP. EGRP, together with partner NGOs and government stakeholders, conducted 70823 advocacy and awareness-raising programs involving 70,007 people (61% women), disseminating EGR-related messages through rallies, mass meetings, and PSA broadcasts. During the campaigns, EGR infographics, seven key SBC messages, radio PSAs and jingles, CB-EGRA results, and other informative messages were displayed or disseminated to showcase best practices and program successes. As a result of this activity, local governments committed to incorporating EGR activities into their education plans and programs (see Table 11 for a sample action plan developed during the program). Table 11: Sample action plan prepared in district-level advocacy and leadership events Responsible for Responsible Activities Timeline implementing for monitoring Use teacher’s guide, TLMs, and SRMs Regular EGR teacher Head teacher, LEU, EDCU Regularly monitor classrooms and give teachers Regular Head teacher LEU and EDCU feedback Regularly visit and monitor schools Regular LEU Incorporate EGR activities into SIP Regular Head teacher, SMC LEU Incorporate EGR activities into local-level Regular Local government Support by EDCU planning Coordinate education-related stakeholders to Regular EDCU promote EGR Conduct awareness-raising events for parents to Regular SMC, EGR subcommittee, LEU promote EGR using peer education materials peer educator

Meetings with Village and Municipal Education Committees to Support EGR To foster government support and local buy-in, EGRP held Village and Municipal Education Committee (VEC and MEC) meetings24 in Cohort 1 districts to discuss the importance of EGR to long-term academic success and advocate for local government resource allocation to these initiatives. With the transition to the federalism, TRGs and SMC/PTA members shifted this activity toward LEUs, holding meetings with mayors and/or deputy mayors, as well as presidents and/or vice presidents of the different municipalities. In total, EGRP partner NGOs organized 118 VEC/MEC and LEU meetings, bringing together 4,480 people (35% women) to discuss the importance of EGR; the roles of parents, communities, and teachers in EGR improvement; the viability of budget allocations for EGR promotion in local government; and the importance of including an EGR component in SIPs at the school level. LEU members,

23 Advocacy campaigns (ward level: 650; palika level: 2; district level: 56). 24 VEC/MEC meetings were organized in only few Cohort 1 districts, such as Bhaktapur, Kaski, and Saptari. Due to nonexistence or nonfunctional status of VECs/MECs in other districts, the events were revised and shifted to meetings with the LEUs to engage them in EGR support efforts.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 83 along with the local governments’ elected authorities, had opportunities to learn about the NEGRP and its key components. As a result of these meetings, LEU members and local government representatives committed themselves to influencing concerned stakeholders to include EGR activities in SIPs and municipality education plans. Reading Festival/Reading Day Celebration at the School Level With EGRP support, schools organized reading festival/Reading Day celebrations during key national recognition days (e.g., Children’s Day, Education Day, Annual School Day), promoting a culture of reading among early grade students and raising awareness of EGR among parents. The events included fun activities such as reading camps and Reading festival at Sarswati Secondary School, Joshipur Rural competitions, bringing Municipality, Ward No. 3, Kailali. (Photo credit: Chhabi Rana) together students, parents, SMC and PTA members, TRG and EGR subcommittee members, local government representatives, journalists, civil society organizations, and LEU representatives. Altogether, EGRP reached 215,138 people (57% women) through 3,897 reading festival/Reading Day celebrations during the program period. (See Figure 15 for numbers of district-level participants, disaggregated by sex.) In addition, the SBC technical team developed and designed a reading contest guide for grade 2, which was implemented in the six Cohort 1 districts. The contest guides were printed and distributed to 857 schools, 398 SMCs, 38 school supervisors, 59 Resource Persons, 86 community mobilization officers, 6 NEGRP focal persons in six districts, 12 district education officials, and 9 EGRP District Coordinators. Reading contests were also part of the menu of schools’ SMC grant activities. These events also provided an opportunity for schools to display local reading materials developed with support from parents, as well as EGRP SRMs displayed in updated, print-rich classrooms. Students and parents enjoyed singing, dancing, reading stories, telling poems, and engaging in games during the events. The events provided an avenue for parents to witness EGR progress and served to motivate parents of struggling readers to engage more fully in their child’s learning. Furthermore, reading festivals provided an opportunity for schools to effectively advocate with local government for additional EGR resources.

84 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Figure 15: Numbers of district participants in reading festival/Reading Day celebrations, by sex 18,458 18,288 13,553 13,451 13,223 12,536 11,717 11,642 9,525 9,344 9,180 8,781 7,965 7,254 4,896 4,825 4,597 4,553 4,352 4,307 4,241 3,439 3,260 2,688 2,529 2,511 941 835 699 570 525 453

Cohort 1 Male Female Cohort 2

6.3.2 Sub-IR 3.2 Family engagement to support reading increased

Key Achievements: Sub-IR 3.2 Coordinated formation of DCTs Trained parents through EGR peer education Trained parents and other stakeholders on how to develop their own reading materials locally • Conducted reading camps for early grade children

Formation of District Core Teams To strengthen social and community mobilization activities at the local level, EGRP coordinated with then-DEOs to form DCTs, which provided oversight and coordination of key initiatives. Over the course of the program, DCTs met a total of 214 times, demonstrating the commitment of district, local, community, and school-level stakeholders. DCTs supported TLM and SRM distribution, DCT meeting in Kailali District. (Photo credit: Dipti Acharya) facilitated the implementation of NGO and SMC grants and G2G activities, and served as a viable NEGRP feedback

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 85 mechanism through which the government was able to harmonize EGRP initiatives and plan for their scale-up. As the country transitioned to federalism, the DCTs played a critical role in advocating for the institutionalization and sustainability of EGR activities by local governments, which included officially incorporating EGR activities into SIPs and the school calendar. Training of Parents Through Peer Education A proven strategy for behavior change is interpersonal communication delivered by a trusted and credible source. From the formative research conducted in 2015, parents of children in grades 1 and 2 and teachers were identified as credible sources of information about EGR. The SBC team developed key behavior messages that parents could carry out at home Peer education message dissemination by a volunteer, Dadeldhura. (Photo: Shanti Thapa Magar) and identified parents who were early adopters of the EGR behaviors to be trained as peer educators. The team also developed a training guide for peer educators called the Peer Education Interpersonal Communication Module. It is an illustrated, low-literacy communication guide for parents composed of three components: (1) Lead Trainer’s Guide, (2) Parents’ Interpersonal Communication Guide, and (3) a takeaway poster for the parents. The Parents’ Interpersonal Communication Guide was a tool to show parents their role in helping their children learn how to read, and basic actions they could take at home to help their children learn to read. The guide was approved by USAID and the then-MOE in 2016. Through partner NGOs, EGRP supported Seven key SBC messages TRGs/EGR subcommittees and 1. You want your children—sons and daughters—to SMCs/PTAs to organize trainings for peer have a bright future. Early grade reading will make that dream come true. educators with three specific objectives: 2. Treat boys and girls equally. Both boys and girls (1) reinforce the seven key SBC messages should learn to read. 3. Create a place in your home for your child to sit and (see text box), (2) identify and discuss the read. Your child needs to read at least 10 minutes challenges faced by the peer educators and every day. 4. Reading at home just 10 minutes a day will help your provide the support needed to resolve the child be a better student. issues, and (3) discuss and document the 5. Identify children’s groups or clubs nearby and take your children there to support EGR skill progress made by peer educators in terms development. of SBC message dissemination. EGRP 6. There are simple things that you can do to help your taught the selected parents the skills children learn to read and become a success. Meet with teachers and discuss ways to support children’s necessary to initiate discussions with other reading at home. parents and impress upon them the 7. Talk to other parents and explore the ways that other parents support reading at home. importance of the seven key messages about EGR SBC.

86 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Over the life of the program, 181,935 participants (68% women) engaged in peer education training through 8,336 events in 16 districts (see Table 12 for district-level peer education training events in the EGRP districts). Motivated by peer educators, parents of early grade children undertook several key activities. They established reading corners in their homes, visited schools to understand their children’s reading progress, allocated quality time for their children’s reading (preferably in the evening), and interacted and discussed with other parents about best practices to replicate for children’s reading. These actions are attributable to EGRP community and parental engagement strategies, which underscores the important role played by the peer educators in supporting EGR, both in homes and in communities.

Table 12: District-level peer education events and participants, by sex District Number of events Men Women Total

Banke 678 2,576 7,345 9,921 Bhaktapur 500 1,707 5,340 7,047 Kanchanpur 522 636 7,371 8,007 Kaski 686 5,261 17,588 22,849 Manang 36 236 358 594 Saptari 1,630 5,540 19,874 25,414 Bardiya 497 2,905 7,624 10,529 Dadeldhura 316 3,742 4,434 8,176 Dang 706 5,664 11,539 17,203 Dhankuta 289 2,914 3,725 6,639 Dolpa 109 1,044 1,241 2,285 Kailali 557 4,759 9,177 13,936 Mustang 103 703 1,094 1,797 Parsa 376 4,375 4,558 8,933 Rupandehi 840 10,105 14,754 24,859 Surkhet 491 4,804 7,942 12,746

Grand Total 8,336 56,971 123,964 180,935

EGRP made concerted efforts to both engage participation across ethnic groups and track their participation. Among total participants, participation from the Janajati caste was highest at 33%; the lowest participation came from Muslim groups at 9%. Other ethnic group participation included Bhramin/Chettri (26%), Dalits (19%), Madhesi (9%), and other (4%). Training on Developing Local Reading Materials and Their Use TRGs in Cohort 1 districts and SMC grant-recipient schools in Cohort 2 districts organized trainings to produce local reading materials throughout 2017 and 2019, respectively. At the trainings, participants created additional reading materials, in Nepali as well as local languages, for early readers. Parents were directly involved in the training, which had two important immediate results: (1) an increase in parental understanding of the importance and impact of reading on children’s education; and (2) greater access for children to stories with local contexts, in familiar languages, as well as more titles. Altogether, 3,473 trainings of

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 87 local reading material development were conducted in the EGRP districts, for 83,694 parents and guardians (67% women). (See Figure 16 for a breakdown of participants in the local reading materials development trainings by caste or ethnicity.) During the trainings, reading materials Figure 16: Participation in local such as poem books, storybooks, big reading materials books, alphabet cards, nursery rhyme development, by ethnic books, day charts, one-page letter charts, group and other simple reading materials were Brahmin/ Others Chettri developed for the early grade readers. 11% 20% Some TRGs in Banke and Saptari Muslim prepared after-school reading materials in 10% mother tongues such as Maithili, Awadhi, and Urdu. The materials were used in the Madhesi 4% community and schools as well as in reading camps, reading festivals, reading competitions, and mobile reading corners. Janjati Dalits 27% 28%

A glimpse of the Kali Mai TRG developing local reading materials, Pathyoshwori Primary School, Khaskarkando, Banke District. (Photo credit: Laxmi Bista)

TRG-Initiated Reading Camps TRG members in Cohort 1 districts, with the technical support of partner NGOs, conducted 3,665 reading camps, which reached 77,614 participants (60% women and girls), including children and parents. In Cohort 2 districts, the schools that received SMC grants conducted reading camps as a part of their reading festivals. The reading camps were carried out during school holidays and after-school time, with fun activities and informal discussions that created a learning environment for young children. The children had opportunities to listen to new, interesting stories; interact with the story content; relate their own life story with the content presented; memorize the story plot; and rewrite or draw, which enabled them to

88 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 practice five important reading components: phonemic awareness, grapho-phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The reading camps helped to solidify teaching messages, expanded children’s learning, increased parental involvement, and consequently enhanced children’s reading comprehension. Reading camps also reinforced families’ and schools’ support for reading as well as parents’ roles in improving reading behaviors of their early graders, by giving parents an opportunity to sit with their children and observe the activities performed. Likewise, EGRP supported communities to conduct reading contests and fairs, which engaged early graders in reading games, puzzles, alphabet identification, correct pronunciation of the alphabet, and other lively activities that reinforced the reading skills of the early grade participants. These activities fostered the attitude that reading stories and text is fun. Reading competitions and exhibitions enabled children to explore their learning competencies through various fun activities, which also helped teachers and parents to identify the learning status of children and subsequent gaps. Teachers could use this information to offer remedial classroom support for the students. Reading camps and reading contests in the community setting redefined the understanding of reading and learning and established a notion that reading is a fun activity and can be done outside the classroom premises effectively. This was an important shift in views on children’s learning.

6.3.3 Sub-IR 3.3 PTA/SMC ability to contribute to quality reading instruction increased

ey Achievements: Sub-IR 3.3 Supported partner NGOs to implement social and community mobilization activities in communities and schools Awarded SMC grants to cover EGR activities in schools • Conducted annual SIP reviews and organized planning meetings

Selection and Mobilization of NGOs to Implement Social and Community Mobilization Activities EGRP partnered with local NGOs in each of the 16 target districts to lead advocacy initiatives with local governments and support schools in offering SBC activities with their constituents (through TRGs and EGR subcommittees). Working through these partners not only helped adapt approaches to the local context, but also forged sustainable relationships between NGO leaders and local governments. NGOs were selected through a competitive process according to criteria set by EGRP and DOE personnel. The first cohort implemented activities in six districts from July 2016 to July 2018; a second cohort supported 10 districts from May 2018 to December 2019. Because the second cohort coincided with the shift to federalism, EGRP shifted the social and community mobilization strategy to transfer ownership of some key activities to SMC grantees (see Table 13 for more details).

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 89 Table 13: Partner NGOs, activities, and SMC grant uses in Cohorts 1 and 2 Cohort 1 Cohort 2 July 15, 2016 to July 14, 2018 May 15, 2018 to December 31, 2019 Program districts and partner NGOs 1. Banke: Banke UNESCO Club 1. Bardiya: Banke UNESCO Club 2. Bhaktapur: Transformation Nepal 2. Dang: Backward Society Education Nepal 3. Kanchanpur: Backward Society Education 3. Dadeldhura: Loo Niva Child Concern Group Nepal 4. Dhankuta: Human Rights, Social Awareness, and 4. Kaski: Child Welfare Society Nepal Development Center 5. Manang: Chame Youth Group 5. Dolpa: Sustainable and Equitable Development 6. Saptari: Save the Saptari Academy 6. Kailali: Multi-Purpose Development Society 7. Mustang: Step Nepal 8. Parsa: Social Organization Development Coordination Committee 9. Rupandehi: Seto Gurans Child Development Service 10. Surkhet: Center of Depressed and Ethnic Development Nepal NGO activities 1. Advocacy and awareness campaigns 1. EGR subcommittees and their mobilization 2. Peer education training 2. Peer education training 3. TRG formation and mobilization 3. Support to update annual SIPs with EGR 4. Reading camps component 5. Meeting with VECs and MECs 4. Support to execute and manage SMC grants 6. Parent–teacher conferences 5. LEU-level joint monitoring visits 7. Local reading material development 8. Identification of and award for parents who demonstrate outstanding support for their children’s learning SMC grants 1. Print-rich environment 1. Print-rich environment 2. Mobile reading corners 2. Peer education training 3. Reading day celebrations 3. Reading festivals and fairs at schools and 4. Reading camps communities 5. Reading contests 4. Parent–teacher conferences at school 6. Reading buddies 5. Mobile reading corners at community level 7. Locally developed reading materials 6. Local reading materials development and use

As NGOs were selected, each completed a pre-award survey that highlighted organizational strengths and weaknesses. EGRP worked with each partner NGO to build their capacity to deliver high-quality results on the ground through targeted training workshops on operations and financial management, community mobilization strategies, and M&E. In addition, NGOs received one-on-one support and mentoring from EGRP staff throughout the duration of their grants. EGRP’s endline assessment showed that Cohort 1 and 2 NGO partners improved their organizational capacity by 9.5% and 27.5% respectively. SMC Grants Implementation, Support, and Closeout EGRP provided SMC grants to 1,500 schools in the 16 program districts. SMC grants were awarded based on school improvement plans. Grant activities aimed at increasing parental involvement in schools, creating more opportunities for children and parents to read and learn, and generating opportunities for children to access reading materials after school. EGRP, jointly with government stakeholders and USAID, developed an SMC grants management manual incorporating school selection criteria; a list of grant activities; funding mechanisms; monitoring, documentation, and reporting requirements and mechanisms; and grant compliance. Based on the lessons learned from this approach in Cohort 1 districts, there

90 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 were some changes in the list of SMC grant activities for Cohort 2. (See Table 10 above for the list of SMC grant activities, by cohort.) After district and local governments finalized the list of SMC grant-recipient schools following CEHRD’s guidelines and using an equity formula developed with CEHRD, EGRP established appropriate mechanisms for school capacity development, monitoring, and sustainability to ensure high-quality implementation of SMC grant activities. EGRP conducted three rounds of orientation for SMC and PTA members and school administrators to enable them to manage the grants. Likewise, EGRP’s partner NGOs provided onsite support for activity implementation. EGRP established multiple layers of verification of grant-related documents to ensure quality and minimize errors. For example, review and verification of the SMC grant documents took place at four levels—school, NGO, EGRP district and regional level, and Kathmandu level—as shown in Figure 17.

Figure 17: Monitoring or verification mechanisms to ensure quality in SMC grant documentation

School involves SMC and PTA, TRG/EGR subcommittee, local government, and community and verifies, finalizes, and shares document with community mobilization officer Schools

Community mobilization officer verifies documents, consults with schools, and makes corrections if any and submits to NGO district office Partner Program manager verifies documents and submits to the EGRP district office NGOs

District Coordinator/District Program Officer verifies documents and submits to EGRP's regional office EGRP EGRP regional office verifies documents and submits to Kathmandu office district and regional offices

EGRP Kathmandu office verifes documents against agreement and compliance standards EGRP and proceeds to the payment to school's account Kathman- du office

The SMC grant recipient schools succeeded in implementing all the planned activities in the program districts (see Figure 18 and Figure 19 for numbers of schools that selected various SMC grant activities in Cohort 1 and 2 districts).

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 91 Figure 18: Number of schools selecting different uses for their SMC grants in Cohort 1 districts (N = 440) 500 440 440 450 391 400 350 300 271 250 220 229 200 150 100 67 50

# of schools selecting that activity Set up mobile Reading corner Reading camp Reading Child Club Reading Day Locally reading corner (print-rich at school level contest at EGR buddies celebration at developed at community environment) at school level at school level school level reading level school materials at school level Mandatory activities Optional activities Activities carried out under SMC grants

Figure 19: Number of schools selecting various uses for their SMC grants in Cohort 2 districts (N = 1,060)

1200 1,060 1,060 1,046 1,045 1000 848 800

600 396 400

200

# of schools selecting that activity Print-rich Peer education Reading Parent-teacher Mobile reading Local reading environment training festivals/ fairs at conference at corner at materials school/community school community level development and use Mandatory activity Optional activity

Activities carried out under SMC grants

The data show that the schools, apart from the mandatory activities, preferred reading festivals, reading contests, parent–teacher conferences, and mobile reading corner events. Likewise, a peer ranking exercise among the staff of NGO partners and EGRP in late 2019 revealed that print-rich classrooms, reading festivals, parent–teacher conferences, reading corners, and peer education trainings were the most well-received SMC grant activities. Altogether, 86,084 people (50% women) were reached through 3,684 events of SMC grant orientation and activities in the program districts. The SMC grants empowered SMCs, PTAs,

92 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 and community members to lead after-school activities, reinforced family support, and promoted social inclusion of marginalized populations. As a spillover effect of the SMC grants, some schools that did not receive SMC grants—for example, an additional 57 schools in Bardiya District—formed and mobilized EGR subcommittees to foster parental engagement in children's learning. Likewise, 36 local governments in Cohort 2 districts allocated resources to create print-rich and child-friendly EGR classrooms in other schools. Annual SIP Review and Planning Meeting in Cohort 2 Districts EGRP’s social and community Key activities included in annual SIPs mobilization efforts were a key part of the • Periodically interact with parents to share reading program’s sustainability strategy, in that progress and support the interventions were integrated through • Organize reading festivals with reading contests and existing government systems. One of reading camps • EGRP’s key approaches was encouraging Form/re-form EGR subcommittees and conduct periodic meetings and supporting schools to develop annual • Construct print-rich classrooms SIPS that incorporated EGR activities • Conduct CB-EGRAs and share results (see text box), aligned with the NEGRP • Conduct mobile reading activities at community level • minimum package. EGRP supported Reward parents for outstanding support for their children’s learning schools to review annual SIPS with an EGR lens, following two government handbooks, School Improvement Plan 2074 (year 2017) and Annual SIP Update and School Disaster Preparedness Guideline 2072 (year 2015). As a result of EGRP’s support for annual SIP development and implementation, head teachers and SMC members strengthened their understanding of the importance of having an annual SIP, of the government’s 2074 (2017) annual SIP formation guidelines, and of the processes defined in the guidelines. Consequently, the schools identified gaps and advocated for the incorporation of EGR activities into their annual SIPS. Altogether, EGRP reached 121,713 people (50% women) through 4,597 annual SIP review and planning workshops (Figure 20).

Figure 20: Participants in annual SIP review workshops, by organization type (N = 121,713)

15% 10% EGR Sub-committees

1% Community members/parents 1%

SMC/PTA members

Government officials (provincial, district, or LEU) Government officials (other) 29% 44%

Head teachers/Teachers

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 93

6.3.4 Sub-IR 3.4 Parent and community capacity to monitor reading progress increased

Key Achievements: Sub-IR 3.4 Helped TRGs and EGR subcommittees communicate with parents on the importance of EGR • Supported parent–teacher conferences

Communication with Parents on the Importance of EGR EGRP partner NGOs collaborated with PTAs, SMCs, district and local governments, TRGs, and EGR subcommittees to advocate for the importance of using a language a child can speak and understand to improve children’s learning. At periodic meetings of TRGs and EGR subcommittees, advocacy campaigns, reading camps, peer education trainings, reading festivals, and VEC/MEC meetings, EGRP and local partner NGOs shared CB-EGRA results and facilitated discussion among the participants to explore the reasons behind low reading comprehension achievement. These initiatives led all stakeholders, including local governments, SMCs and PTAs, parents, and communities, to focus on supporting children's academic achievement. EGRP’s partner NGOs supported schools to conduct parent–teacher conferences periodically, where teachers informed parents about reading assessment results. At the parent–teacher conferences, parents of early grade children received guidance and suggestions from the teachers on how to support their children’s education at home. Similarly, local governments, SMCs and PTAs, and TRGs and EGR subcommittees educated parents about the school governance system with the support of the NGOs. As parents developed a sense of ownership toward school governance, they started to visit schools, observe schools’ teaching and learning practices, and inquire about their children’s results. These practices led teachers to be accountable for children’s learning and to communicate their expectations to parents. Parent–Teacher Conferences All the schools in Cohort 1 districts and SMC grant-recipient schools in Cohort 2 districts, with technical support from TRGs and EGR subcommittees and partner NGOs, successfully conducted 4,684 parent–teacher conferences over the life of the program. Schools invited SMC/PTA members, EGR classroom teachers, and parents to the school and held discussions with them on the importance of EGR by highlighting the children’s reading status, referencing the CB-EGRA Parent–teacher conference, Dhankuta. (Photo credit: Arunodaya Ma.V.) results of students in grades 1–3.

94 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 EGR subject teachers met with individual parents and discussed the overall progress of their children and areas for further improvement, and the teachers subsequently briefed parents about actions that they could take in their homes to support EGR. Parents also had an opportunity to observe the TLMs and SRMs, children’s work, and children’s subject-related progress. The parents took away the message of providing quality time for their children irrespective of their literacy levels. A total of 217,975 (61% women) parents and teachers attended the conferences. As a result, parents increased the frequency of school visits to discuss their children’s progress and identify subsequent areas of support they could provide to increase children's reading acquisition. As a result of parent–teacher conferences, many schools kept logbooks of the parents’ visits and handed out “best parent” awards based on their school visits and support to early grade children. School administrators also started visiting community households periodically and encouraging parents to regularize children’s attendance at school and create an enabling environment at home. 6.4 Monitoring and Evaluation EGRP’s approach to M&E encompassed a program impact evaluation to gauge progress against outcome indicators. It also included performance monitoring through a cycle that incorporated elements such as capacity building, data collection, reporting, and use of data for decision making and reflection. Figure 21 captures the program’s overall M&E approach and the elements within it. This section describes activities and achievements under the four M&E sub-IRs, which focused on development of an M&E system, dissemination of evaluation results and reports, updating and tracking data for PMP indicators, and M&E capacity building for EGRP staff.

Figure 21: EGRP M&E approach

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 95 6.4.1 Sub-IR 4.1 Develop and implement an internal M&E system for regular program monitoring

Key Achievements: Sub-IR 4.1 Developed and trained staff on program’s M&E system • Developed database and data visualization platform for partner NGOs’ collected data • Conducted organizational capacity assessments of partner NGOs • Created videos to capture children’s oral reading fluency • Conducted mixed-methods study to explore reasons behind midline EGRA and EMES performance • Conducted research on TPS and TRG/EGR subcommittee functioning and sustainability • Jointly monitored program activities with GON officials

EGRP’s monitoring system focused on performance monitoring of program activities. Monitoring included three main approaches: internal activity monitoring; joint monitoring visits with GON officials and other stakeholders; and output monitoring through PMP indicators on a quarterly, annual, or other periodic basis (covered under Sub-IR 4.3 [Section 6.4.3]). Each of these approaches gave the team valuable feedback and ideas about possible corrective measures. As a part of internal activity monitoring, the M&E team worked with the three IR teams to design and monitor program activities. This effort included developing plans for printing and distributing TLMs and SRMs, as well as extracting and analyzing data on materials production and distribution to ensure that materials could be disseminated in a timely manner. In addition, the M&E team supported the grants team to select prospective schools to receive SMC grants in EGRP-supported districts and implement the grants in the selected schools. Through classroom observation, EGRP staff monitored the use of TPD/TPS skills in the classrooms as well as the delivery and use of TLMs/SRMs. They discussed materials usage with EGR teachers and gave feedback as appropriate. If the TLMs and SRMs were not displayed properly or used adequately, this issue became a point of discussion with teachers immediately after the classroom observations. Monitoring visit recommendations were included in visit reports, discussed at EGRP staff and partners’ meetings, and followed up and corrected in subsequent visits. In the program’s Year 3 (2017–2018), the team also developed an online monitoring dashboard to drive this process and compellingly display data on instructional quality, use of materials, and TPS. A checklist was prepared and used during the school visits, and visit information was uploaded to the automated online database platform, providing instant results (see dashboard in Figure 22) that could be used to adjust monitoring frequency and the feedback provided to teachers, TPS providers, and education officials.

96 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Figure 22: Online dashboard for data from school monitoring visits

The online monitoring dashboard can be accessed using the following link: https://datastudio.google.com/reporting/1Di7i3R6fZkr2Lrk Similarly, a standard internal monitoring framework with a dashboard was developed for IR 3 (Figure 23), and the M&E team trained NGO partners to use the program’s monitoring and reporting system, so that the partners could collect and report progress on time. This framework allowed the M&E and IR 3 teams to automatically systematize, collate, analyze, and report on large quantities of data for activities such as SMC grants, and disaggregate outputs by key factors such as sex and ethnicity. The database system for partner NGOs evolved between 2016 and 2018, starting with an Excel-based approach with manual data entry. Based on lessons learned with Cohort 1 NGOs, the M&E team switched to a more automated system using Visual Basic programming, starting in 2018.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 97 Figure 23: EGRP partner NGO database dashboard

Furthermore, the M&E team supported the IR 3 team to conduct baseline and endline organizational capacity assessments of the partner NGOs in Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 districts in 2018 and 2020. The capacity assessments focused on four key components—organizational and financial management, EGR knowledge and expertise, community mobilization capacity, and M&E systems—with 18 evaluation items in total. Each item was scored on a scale of 0−5, with a maximum possible score of 90. As indicated in Figure 24, the overall average gain between baseline and endline on the key components was 27.5 percentage points, which is an indicator of the positive effects of EGRP’s partner NGO capacity-development efforts and mentorship. The largest percentage gain was in EGR knowledge and expertise. The assessment identified that gains in organizational and financial management were more modest and should be targeted for additional support in any future work with local organizations.

Figure 24: Average percentage gain in partner NGO capacity between baseline and endline

In addition, in 2020, the M&E team prepared small-scale database dashboards to monitor the implementation status of EGRA/EMES and CB-EGRA assessments. These helped the team

98 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 track progress and minimize data errors to a great extent. More importantly, the results were shared with LEUs, which ultimately used the data to plan future EGR activities in their units. To help the outcome data come alive, starting late 2018, the M&E team prepared eight videos (see also Section 6.1.2 above) to monitor the reading performance of early grade children. The videos were recorded with children representing different eco-belts and languages across the country, including Limbu, Bhojpuri, and Maithili, among others. Because they present compelling visual evidence of situations in which nonreaders become beginning readers, beginning readers become emergent readers, and emergent readers become fluent readers, the videos were shared at key meetings and workshops in 2019 and 2020 to raise awareness among education stakeholders on the importance of EGR. In addition, in 2019, the EGRP M&E team conducted small-scale, mixed-methods operations research to better understand school conditions that contributed to low or high average learning improvements between baseline and midline. Eight schools with contrasting backgrounds were purposively selected so that they represented high or low learning change relative to baseline, and a mix of L1/L2 profiles. The study applied a range of qualitative data collection approaches with education stakeholders (see Figure 25). It uncovered factors underpinning low achievement, including highly irregular attendance by teachers and students; challenges for L2 speaking teachers and students to access information in L1 materials; parent preferences to move their children to English medium-of-instruction schools if they could raise sufficient resources, leaving community schools with the economically poorest children; lack of TPS support to teachers; and lack of ownership of learning at the school by parents and community members and leadership structures.

Figure 25: Relative gains of eight schools sampled in mixed-methods operations research

The EGRP M&E team also collaborated with the other technical team members to conduct two studies in 2020—one to investigate the functioning and sustainability of the TPS approach, and another to investigate the same aspects of the TRG/EGR subcommittee approach supported by the program—with the goal of identifying areas for future improvement. Using data from education stakeholders in 10 schools across five EGRP districts, the TPS study found that the implementation and effectiveness of the TPS system was uneven. In schools with more active head teachers or primary in-charge teachers who were undertaking regular class observations and providing feedback, the system appeared to be functioning

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 99 well. In schools where the head teacher or primary in-charge teacher was not observing classes, or the SMC or PTA was not active, the model was essentially not implemented. Among the 10 schools in the study, two were fully implementing the TPS system as expected, two were not implementing at all, and six were partially implementing the system. The study recommended appointing dedicated TPS actors at school and LEU levels, regularizing TPS-related meetings and follow-up, and providing avenues for cross-school and cross-LEU sharing of good practices in TPS. Ten schools across five EGRP-supported districts were included in the study on TRGs and EGR subcommittees. The study concluded that several factors were critical to the continued sustainability and effectiveness of the community structures. Among them were head teacher engagement and leadership, shared mindsets in support of EGR, strong relationships and networks between the community and school, and inclusiveness of TRG and EGR subcommittee membership to represent the diversity of people and views in the community. Joint monitoring visits were important feedback mechanisms because they included representatives from local and district-level bodies, members of DCTs, local GON officials, and EGRP staff. The visits were 2-day events organized twice a year in Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 districts during the course of intensive program implementation, starting in the 2017/2018 school year and continuing to early 2020. Members of the visitor team were invited by EGRP District Coordinators in consultation with the EDCUs and EGRP staff. The visitors would review EGR teachers’ lesson plans and other relevant school documents and observe EGR classes to monitor both the use of skills the teachers should have obtained from their training, and the use of EGRP-developed materials in the classroom. In addition, the monitoring teams randomly tested the oral reading fluency of early grade students and discussed areas for improvement with the teachers, SMCs, PTAs, and communities. Feedback from participants indicated that the visits increased EGRP ownership and accountability among the local bodies. The visits also helped identify EGR-related challenges that were further discussed with teachers and SMC/PTA members and ensured that action plans were prepared to resolve them. Finally, all visitors provided their reports to the District Coordinators, and the districts prepared consolidated joint monitoring visit reports for use in district planning. M&E staff also prepared a national report at the end of joint monitoring visits to feed information to central-level stakeholders. Occasionally, high-level CLA members (Secretaries, Joint Secretaries, Directors General) also participated in the visits, which further promoted ownership of EGR interventions. 6.4.2 Sub-IR 4.2 Conduct EGRA/EMES Assessment

Key Achievements: Sub-IR 4.2 Developed or adapted EGRA and EMES tools Hired and oversaw contracts of midline and endline data collection firms • Trained data collectors and oversaw data collection, cleaning, and reporting

EGRP’s activities under this sub-IR focused on conducting the baseline, midline, and endline assessments for the program’s EGRA/EMES-based impact evaluation in 2016, 2018, and 2020. Further details on the impact evaluation methodology and findings are provided in Section 5.1 above. The M&E team’s roles in the process were to lead tool development and

100 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 adaptation in coordination with GON; recruit, contract, and manage local data collection firms for each of the three phases; liaise with USAID, NORC, and CAMRIS; and provide quality assurance oversight and support for data collection, data cleaning, and data set finalization. In addition, the M&E team analyzed the EGRA/EMES data for learning and PMP reporting purposes. Learning from experiences during the baseline and midline, in 2020, the team developed an automated endline quality monitoring system using free Google Forms software. The system consisted of forms that GON, USAID, CAMRIS, and EGRP staff filled in and uploaded for each visit to monitor the quality of data collection. A dashboard then generated a visual representation of the quality of data collection and areas for improvement, which the M&E team communicated to NORC for follow-up and course corrections. The average quality score was 4.1 out of 5 on an index that included areas such as sampling students, building rapport, and closely following protocols. Annex G in Volume 2 lists several relevant data visualization websites, and the dashboard can be accessed at the following link: https://datastudio.google.com/reporting/8bb68c0e-8bc8-4cda-b52f- c3d4121ed412/page/DxqBB In addition, the M&E team contributed to communications products that were developed for midline and endline dissemination activities in 2019 and 2020, such as presentations for use during the local-level capacity-development workshops. It also supported data preparation and visualization for posting the baseline and midline data on USAID’s Early Grade Reading Barometer website and Development Data Library (see infographic in Figure 26), after approvals had been obtained from MOEST and USAID. As this final report was being written, endline data for the barometer were not yet approved for public sharing, but RTI had taken steps to prepare for rapid launching once approved.

Figure 26: Sample infographic for EGRP midline evaluation data, 2018, for USAID EGR Barometer

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 101 6.4.3 Sub-IR 4.3 Update PMP and Capture Data for PMP Indicators

Key Achievements: Sub-IR 4.3 Developed and updated the program’s PMP Collected, organized, and reported on PMP data Periodically reported on progress against PMP indicators

The M&E team was responsible for tracking and reporting on data for the EGRP PMP, and for updating the PMP annually as needed. The PMP was designed to monitor and evaluate progress against set indicators across the three IR program components. PMP monitoring provided timely information about the status of activities implementation by tracking overall progress and results. Updating the PMP Document The PMP was considered a living document, and as such underwent five revisions in response to the changing context and shifts in the program design. This included Nepal’s transition from centralized to federalized government; the shift from implementing in the six Cohort 1 districts to the 10 additional Cohort 2 districts; changes in USAID’s education standard indicators; USAID’s request to change reporting indicators based on the USG fiscal year; and USAID’s PMP reporting system transition from AidTracker Plus (AT+)—USAID’s global online indicator planning and reporting system—to the new Development Information Solution (DIS) system, which EGRP helped USAID to pilot in Nepal. All revisions were done in consultation with USAID. First Version of the PMP: At the outset of the program, EGRP drafted and submitted its first PMP document in July 2015 after discussion with USAID, MOEST (then MOE), and the CLAs to design and plan the program’s core activities. First Revision of the PMP (2016): After the first draft of the PMP was completed, priorities and implementation realities shifted. For instance, EGRP was advised to identify schools for piloting mother-tongue interventions, distribute TLMs to all schools, identify possible target schools for SMC grants, and consider simplifying the EGRA. In that context, the original proposed breakdown of schools by Type I, Type II, and Type III for some indicators was no longer relevant. Moreover, the first revision of the PMP adjusted the indicator targets in line with the baseline results that had recently been identified. Second Revision of the PMP (2017): In 2016/2017, EGRP revised the PMP to align with the changes that USAID had introduced in its standard indicators. In total, eight indicators were added (ES 1.1, ES 1.5, ES 1.7, ES1.10, ES 1.13, ES 1.12 and 2.2-Z01, and 3.2.1-Z05 [see Table 14]). Additionally, for the indicators that were based on indices (reading instruction index, remediation practice index, and school leadership and management index), cut points were defined. Altogether, 19 indicators were finalized, and targets set in coordination with USAID.

102 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Table 14: List of EGRP performance indicators and descriptions AT+ code Indicator title Percent of learners who demonstrate reading fluency and comprehension of grade-level ES.1-1 text at the end of grade 2 with USG assistance ES.1-5 Number of learners reached in reading programs at the primary level with USG assistance Number of primary school educators who complete professional development activities on ES.1-7 implementing evidence-based reading instruction with USG assistance Number of primary or secondary textbooks and other teaching and learning materials ES.1-10 provided with USG assistance Number of education administrators and government officials who complete professional ES.1-12 development activities with USG assistance Number of parent–teacher associations or community governance structures engaged in ES.1-13 primary or secondary education supported with USG assistance Numbers of policies / regulations / administrative procedures in each of the following stages of development as a result of USG assistance in each case: 1. Analysis, 2. Stakeholder 2.2-Z01 consultation / public debate, 3. Drafting or revision, 4. Approval (legislative or regulatory), 5. Full and effective implementation Number of civil society organizations receiving USG assistance engaged in advocacy DR.4.2-2 interventions Percentage of grade 2 teachers that scored 9 or more out of 13 score on a reading instruc- 3.2.1-Z03 tional index, demonstrating fidelity to effective EGR teaching practices Percentage of schools that score 5 or above out of 7 on the remediation practice index, 3.2.1-Z04 demonstrating supplemental support for struggling students Percent of schools that deliver reading instruction in a language spoken and understood by 3.2.1-Z05 the majority of students (including Nepali as a second language) Percentage of parents or guardians who report reading to their children or listening to their 3.2.1-Z06 children read to them at least once a week Average grade 2 oral reading fluency (correct words per minute) scores among students in 3.2.1-Z07 USAID/ Nepal’s EGRP target districts for Nepali language Percentage of target schools allocating at least 1 hour a day to reading instruction (grades 3.2.1-Z08 1–3) CBLD-Z10 Percent of local organizations with improved capacity and/or performance scores Percentage of schools that score at least 10 of 14 total possible points on the school 3.2.1-Z29 leadership and management index, demonstrating active support for EGR 3.2.1-Z15 Number of schools reporting progress toward standards for reading performance Percentage of parents and school management committee members expressing positive 3.2.1-Z18 attitude toward EGR and mother tongue Percent of teachers who score 18 or above of 25 score on a knowledge / skills/attitudes 3.2.1-Z19 index

Third Revision of the PMP (2018): Before the midline assessment, MOEST/ERO proposed to review and revise the EMES. ERO led the process, which resulted in some items being changed and/or removed, and some items being reordered. Further, USAID requested indicator reporting tables be retooled to reflect USG fiscal years. Because of this, program-year-based targets and actuals reported previously were replaced by USG FY-based indicator tables. Similarly, the indicator tables and the Performance Indicator Reference Sheet (PIRS) section were revised based on USG fiscal years. Targets and actuals listed in the table were adjusted when necessary. Meanwhile, the GON requested that EGRP help build the capacity of local government officials on education issues, including the NEGRP. In order for EGRP to record and report this capacity development, the target and the PIRS definition were revised to include the range of education officials under the new government structure who received professional development with support from EGRP. Likewise, in response to the EGR minimum package, the scope of IR 3 was changed, and activities to assist PTAs and SMCs were revised for Cohort 2 districts. Because EGRP was to help the Cohort 2 districts incorporate EGR into their SIPs, that related indicator was revised accordingly.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 103 Fourth Revision of the PMP (2019): After the midline data collection and reporting, USAID and the EGRP team realized the actuals and targets to be reported were not completely clear. Because the full set of intervention activities had been implemented only in Cohort 1 schools at the time of the midline assessment, no significant changes could be expected in Cohort 2 at that point. As a result, it was more reasonable to report actual results from Cohort 1. With this justification, the PIRSs were reformatted to present actuals from Cohort 1 against the targets and presented all relevant disaggregation by cohorts. Endline targets were revised when necessary based on midline findings. Further, as the new federal structure became clearer, the organization and names of relevant government agencies were defined in the PMP document. Fifth Revision of the PMP (2019): During the fifth and final program year (2019–2020), the TPS system also included the primary in-charge teachers, where more appropriate, instead of head teachers. Because of this, the primary in-charge teachers, as alternate TPS personnel, received 5 days of training to support EGR teachers, and thus were added to the PIRS list of education officials trained. Likewise, EGRP and GON jointly agreed to provide more orientation and capacity building for representatives at the local (municipality and ward) level than previously anticipated. Finally, EGRP and GON agreed to provide SRMs to all schools in the 16 districts, and the target for materials to be distributed was raised to reflect the plan to distribute SRMs in Year 5, as agreed with GON. These changes were reflected in the fifth revision of the PMP. These revisions to the PMP allowed EGRP to remain current with the changing context and program design over the life of the program. Data Collection for PMP Indicators EGRP developed easy-to-use tools to collect PMP indicator data from the EGRP district offices. The M&E team developed the tools and templates and then updated or revised them based upon changes in the scope of work and context. After creating the automated reporting dashboards, the M&E team provided orientation sessions for all team members, from central to local levels, to ensure that they could effectively use the system. In addition, the M&E advisors created tools and templates to capture data on the activities implemented by partner NGOs within a macro-enabled Excel-based database. They provided intensive trainings to the partner NGOs to collect data and produce periodic consolidated reports as required. Furthermore, the EGRP M&E team regularly assisted the regional teams to ensure the quality of the data collected or compiled by partner NGOs, per USAID’s data quality standards. Out of 19 total PMP indicators, data for 10 indicators were captured through the EGRA/ EMES survey during baseline (2016), midline (2018), and endline (2020) administrations. The source of data for one particular indicator, ES.1-5 (Number of learners reached in reading programs at the primary level with USG assistance) was the GON-published IEMIS record (“flash report”). Likewise, reporting for indicator 3.2.1-Z15 (Number of schools reporting progress toward standards for reading performance) was based on ERO records. Additionally, the EGRP M&E team conducted baseline and endline capacity assessments of partner NGOs to record progress against indicator CBLD-Z10 (Percent of local organizations with improved capacity and/or performance scores). The remaining six indicators were reported using program-level implementation and output monitoring tools and processes.

104 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 EGRP District Coordinators compiled all data received from various sources at the district level and submitted the data to the EGRP central office for further compilation, analysis, and reporting. The EGRP central M&E team maintained a Performance Indicator Tracking Table to report progress against all key program activities related to PMP indicators. Based on the tracking table updates, after each PMP revision, EGRP submitted information about progress against each indicator to USAID/Nepal and to USAID’s global online reporting PMP reporting system (AT+ or DIS). The figures also were included in relevant quarterly and annual narrative reports, in line with the agreed-upon reporting frequency. USAID’s Data Quality Assessment (DQA) As per USAID Automated Directives System Chapter 201, USAID/Nepal carried out DQAs to ensure the quality of EGRP-reported data. As such, USAID/Nepal’s Education Development Office, together with the Program and Project Office and USAID/Nepal’s Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning contractor, CAMRIS, first conducted a DQA of eight indicators during June–August 2017. The key objectives of this DQA were (1) to review data quality of the indicators reported to USAID against five data quality standards; (2) to understand strengths and areas of needed improvement in EGRP’s M&E systems, processes, and capacities; and (3) to develop a set of recommendations for improvement. The DQA findings were positive overall, indicating that EGRP had achieved high data quality and that EGRP’s practice of revising and updating M&E plans in coordination with USAID and GON in response to the changing context was exemplary. A final DQA of EGRP’s performance indicator data collection mechanisms was conducted at the end of Year 5 (August-September 2020). The purpose of this DQA was to assess EGRP’s data generation, compilation, collection, cleaning, and reporting processes based on five major criteria: Validity, Reliability, Timeliness, Precision, and Integrity. The DQA consisted of a desk review of the program’s M&E system, PMP, indicators, and reporting systems as well as virtual meetings to discuss these elements and a report with recommendations produced by the USAID team. It resulted in the following key recommendations: • More frequent reporting on output indicators related to participation in trainings and capacity development would be helpful. This could be done monthly or quarterly, and an online data capture system would help to reduce entry errors. • For indicator ES.1-5 Number of learners reached in reading programs at the primary level with USG assistance, EGRP recommends that each LEU assign an IEMIS focal person tasked with monitoring and updating the data, to improve the quality and consistency of the data on numbers of learners benefiting in each school. • For indicator ES.1-10 Number of primary or secondary textbooks and other teaching and learning materials provided with USG assistance, EGRP recommends clarifying ahead of time which materials will be counted as sets (for example, TLMs) and which materials are counted as individual items (for example, the SRMs). In addition, routine monitoring at the classroom level should include verification not only of the presence of these types of materials in the classrooms, but also of their use by students.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 105 6.4.4 Sub-IR 4.4 M&E Capacity Building of EGRP staff

Key Achievements: Sub-IR 4.4 Developed the M&E capacity of EGRP staff Developed the capacity of GON staff to design assessments, analyze data, and report on analysis results

Activities under Sub-IR 4.4 focused on building EGRP staff capacity to understand the program’s M&E system, collecting high-quality data and producing equally high-quality reports, and ensuring continuous learning. In 2016, the M&E team conducted orientations for both program and partner NGO staff, including leading a pre-kickoff orientation on the program’s results framework and the reporting requirements related to the PMP indicators. Orientations conducted during all-staff meetings each year also familiarized central and field- based staff on the program’s databases and data collection templates as they evolved in response to PMP revisions. In June 2019, the M&E team conducted a quick survey using Google Forms to identify the M&E-related areas in which EGRP staff members felt they needed further support. The responses leaned toward data quality and data management. Specifically, EGRP staff requested more support with data quality assurance and data visualization, and they also were interested in enhancing their skills in the areas of documentation of lessons learned; indicator reporting; data analysis; M&E processes; USAID’s cost-reporting requirements; and various assessment approaches, such as EGRA, CB-EGRA, and EMES. Using these results, the M&E team planned and conducted capacity-building orientations and trainings, embedding them into other trainings and workshops conducted regularly at the regional and central levels. This professional development included 12 NGO capacity- building workshops, four regional learning review workshops, four CB-EGRA data cleaning and analysis workshops, two all-staff capacity-building workshops, and eight regional annual review workshops. During these events, the M&E team provided hands-on training and practice opportunities for staff. The regional learning review workshops also focused on identifying best practices, analyzing the impact of both internal and external factors affecting program implementation, and identifying the most and least significant activities and plans for future scale-up. Similarly, the M&E team supported capacity building for partner NGOs on monitoring, evaluation, documentation, database management, data analysis, and visualization. This guidance started in 2016 and continued through the end of 2019. As a result, NGO staff, board members, and executive directors improved their ability to apply M&E and database management best practices and to fulfill their PMP reporting requirements. A major focus for the M&E team during Year 5 was documenting and sharing key research and evaluation findings accumulated over the life of the program. This effort culminated in a final learning and sharing event in mid-October 2020. The event, spread out in 2-hour segments over 3 days and conducted virtually in line with COVID-19 precautions, shared key NEGRP achievements and identified future recommendations for the Nepal education sector. Nearly 150 participants joined the event, including representatives of the National Planning Commission, Ministry of Finance, MOEST, and CLAs; USAID; education officials from

106 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 provincial, district, and local levels; development partners; local and international NGOs; and the media. In addition, the M&E team prepared process documentation of key assessment efforts to ensure that for future use, information would be available on the genesis and implementation of those assessment approaches. The process documentation was also recommended by the DQA conducted in 2020 as a way of capturing indicator data collection methodologies and lessons learned to inform similar efforts going forward. This process documentation— covering EGRA/EMES, CB-EGRA, and NARN—is available in Annex H in Volume 2. Finally, between 2017 and 2020, the M&E team planned and carried out extensive capacity development with ERO and other CLA staff, with the help of RTI home office technical experts, which served the dual purpose of also building the EGRP team’s technical capacity. These workshops covered a range of topics in assessment design, analysis, and reporting to strengthen the rigor and comprehensiveness of national assessments (Figure 27).

Figure 27: GON assessment design, analysis, and reporting capacity development

6.5 Systems Strengthening and Sustainability Because EGRP was a technical assistance program for the GON, systems strengthening was at the core of all activities. The program’s overarching mandate was to build capacity of the MOEST, CLAs, and decentralized government structures to develop a cost-effective model of EGR service delivery that could be scaled up to all of Nepal’s districts. EGRP supported Nepal’s journey to self-reliance by promoting open and accountable governance through transparent information systems and data sharing around children’s EGR outcomes. EGRP also promoted citizen participation in EGR decision making by increasing grassroots engagement in EGR management structures at local levels. EGRP built government capacity to expand the NEGRP through policy development, orientations, and capacity-development workshops from the ground up. EGRP also promoted inclusive development by creating teaching and learning approaches and materials that were tailored for diverse language

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 107 groups, and by ensuring wide participation of different caste or ethnic groups in parent and community engagement activities. By closely collaborating with and building capacity of local partner NGOs, EGRP strengthened civil society capacity to engage in social and community mobilization and hold government accountable for EGR service delivery. At its foundation, EGRP built citizen capacity by improving education quality through improved reading outcomes in the early primary grades. This section describes the activities and achievements related to systems strengthening and sustainability, starting with a description of how EGRP coordinated with G2G, and continuing with discussion of achievements in policy development, capacity building, institutionalization, and local budget allocation. Coordination Between G2G and EGRP Each year, the EGRP team worked closely with MOEST, the CLAs, and USAID to support development of the G2G work plan and ensure that EGRP’s work plan complemented G2G priorities. In general, G2G funds supported the GON with costs related to EGR policy formulation, curriculum and materials development, rollout of TPD and TPS trainings, assessment, and systems strengthening. EGRP’s role was to provide technical support to those activities, by offering technical advice, expertise, and research-based evidence. EGRP typically funded rollout of master trainings, while the G2G budget covered rollout of district and cluster-level trainings, with EGRP technical support and quality monitoring. Table 15 lays out G2G activities and clarifies how EGRP supported those activities over the life of the program. Table 15: G2G and EGRP complementarity G2G activities EGRP activities and support Development, printing, and distribution of EGR Technical expertise and research to support policies, implementation guidelines, standards, and development of policies, guidelines, and standards benchmarks Systems strengthening to implement G2G at lower Technical support for planning, budgeting, levels, including orientation and training to districts, implementing, monitoring, and reporting on G2G head teachers, and SMCs on policies, standards, activities at provincial, district, and local government and guidelines; financial management and levels reporting; and use of grants Development of monitoring tools and capacity Technical expertise for developing and rolling out development for monitoring; joint monitoring visits to monitoring approaches and tools, structuring and schools; preparation of annual plans and progress reporting on joint monitoring visits, and preparing reports annual plans and progress reports Coordination with other development partners and Technical advising on engagement with other international NGOs active in EGR through technical partners to harmonize EGR best practices working groups and other forums Capacity development for curriculum writers; Technical expertise for curriculum and materials curriculum and materials development for Nepali development; support with materials layout, L1, L2, and mother-tongue instruction; development illustration, and design; procurement and distribution of SRMs; establishment of EGR physical and of TLMs and SRMs; provision of physical and electronic materials libraries electronic materials for libraries Development, piloting, and revision of integrated Technical expertise for curriculum and materials curriculum framework and materials development; support with materials layout, illustration, and design; technical advising on grade 1 integrated curriculum revision based on piloting and monitoring; support with integrated curriculum dissemination in some target provinces

108 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 G2G activities EGRP activities and support Development of teacher training approaches, Technical expertise for development of approaches; packages, manuals, and teacher resource guides rollout of MTOT for initial and refresher teacher for Nepali L1, L2, and mother-tongue instruction; training; technical support and monitoring during initial rollout of initial and refresher teacher training and refresher teacher training rollout Development of TPS approaches; rollout of TPS Technical expertise for development of approaches; training; budget support for hiring Resource rollout of MTOT; technical support and monitoring Teachers and Reading Motivators and conducting during TPS training rollout; technical support for Resource Teacher/Reading Motivator review review meetings meetings Development and some broadcasting costs for Technical support for development, and some EGR-related radio programs and PSAs; capacity broadcasting costs, for EGR radio programs and building of SMCs/PTAs to promote parent and PSAs; technical support for community mobilization community development; support to reading fairs standards and guidance documents, SMC/PTA capacity-development trainings, and implementation of reading fairs; administration of partner NGO grants and SMC grants to support implementation of local- level EGR activities Development and implementation of CB-EGRA, Technical expertise for CB-EGRA assessment EGRA, EMES, and NARN approaches and tools; design, CB-EGRA monitoring, data cleaning, rollout and monitoring of CB-EGRA data collection; analysis, and reporting; financial and technical rollout of NARN support to local-level CB-EGRA implementation; rollout of baseline, midline, and endline EGRA assessments; EGRA analysis, reporting, and dissemination; technical expertise for development, rollout, analysis, and reporting of NARN

Policy Development EGRP supported the MOEST and the CLAs with curriculum reform, policy formulation, and development of EGR-related guidelines, directives, benchmarks, and standards that played a pivotal role in mainstreaming the EGR model within government systems and promoting sustainability. This guidance included supporting integration of EGR concepts and principles into the National Curriculum Framework and the TPS Management Procedures and TPS Guidelines during 2017–2018, as well as the integrated curriculum whose development got under way in 2017–2018. In addition, EGRP provided technical assistance for creating the NEGRP implementation guidelines and NEGRP standardization and harmonization guidelines in 2017 (see also Section 6.2.4). Subsequently, EGRP supported development and rollout of the NEGRP minimum package, which captures the core elements of the EGR model and was designed to promote sustainability by setting minimum standards that could be rolled out nationwide by MOEST. From 2016 to 2018, and as described earlier in Section 6.2.2, EGRP supported CDC, CEHRD, and ERO in developing and applying benchmarks and standards for student reading skills. In 2020, EGRP assisted MOEST and the CLAs to review and update the NEGRP core document so that it better reflected the new system of decentralized governance and anticipated the new integrated curriculum (Section 6.2.3). In 2015, EGRP worked closely with MOEST to advocate for incorporation of EGR concepts and principles into the SSDP, including integration of EGR in TPD, TPS, governance, and assessment approaches (Section 6.2.1). Finally, in 2019–2020, EGRP supported ERO to integrate EGRA components into the NARN design to ensure that this large-scale national assessment would effectively capture challenges and progress toward EGR improvements (Section 6.1.4).

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 109 Capacity Building EGRP support for GON capacity development occurred at all levels, from central to local, including (post-decentralization) one central government, 7 provinces, 16 districts, 145 municipalities, and 5,107 schools (Figure 28). EGRP’s capacity-development efforts started with capacity needs assessments to identify areas for strengthening and continued with use of those needs assessments to establish capacity-development plans, with specific activities included in each EGRP AWP. Capacity strengthening included technical assistance, as well as explicit training, for MOEST and all CLAs on policy and planning; for CDC to develop curricula and materials; and for NCED/HRDD (before and after the merger with CEHRD) to create and implement training of master trainers, trainers, and teachers. EGRP’s capacity-development approach also entailed collaborating with CEHRD to develop a system of ongoing support for teachers that took into careful consideration the need to ensure sustainability beyond the districts supported directly by EGRP, and beyond the life of the program. It also involved support to ERO to enhance data collection and analysis systems, and to evaluate hardware, software, and human resources capacity for assessment functions.

Figure 28: Post-decentralization education structures supported by EGRP

1 central government (MOEST and 3 CLAs) 7 provinces (MOSDs, ETCs, and EDDs)

16 districts (DECs, EDCUs)

145 municipalities (local governments, LEUs)

5,017 schools (SMCs/PTAs, head teachers or primary in-charge teachers, teachers, parents)

EGRP also built capacity at subnational levels, responding to changes in governance structures after federalization. Efforts included local-level orientations, workshops, and advocacy and leadership campaigns among elected representatives, LEU officials, EDCU officials, SMC and PTA members, head teachers, and teachers. In addition, EGRP supported CEHRD to integrate language issues into the IEMIS, and develop LEU profiles linked with the IEMIS, so that palikas would have adequate data for annual educational planning and budgeting at the local level. As captured in Table 16, a large number of key stakeholders (79,429 in total) at all levels participated in EGRP-supported capacity-development activities that touched subnational levels of governance, including orientations, study tours, capacity-development workshops, leadership and advocacy campaigns, and joint monitoring visits.

110 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Table 16: Types and numbers of participants in subnational capacity- development activities No. Type of activity Participants 1 NEGRP Orientation – Provinces and Districts 632 2 NEGRP Review and Capacity Development 1,220 3 Provincial Study Tours 232 4 District Study Tours 484 5 Local-Level Capacity Development – Districts 641 6 Local-Level Capacity Development – LEUs 6,096 7 Leadership and Advocacy Campaigns 70,007 8 Joint Monitoring Visits – Districts and Local Governments 117

Total 79,429

Institutionalization To ensure institutionalization and sustainability, EGRP assisted MOEST to establish and mobilize national and subnational structures to promote the coordinated, systematic expansion of EGR activities and to institutionalize learning from NEGRP. The leading roles and active involvement of GON officials in formulating, policies, strategies, and programs and their participation in implementing EGR activities at all levels enabled them to leverage their capacity and develop a sense of ownership of the program. In addition to focusing on developing the capacity of government structures in a top-down manner, EGRP strongly emphasized institutionalizing school-level EGR approaches by working through existing mechanisms, including annual SIPs. EGRP achieved this goal by directly engaging program staff, but also by building the capacity of 15 local civil society organizations, which in turn advocated and provided technical support to schools in integrating EGR into their annual SIPs. As a result of this assistance, 89% of all target schools across the program’s 16 districts updated their SIPs with EGR activities (Table 17).

Table 17: Percentage of schools incorporating EGR into their annual SIPs Cohort 1 Cohort 2 District % District % Banke 100 Bardiya 99 Bhaktapur 75 Dadeldhura 100 Kanchanpur 60 Dang 100 Kaski 29 Dhankuta 99 Manang 100 Dolpa 100 Saptari 69 Kailali 100 Mustang 100 Parsa 100 Rupandehi 100 Surkhet 100 Overall average: 89%

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 111 In addition to support for annual SIP development, EGRP also helped local NGO partners plan exit and sustainability strategies. For example, in October–December 2019, in preparation for program closeout of IR 3 activities, EGRP conducted workshops on developing NGO closeout and exit strategies. The purpose was to give the partner NGOs a chance to review the overall progress of their activities against established targets and to finalize all their grant closeout documents. To achieve this substantial objective, the IR 3 team used an After-Action Review tool to review the program as a whole, discussing the following key questions: (1) What was supposed to happen? (2) What actually occurred? (3) What went well, and why? and (4) What can be improved, and how? At these workshops, the participants discussed and documented program learning and developed strategies to replicate best practices through local governments in an effort to sustain social and community mobilization results. Then as follow-up, the local partner NGOs—together with EGRP staff—prepared exit strategies outlining the roles and responsibilities of parents, communities, and local governments. Key sustainability strategies implemented during the closeout of social mobilization initiatives included the following: • conducting follow-up meetings with schools, EGR subcommittees, peer educators, and other relevant stakeholders to discuss their plans to sustain EGR activates after partner NGO support ended; • informing schools, parents of early grade children, and palikas about using locally available resources to sustain EGR activities, including possible private sector contributions; and • advocating with local governments to incorporate EGR activities into their local education plans. In addition to these SBC efforts, EGRP worked within and built capacity of the NEGRP- related structures at all levels. The stakeholder profile (Figure 29)—current as of October 2020—highlights the post-decentralization coordination structures that were institutionalized within GON with EGRP’s assistance, including the NEGRP Steering Committee and Technical Committee at central level, responsible for overall technical leadership, policy making, reporting, and oversight; NEGRP DCTs, responsible for coordination, technical support to LEUs, and quality monitoring; LEUs, in charge of formulating and implementing local education plans; and EGR subcommittees at the school level, responsible for raising awareness of the importance of EGR and increasing parent and community engagement in reading promotion.

112 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Figure 29: NEGRP stakeholder profile

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 113 Local Budget Allocation to EGR Another key aspect of ensuring sustainability and continuity of EGRP’s investments was local resource mobilization. As a result of EGRP-supported advocacy and capacity development, during Nepal’s FY 2019/2020 (i.e., beginning in mid-July 2019), 32 local governments from 10 of the 16 districts allocated a significant amount of their own budget resources to implement EGRP-initiated activities. Through its robust M&E system and targeted capacity development for partner NGOs on reporting, EGRP was able to verify a total allocation of (over ) using documentary evidence, such as photos or digital scans of local education plans and budgets. As Table 18 indicates, establishing print-rich classrooms was the top priority, indicating the popularity of this approach, which transforms classrooms into colorful, inviting spaces for children, teachers, and parents. Although 22% of palikas were convinced to allocate a portion of their local budget to EGR activities, this advancement was achieved only with targeted engagement and advocacy through a range of avenues—and it reveals that more than three- quarters of palikas had not yet allocated local resources by EGRP’s end. This finding indicates the need for sustained, systemic follow-up to ensure that EGR activities are integrated within more local budgets in the future, and that local budgetary processes include mechanisms for documenting and verifying these kinds of contributions. Table 18: EGR budget allocation by local governments Local Budget District District government Name of local allocation no. name no. government† (NPR) Budget purpose 1 Bardiya 1 Gulariya M Print-rich setup, parent–teacher conferences, and mobile reading corners 2 Madhuban M Print-rich setup and parent–teacher conferences 3 Barabardiya M Parent awareness 4 Rajapur M Print-rich setup 2 Dang 5 Babai RM Assessment, EGR activities support 6 Gadhawa RM Print-rich setup, parent awareness 3 Dadeldhura 7 Ajayameru RM Print-rich setup 8 Ganyapdhura Print-rich setup RM 9 Amargadhi M Print-rich setup 4 Dhankuta 10 Pakhribas M Print-rich setup 5 Dolpa 11 Tripurasundari M Print-rich setup, reading festivals, parent awareness 12 Shey Phoksundo Print-rich setup RM 13 Kaike RM Print-rich setup, EGR subcommittee meetings 14 Dolpo Budda RM Print-rich setup, reading festivals 15 Chharkatangsong Print-rich setup RM

114 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Local Budget District District government Name of local allocation no. name no. government† (NPR) Budget purpose 6 Kailali 16 Bardgoriya RM Print-rich setup, EGR promotional activities 17 Kailari RM Print-rich setup, EGR promotional activities 18 Joshipur RM Print-rich setup, EGR promotional activities 19 Janaki RM EGR promotional activities 7 Mustang 20 Thasang RM Print-rich setup, reading festivals, mobile reading corners 21 Gharapjhong RM Reading festivals, local reading materials, parent–teacher conferences, mobile reading corners 22 Bharagung Print-rich setup, reading festivals Muktichetra RM 23 Lomanthang RM Reading festivals, parent–teacher conferences, EGR subcommittee meetings 8 Parsa 24 Kalikamai RM EGR promotion 25 Pakaha Mainpur Print-rich setup, peer education RM training 9 Rupandehi 26 Siyari RM Print-rich setup, reading festivals 27 Sainamaina M Print-rich setup, reading festivals, mobile reading corners 10 Surkhet 28 Simta RM SMC grant expansion, parent education 29 Bheriganga M Print-rich setup, reading festivals 30 Chaukune RM Print-rich setup, reading festivals, reading competitions 31 Chingad RM Print-rich setup 32 Gurbhakot M Print-rich setup, reading festivals, reading corner management Total † M = municipality; RM = rural municipality.

6.6 Gender Equality and Social Inclusion EGRP’s strategy to promote GESI focused on five main elements: policies, curriculum and materials, community engagement and SBC, M&E, and staffing. Policy EGRP encouraged MOEST, CLAs, MOSD, EDCUs, and LEUs to consider constitutional nondiscrimination mandates and to ensure that gender equality and inclusion were reflected within EGR policy formulation and reformulation processes. In the process of developing NEGRP standardization and harmonization guidelines, the NEGRP minimum package, and other policy guidelines, EGRP advised GON on possible options to address GESI issues.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 115 EGRP also supported GON in making policy choices regarding language of instruction and mother-tongue instruction and language selection, and helped to conduct research on language considerations in teacher allocation. Curriculum and Materials EGRP placed significant emphasis on ensuring that GESI Examples of EGRP support to GESI in materials development principles were reflected in curriculum and materials • Recommendations for increasing development activities (see text box). Specifically, the representation of women and IR 1 team worked with CDC to ensure that gender minorities • Guidelines for reducing harmful balance and sensitivity were reflected in the Nepali gender stereotypes materials review tool as well as the Rana Tharu and • Evaluation of gender balance in SRM selection Nepali L2 scopes and sequences. The IR 1 team also helped CDC ensure inclusive representation of different cultures, religions, and abilities throughout materials development, design, and illustration. In Year 5 (2019–2020), the GESI technical advisor from the SBC technical team advised the IR 1 team to develop and design a GESI handbook for EGR program implementers. The purpose of this handbook was to support relevant EGR stakeholders—such as teachers, head teachers, teacher trainers, TLM developers, and M&E teams—to integrate GESI into their practices. In the same year, the SBC technical team also worked closely with the IR 1 team on development of the Nepali L2 teacher resource Illustration from the GESI handbook depicting a gender- materials to ensure that they reflected best inclusive classroom free from limiting or harmful role practices in linguistic inclusion for stereotypes. Credit: Keshar Joshi children and teachers who do not speak Nepali as a first language.

Community Engagement and SBC The IR 3 team strongly emphasized GESI in activity planning, design, and implementation. In all activities, the team encouraged inclusion of traditionally excluded groups, and tracked participation of those groups to ensure constant monitoring of the levels of inclusion in program activities. As depicted in Figure 30, over the life of the program, IR 3 activities reached 1,468,569 people. Of these, 875,742 (60%) were women. In terms of ethnic participation, the highest was Janjati caste (30%), followed by Brahmin/Chettri (27%), and Dalits (23%). In addition, the team maintained a gender balance in selecting the radio moderators and the experts interviewed during the teaching-tips segments of radio programs, the characters portrayed in radio drama segments, and the positive role models interviewed in guest reader radio segments. Radio PSAs and programs were developed and produced initially in Nepali,

116 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 and later also translated into 10 local languages to expand the reach of the public awareness campaign to a maximum number of parents and teachers, respecting the ethnic and linguistic diversity of EGRP target districts. While providing technical support Figure 30: Participation in social and to CEHRD for new radio PSA and community mobilization program development under G2G activities, by caste/ethnicity funds, CEHRD adopted the SBC (N = 1,468,569) team’s suggestions on maintaining a 5% healthy gender balance in selecting 7% the characters depicted in the PSAs. 27% Moreover, EGRP’s SBC studies to 8% evaluate the effectiveness of EGR public awareness demonstrated that due consideration was given to GESI in the selection of informants as well as in data analysis 23% approaches.

M&E 30% GESI considerations were reflected throughout EGRP’s M&E system, Brahmin/Chettri Janjati Dalits from indicators and tools to learning Madhesi Muslim Others assessments. Program progress indicators and reporting were disaggregated by sex, caste, and ethnicity to track the program’s inclusiveness and promote accountability. The team emphasized recruiting women assessors as much as possible for the program’s impact evaluation (Table 19), and also worked with research firms conducting operations research to incorporate GESI lenses into their data collection tools, analysis, and reporting. Table 19: Sex of assessors in each assessment phase Assessment phase Women Men Baseline (2016) 43% 57% Midline (2018) 49% 51% Endline (2020) 29% 71%

In addition, assessment results from CB-EGRA, EGRA/EMES, and NARN administrations were analyzed and reported by sex. Assessment findings indicated no statistically significant differences between girls and boys on key learning outcomes but did identify inequalities between Nepali L1 and L2 children, which should be taken into account in future activities and interventions. Staffing In line with USG norms, EGRP’s staff recruitment approaches prioritized hiring women, ethnic/caste minorities, and people with disabilities where available in the Nepali labor market. As a result, 44% of Kathmandu-based senior leaders were women, and staff at Kathmandu and regional levels represented a wide range of castes. Although gender equality

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 117 was always encouraged during hiring processes, it was more difficult to recruit women staff into field-based positions, possibly reflecting wider social barriers for women to accept jobs away from their families and home bases, as well as historical legacies related to more limited education, career progression, and leadership opportunities for women in Nepali society. EGRP ensured that GESI was addressed in program activities by designating the IR 1 team lead as the overall GESI focal point person responsible for staff capacity building on GESI issues. The team lead designed and led GESI capacity-development sessions during all-staff meetings and was responsible for reviewing GESI elements in AWPs and activity plans. In addition, EGRP’s GESI technical advisor, a member of the SBC team, played a vital role in ensuring accuracy in how the program shaped and reflected gender and social inclusion issues. The GESI advisor reviewed and contributed to research instruments for qualitative research, the visuals and language in the peer education training modules and the teacher guidelines, and the messages and behaviors in the SBC framework. She worked with the team to avoid insensitive or biased language and inferences in all messages and materials. In addition, she led development of the GESI handbook described above. 6.7 Management and Administration This section describes activities and achievements in GON liaison, planning and coordination, human resources and operations, procurement, finance, IT, grants management, and communications during the life of the program. Annex F in Volume 2 is a brief list of completed administrative deliverables. GON Liaison Representation with the GON was a critical element of EGRP’s success. Several mechanisms ensured frequent, fruitful communication and collaboration throughout the life of the program. This included formal structures, such as the NEGRP Steering Committee consisting of representatives from MOEST and the CLAs, which met Courtesy meeting conducted by EGRP COP and Director of quarterly or as time and Programs (DOP) with representatives of the provincial ETC, schedules allowed to review Kalaiya, Bara. (Photo credit: Sunita Shakya) progress, ratify documents, and agree on next steps. In addition, the EGRP team conducted frequent informal check-ins with MOEST and CLA heads and team members to follow up on key program activities and priorities. The COP and Director of Programs (DOP) also carried out courtesy meetings with GON officials at the federal, provincial, district, and LEU levels to build relationships and goodwill. Furthermore, regionally based team members held frequent coordination meetings and phone calls with subnational GON offices. For example, Regional Managers coordinated with provincial MOSDs, while District Coordinators were embedded in district education structures and

118 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 District Program Officers were embedded in municipal education offices; they carried out coordination and advocacy meetings at those levels in line with program objectives and work plans. Activities such as joint monitoring visits, described in sections above (e.g., Section 6.4.1), also enabled close working relationships with national and subnational agencies and officials and allowed them to see program activities with their own eyes. Planning and Coordination Program planning was carried out each year through annual work-planning processes. Each year’s process began with support to GON and guidance from USAID to develop annual G2G work plans and concluded with EGRP work-planning workshops to identify wrap- around activities and areas of technical support from EGRP to the government. Once each AWP was finalized, the EGRP team then ensured effective AWP monitoring; implementation and continuous improvement through quarterly learning reviews, monthly team meetings, and team work plans for both Kathmandu and regionally based teams; and other coordination and planning meetings on an as-needed basis. In addition, annual all-staff meetings—to which GON and USAID were invited for relevant sessions—were an opportunity to orient the entire team on the requirements of the AWP, jointly plan next steps, and build team cohesion as well as technical and operational capacity to implement the AWP in collaboration with GON structures at all levels. Finally, coordination with USAID was ensured through frequent management meetings (typically 2–4 times per month) as well as ad hoc emails and phone calls as the need arose. Program Quality Review In Year 5 (2019–2020), a Program Quality Review of EGRP was conducted by two representatives from RTI’s home office (and at RTI’s expense). The reviewers identified both operational and technical areas for strengthening as EGRP entered its final stretch, and the COP subsequently worked with the team to develop a management response plan to address that feedback. The plan covered aspects such as strengthening financial and operational compliance reviews of regional offices; updating some financial policies and procedures, including staff daily subsistence allowances and financial controls on workshop payments; improving quality oversight of TOT content delivery; and strengthening the content of the refresher TOT in line with key technical recommendations, such as the need to focus on full implementation of the gradual-release model25 used by teachers in their classrooms and tailored approaches for Nepali L2 learners. Human Resources and Operations Personnel recruitment was a continual process between 2015 and 2020. The first COP was hired in March 2015, mobilized to the post in May 2015, and resigned in February 2019. The recruitment of local staff started in late March 2015. In the initial stages, much of the recruitment was managed by the RTI home office, but after recruitment of a Human Resources/Operations Manager and office setup in August 2015, all recruitments were conducted in Kathmandu. The staffing and office setup were executed in the Technical

25 Gradual-release model refers to a direct instructional approach in which teachers model a skill, followed by group practice by all students together with the teacher, then individual practice. Informally it is often called “I do, We do, You do.”

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 119 Support Unit (TSU) at the GON’s Sanothimi campus on October 5, 2015; regional offices in January 2016; district offices in May 2016; and district program offices in July 2019. The Senior Reading Advisor was mobilized to Kathmandu in September 2015 and left the country in June 2019 but continued to support EGRP remotely. The Senior Reading Advisor was also Acting COP during an interim period from March to June 2019. With USAID concurrence, a new Chief of Party was hired and mobilized in July 2019. Tremendous efforts were put into ensuring adequate staffing to complete program activities and deliverables at the central, regional, district, and municipal levels. The many human resource achievements over the life of the project included: • Successfully recruiting and orienting 110 RTI local staff in total, as well as staff of subcontractor organizations. • Processing paperwork for 32 EGRP RTI staff and 12 subcontractor staff resignations, deputations, and transfers. • Soliciting, selecting, and administering 109 short-term independent contractors, 13 Participant Agreements, and 21 local consultants’ contracts for the different IRs, M&E functions, and operations-related tasks and research activities. • Successfully setting up the EGRP central office, the TSU, 4 regional offices, 16 district offices, and 17 municipal offices. • Supporting the mobilization and demobilization to and from the country of the first EGRP COP and the Senior Reading Advisor, as well as the second COP to the country. • Preparing, managing, and maintaining documentation related to personnel actions of EGRP staff (RTI and subcontractors) and short-term independent contractors or consultants. • Coordinating consultative meetings for program startup and closeout and staffing from the human resources perspective. • Preparing and implementing the EGRP Employee Handbook and benefit packages as per the then-new Nepal Labor Act dated August 11, 2017. • Successfully implementing annual salary increment and award processes to recognize and motivate strong staff performance. • Preparing and updating the program-specific field operations manual. • Successfully implementing various new human resources initiatives: Dynamic Development for performance management, Taleo, Diversity and Inclusion, Wellness Program, Guidance Resources Program, RTI International Development Group professional development funding, and end-of-program Transition Readiness. • Working with RTI’s Asia Regional Office and home office human resources team with regard to the launching the new Social Security Scheme and employer enrollment with the Social Security Fund as per the new Labor Act, 2074 (2017). • Arranging logistics for various international visitors to Nepal as well as EGRP staff international travel. • Conducting sessions for staff on diversity and inclusion.

120 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 • Coordinating extensively with the USAID Health for Life program and other projects regarding the transfer of Health for Life assets to EGRP. • Coordinating with USAID and government agencies for obtaining visas, driving licenses, and export and import licenses for household effects for the COPs and Senior Reading Advisor and their families. • Efficiently managing the operation of 12 program vehicles, 47 motorcycles, and 7 backup generators (maintenance, fuel, logbook, registration, insurance, etc.). • Identifying, negotiating, and administering lease agreements for the COP and Senior Reading Advisor residences as well as central and regional offices, and managing utility payments for those facilities. • Efficiently managing working spaces and equipment for EGRP staff in all offices. • Revising the EGRP Safety and Security Manual and coordinating logistics for security-related trainings and drills. • Updating available new information and security-related guidance continually to all staff through email, Viber, and phone tree. • Arranging logistics for the visits of high-level USG officials to Bhaktapur and Mustang (U.S. Ambassador, 2017 and 2019; Assistant Secretary of State, 2019). • Initiating and supporting insurance, travel and tours, office supplies, house leases, and advertisement-related procurement tasks. • Arranging and coordinating logistics for dozens of events, including meetings, workshops, seminars, and study tours. Procurement Timely and sound procurement is indispensable to manage program risk. Significant effort went into addressing common procurement-related challenges in the Nepal context, including obtaining timely approval from the government; branding/marking issues on printed materials; geographical remoteness, affecting timely delivery of textbooks and logistics; capacity limitations among printing firms; lack of accurate IEMIS data for school-level distribution; and management of assets in remote areas. Despite these challenges, the major achievements in procurement included soliciting and evaluating bids, selecting vendors, and administering the contracts for: • Printing, finishing, packaging, and distributing SRMs to the schools most affected by the 2015 earthquake in 14 districts; and to schools in the 16 EGRP districts for the year 2016. • Printing, finishing, packaging, and distributing TLMs to schools in the 16 EGRP districts for years 2016 through 2019. • Printing, finishing, packaging, and distributing peer education materials in the 16 EGRP districts for the year 2016 for Cohort 1 and the year 2018 for Cohort 2. • Printing, finishing, packaging, and distributing CB-EGRA materials; EGRP brochures and information booklets; mother-tongue TLMs in Rana Tharu, Awadhi, and Maithili; teacher resource materials; TPS teacher training resource manual; other training resource manuals; and reading contest guides.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 121 • Printing and delivering posters with key SBC messages for schools and government offices at central, district, and local levels. • Procuring office IT equipment, office furniture, motor vehicles, and motorcycles for EGRP central, regional, district, and municipal offices. • Procuring office IT equipment, air conditioners, solar back-up power systems, and tablets for CLAs. The assets (property) purchased as part of the program’s CLA capacity building were handed over to the agencies with USAID approval and with proper asset disposition paperwork in place. • Procuring and distributing office equipment for EDDs, MOSDs, and LEUs: 2 laptops each for 145 LEUs, 7 EDDs and 7 MOSDs (total 159 × 2 = 318 units); 1 projector each (159 units); and 1 printer each (159 units). Handing over the laptops, printers, and projectors to 145 LEUs, 7 EDDs, and 7 MOSDs. • Raising public awareness of EGR through regional and national radio; translating radio programs and PSAs into local languages; broadcasting radio programs via local radio stations; and producing 50 audio stories from the SRMs. • Conducting pilot data collection and midline and endline assessments. • Carrying out research studies, including research on public awareness of EGR; the effectiveness of the TPS system in the early grades; teacher motivation in the early grades; TRGs and community awareness activities in EGRP; review and update of the NEGRP core document; EGR public awareness in Cohort 2 districts; integration of the education profile template into the IEMIS; update of IEMIS data collection and analysis systems for EGR; potential cell phone applications for home-based EGR practice; language in reading instruction; parent and community attitudes, language use in instruction, and teacher assignment; and time on task for reading instruction in the early grades in Nepal. • Producing an NEGRP documentary film and developing related communications materials. • Arranging and overseeing security services (24/7) at EGRP’s Kathmandu and Nepalgunj offices, and at the residences of the COP and Senior Reading Advisor. • Acquiring group personal accidental and medical insurance for EGRP staff and their spouses and dependents. • Procuring office supplies and travel services. • Arranging internet services for the central office in Kathmandu, the TSU, and four regional offices. • Arranging for venues, food, and logistics for EGRP workshops, seminars, and trainings. In addition, the procurement team supported the following: • Identifying, negotiating, and administering contracts for leased space for the COP and Senior Reading Advisor residences as well as central and regional offices. • Issuing a public notice for Expressions of Interest to develop a roster and database of qualified office suppliers; a travel agency; transporters; vehicle rental services; courier

122 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 services; local consultants; and consulting firms for capacity assessments, policy studies, and research studies. • Preparing documents pertaining to open licensing, copyright, and intellectual property, and their practice and relevance in the Nepali context. • Maintaining inventory (program assets) of the Kathmandu office, TSU office, and regional and district offices. Regularly conducting physical verification of inventory and updating the RTI Asset Management System accordingly. • Retagging assets (vehicles, motorcycles, IT equipment, and furniture) received from Health for Life and other USAID projects into the EGRP inventory, and entering property valued above into the RTI Asset Management System. • Preparing EGRP closeout and asset disposition plans and submitting them to USAID for approval. Finance Sound financial management is a key foundation to the success of any program. Budgeting, cash flow management, internal controls, and accurate financial reporting were the main elements of the program’s financial management system. EGRP continuously ranked among the top 10 international development programs for financial compliance at RTI and achieved positive audit findings during audits in 2016 and 2018. Other financial management achievements included: • Facilitating startup orientation on USAID rules and regulations for partner NGOs. • For all five program years, coordinating with the RTI home office on budget planning and tracking, as well as updating and circulating work plan budget vs. expenditure reports for Years 1–5 (starting in July each year in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019). • Regularly submitting monthly financial reconciliation reports as well as preliminary and final financial extraction reports to the home office. • Ensuring smooth financial management and operations through systems such as cash forecasting, payroll, vendor/grantee disbursements and financial reporting. Altogether, approximately 27,592 transactions were processed by the financial system from June 2015 to October 31, 2020. • Preparing and submitting RTI’s quarterly value-added tax (VAT) report to USAID. • Successfully receiving NPR ( out of an VAT reimbursement request submitted to the Inland Revenue Department. • Submitting a VAT invoice for o USAID for endorsement to submit VAT reimbursement request to the Inland Revenue Department. • Preparing VAT reports for fiscal years 2015 through 2019 and transmitting them to the RTI home office for USAID submission. • Reviewing the financial reports of the 6 partner NGOs of Cohort 1 districts and 10 partner NGOs of Cohort 2 districts. • Coordinating and updating training-related information for USAID’s TraiNet system.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 123 • Visiting EGRP regional offices and partner NGOs’ offices for financial review and monitoring. • Preparing guidelines for travel stipend payments to Reading Motivators and making payments for 278 Reading Motivators of Cohort 1 districts. • Preparing and reviewing budget and fund management of various workshops and trainings carried out at the central, regional, and district levels. • Preparing budgets, providing program advances, and completing reconciliations to conduct CB-EGRA workshops for around 2,500 schools. • Providing program advances and reconciliations for 126 local-level capacity- development workshops on time and with accuracy. • Facilitating capacity building and AWP workshops for EGRP staff. Grants With an extensive array of grants under contract as well as small grants to schools and for SBC, EGRP’s grants management system was a critical element of the operational success of the program. Key achievements in grants management included: • Customizing the Grants Management Manual for EGRP, outlining the detailed process of design, implementation, reporting, and management of grants. The Grants Management Manual covered processes for grantee selection, comprehensive monitoring, feedback, backstopping mechanisms for grants implementation, grants management mechanisms, and policy formats. • Successfully administering media grants to conduct SBC communication activities, media campaigns, and production and broadcasting of radio programs and jingles in six Cohort 1 districts. • Preparing an SMC grants implementation strategy, including a selection process for participating schools and guidelines for SMC grants activities. • Facilitating organizational capacity assessments, with the M&E team, for partner NGOs in EGRP Cohort 1 and 2 districts. • Supporting Cohort 1 and 2 partner NGOs with effective financial management. Facilitating the finance elements of exit-strategy planning and NGO closeout workshops (Cohort 1 and 2 partner NGOs). • Archiving and backing up partner scanned versions of NGO financial documents, including vouchers, invoices, receipts, attendance sheets, activity reports, financial reports, and other supporting documents. • Supporting the 6 partner NGOs of Cohort 1 districts and 10 partner NGOs of Cohort 2 districts to close out grants and dispose of inventory, including asset verification, handover, and documentation. • Successfully administering the closeout of 16 NGO grants awarded in Cohort 1 and 2 districts, releasing the final payments, and closing out the grants in RTI’s Grant Management System.

124 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Information Technology EGRP’s IT system facilitated program documentation, database maintenance, rapid communication, and information dissemination, even across difficult and remote target locations. EGRP’s IT-related achievements included: • Developing a 5-year procurement plan for IT equipment. • Purchasing, conducting technical and physical verification, installing, repairing, and maintaining IT equipment/systems, cable networking, firewalls, and backup batteries for the EGRP central, regional, and district offices, as well as IT equipment for government agencies. • Purchasing (or renewing) licenses and installing software onto official laptops and systems. • Conducting orientation and training for EGRP staff on RTI software applications. • Providing ongoing support to the program team to comply with RTI’s privacy and security policies, as well as any other issues related to computer operation. • Developing a centralized data backup system for all EGRP-related work. • Repairing problematic laptops and IT equipment or systems for EGRP’s central and regional offices and government agencies. • Verifying, reimaging, and completing the transfer of laptop data and other IT equipment to 16 partner NGOs of Cohort 1 and 2 districts, and verifying and completing the transfer of IT equipment to EGRP from other USAID-funded projects. • Providing IT support to all events organized by EGRP. • In August 2020, reviewing and ensuring compliance with Section 889(a)(1)(B) of the National Defense Authorization Act related to IT equipment and services used by the program. Communications EGRP formulated an outreach and communications plan in Year 1. This plan supported the program goals of reinforcing country ownership, strengthening coordination, using local systems, and focusing on results. It emphasized communicating the successes and lessons learned from EGR interventions in select districts; keeping stakeholders abreast of program activities, processes, and successes; and highlighting the program’s impact through informative and engaging media. Communications and outreach activities and achievements over the life of the program are described below. Branding and Marking • In Year 1 (2015–2016), all staff were oriented about USAID’s branding and marking guidelines as well as media protocols. In Year 2 (2016–2017), at a social and community mobilization training, the communications team oriented the full team on branding and marking guidelines for EGRP grantees. In Year 3 (2017–2018), the communications team presented the EGRP branding and marking plan to the Cohort 2 NGO grant recipients, to help them execute the plan correctly.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 125 • In Year 2 (2016–2017), the communications team, together with the EGRP grants team, developed an approach for marking products and commodities created under the SMC grants. • In Year 3 (2017–2018), USAID/Nepal issued a waiver for branding and marking in the Kathmandu area based on heightened concerns about safety and security, which put branding restrictions on several communications products, including display of the USAID logo on vehicles and office buildings. USAID extended the branding waiver twice until the end of the program. This message was communicated to all program staff to ensure compliance. • The EGRP communications and technical teams attempted to obtain GON approval for Creative Commons licensing of instructional materials produced with program support. However, the GON repeatedly expressed its desire for sole GON branding and marking of the TLMs, SRMs, and other instructional materials. In Year 5 (2019– 2020), USAID approved RTI’s request to proceed without Creative Commons licensing until agreement could be reached with GON at a later date. Media and Outreach • In Year 2, EGRP media orientation workshops were organized in Kathmandu as well as in Banke, Bhaktapur, Kanchanpur, Kaski, and Saptari. • In the same year, to streamline the communication process between EGRP and media outlets, EGRP developed a media contact protocol and disseminated it to all staff. • In Year 4 (2018–2019), USAID communicated new guidance to EGRP regarding consent for taking and using pictures and videos of individuals, in keeping with changes in Nepali law, which was communicated to all team members. • In Year 5, to encourage the team to use the consent forms and to collect a pool of high-quality photos, the communications team organized an internal photo competition and announced the winners at an EGRP all-staff meeting. Photos that met USAID’s technical criteria were sent to USAID/Nepal for its 2020 calendar. Communications Materials • In Year 1, EGRP produced a two-page program profile that was widely distributed and used in meetings, workshops, and other forums with stakeholders. • In Year 2, a simple, one-page informative flyer about the EGRP radio program was developed and approved by USAID. • The last year of the program was when impact became most visible. EGRP developed several communications materials to capture and communicate success through various mediums, including a 5-minute animated short film about NEGRP, to better acquaint the government stakeholders and other relevant stakeholders about the program; and a 15-minute documentary video and four short videos, depicting EGR best practices while highlighting NEGRP’s impacts, challenges, and future direction, covering 8 of the 16 EGRP districts. In addition, the team developed an impact video, focusing on the importance of parental engagement and featuring a non-Nepali mother-tongue student, at zero added cost, using clips captured during routine field visits. The communications team also developed two photo stories, each of which

126 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 centered on a child from a different cohort and focused on different aspects of EGRP. Finally, the IR 3 team produced the mobile application “Ramailo Padhai,” to store and share audio stories and poems, radio PSAs, and radio programs. All the communications products developed in Year 5 were translated from English into the Nepali language and disseminated to the government, at both the federal and local levels, as well as to schools and communities. “NEGRP” rather than “EGRP” was emphasized in all the products, to ensure maximum buy-in from the government. Visibility Most of the visibility efforts were shouldered by the different IR teams through workshops, radio advertisements, peer education, and other means. Communication efforts to increase EGRP visibility included: • In Year 1, EGRP initiated the process of building its own web page; by Year 2, it had submitted a request to USAID. The process, however, could not be completed due to contractual limitations. • In Year 2, Equal Access Nepal, the recipient of a grant for SBC communications, public relations, and advocacy, began actively promoting EGRP through social media. • Every year, EGRP showcased its SRMs and TLMs, from the national to the municipal level, by celebrating World Literacy Day. This event helped increase program visibility. • In Year 5, with several communi- cations products at hand, EGRP actively used USAID, RTI, and MOEST social media to increase program visibility. This included an EGRP impact story (see image) capturing the overall EGRP “Impact Story” on RTI International’s website, impact of the https://www.rti.org/impact/reading-their-way-better-future program as well as various activities and components, posted on RTI’s website at https://www.rti.org/impact/reading-their-way-better-future. Success Stories EGRP developed at least two success stories every quarter focusing on various stakeholders of the program such as teachers, parents, students, government representatives, and local leaders. In Year 5, EGRP focused on training field staff to collect and communicate the successes they observed in the course of their work.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 127 • To ensure that all staff could identify, frame, and write stories to motivate stakeholders to adopt NEGRP initiatives, the communications team developed success story guidelines, an EGRP-specific template, and frequently asked questions. • To effectively capture successes from all 16 districts, EGRP orientation was given to newly hired District Program Officers on the importance of success stories and the ways to collect information for the stories. A training session on success stories was also held during the annual all-staff meeting, following which many pitches for potential stories were sent to Kathmandu from the field offices. In addition, during the learning, sharing, and documentation workshop, organized by the IR 3 team, dozens of stories were reviewed, and feedback shared. A curated set of success stories from previous progress reports appears in Volume 2, Annex I, of this report. Media Coverage Throughout the program, various national and local newspapers ran news stories on EGRP. • In Year 1, media reports mainly covered EGRP’s Rana Tharu scope-and-sequence workshops; the Rana Tharu TLM development workshop that promoted education in the mother tongue; roles of CDC and USAID in EGRP implementation; and EGRP and the unique role it played in providing technical assistance to the broader NEGRP. • In Year 2, EGRP achieved wide media coverage through local and national newspapers as well as FM radio stations, mainly focusing on challenges faced by Nepali early grade students; district-level orientations on NEGRP; distribution and use of TLMs and SRMs to schools; formation, implementation, and positive impact of TRGs in Cohort 1 districts; reading fairs organized in the EGRP districts; NEGRP jingles broadcasted by radio stations; and positive remarks from various district education officials toward the USAID-funded EGRP.

128 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 • Year 3 news focused on the delivery of TLMs, effective teacher training, the importance of budget allocations for EGR programming through LEUs, and the gradual-release model stressed by EGRP during teacher trainings. • Activities covered by the media in Year 4 emphasized timely distribution of EGR TLMs, leadership and advocacy trainings, reading festivals held in various municipalities, and formation of EGR subcommittees in schools where SMC grants were awarded. • During Year 5, there was wide coverage of EGRP activities, including reading fairs, advocacy workshops, joint monitoring visits, and the peer education program; use of Rana Tharu TLMs; dissemination of the midline assessment report; USAID Nepal FaceBook post on EGRP’s final “Learning official ownership of NEGRP and Sharing Event” in October, 2020 activities by LEUs; commitments from local leaders to allocate budget funding following the district leadership and advocacy workshop; effectiveness of NEGRP; leadership development and advocacy workshops; effectiveness of print-rich environments, effective community mobilization and parental engagement, and teacher training and TLMs; district-wide completion of CB-EGRAs; local-level capacity-building workshops carried out at the palika level; distribution of laptops, projectors, and printers to LEUs of 16 operating districts and to EDDs and MOSDs of seven provinces; dissemination of midline results in the target districts; and the final, virtual national-level “Learning and Sharing Event” (see image). Web links or news clips of all the relevant articles highlighted above were shared with USAID contemporaneously and a curated list of media highlights is provided in Volume 2 of this final report, Annex K. COVID-19 Response In the final months of Year 5, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected EGRP operations and required contingency planning and emergency response preparedness. Actions taken included frequent, transparent communication about the situation with the EGRP team as well as GON and USAID counterparts; updating of emergency contact lists, staff whereabouts trackers, and phone trees; and provision of IT support and an additional internet

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 129 allowance for staff laptop users, to ensure continuity of home internet use while they were teleworking. In addition, the operations team continuously monitored the security situation in program areas, conducted periodic telephone checks on office security services, and procured and provided additional sanitation supplies as well as backup fuel for vehicles and generators in case of emergency for the central and regional offices. The operations team also maintained up-to-date staff health insurance rolls, verified with the health insurance provider the coronavirus-related expenses that were eligible to be covered, and encouraged staff to make use of RTI-provided online stress management and wellness resources. Finally, the COP and senior leadership put in place mechanisms to promote continued activity planning, coordination, and implementation to the extent possible under lockdown. This effort included periodic email spot checks to verify staff connectivity, and weekly telework work plans and status updates. 7 Challenges and Solutions This section summarizes key challenges that EGRP experienced over the life of the program as well as solutions that were put in place and/or that can be used to address similar challenges if they continue or recur in the future. Challenges are broken into categories, including contextual factors; coordination between EGRP and G2G; federalism and decentralization; language, curriculum, materials, and teacher professional development and professional support; local-level capacity and systems; structures for community and parent engagement; and assessment (Table 20).

Table 20: Challenges and solutions Challenges Solutions Contextual factors The two large earthquakes that occurred in Nepal The work of two RTI home office staff who were in late April and early May 2015 caused delays in already in-country to support operations, start-up, and finding office space and hiring staff during the local staff recruitment was cut short by the program startup period. earthquakes. Start-up work related to finding office space resumed in mid-May with the arrival of the COP, while local staff recruitment continued with support from the home office. Political disturbances in the Terai region caused ripple effects in 2015, such as:

1. Severe shortages of fuel and other essential 1. By the end of December 2015, there were signs commodities, which significantly impacted that the fuel shortage—at least for diesel—was program activities and staff movements slightly abating, which, to some degree, enabled throughout the quarter. the program to recover a sense of normalcy. For 2. Delayed IR 3 field research in Saptari District, a while, EGRP provided a shuttle service for staff originally chosen for research in Year 1 (2015– to get to and from work. 2016). 2. An alternative district, Banke, was selected in 3. Difficulty conducting the EGRA and EMES consultation with GON. baseline survey and challenges in 3. EGRP carried out a district-by-district security implementing CB-EGRA. assessment before conducting data collection. A transition plan was developed to resume activities after normalcy was reestablished. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 caused The EGRP team worked closely with GON offices to widespread disruptions in Nepal’s education sector, reschedule activities, and pivot to virtual modalities for with lockdowns and other restrictions leading to meetings and events, where possible. In addition, the prolonged school closures and affecting some of remaining local level capacity development workshops EGRP’s planned Year 5 activities, such as that could not be completed before lockdowns were refresher trainings, local capacity development instituted in March 2020 were postponed, and workshops, and other meetings and events. restructured to comply with COVID-19 prevention guidelines after lockdowns were lifted. Coordination between EGRP and G2G

130 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Challenges Solutions Mismatch between GON and EGRP fiscal years, Adjusted EGRP’s AWP timeline to match the GON’s causing challenges in aligning EGRP and G2G fiscal timeline (mid-July to mid-July). activities. Delays in the approval of the G2G work plan, as G2G and EGRP began developing their work plans well as activity and expenditure reporting and together to ensure as much alignment as possible. subsequent budget releases, caused delays in EGRP also conducted coordination meetings with EGRP implementation. USAID and GON/CLAs, and supported CLAs and districts with timely reporting to facilitate G2G budget releases. Challenges in information dissemination, EGRP facilitated information dissemination and communication, and coordination between G2G communication between G2G and EGRP through and EGRP. regional and district-level staff. This additional effort enhanced the flow of information among various stakeholders and promoted more efficient joint planning. Federalism and decentralization Federalism and the changes around government structures caused the following:

1. Concern on how best to implement Cohort 2 1. Significant discussion and collaboration took activities; therefore, significant time was spent place within teams around how best to respond to reviewing the plans and creating contingencies federalism changes. for implementation rollout. 2. Coordination meetings with USAID and the MOE 2. Uncertainties in terms of the impacts on EGRP and CLAs were held to discuss the way forward and how the program would operate going for NEGRP and EGRP in light of federalism, forward. which helped redefine EGRP’s parameters as a 3. Lack of clarity on the nature of the federalist whole and its Year 3 AWP in particular. structure and how it was intended to work at 3. EGRP continued to support the GON/MOEST to each level, which caused delays in program plan and deliver myriad orientation and capacity- implementation. building activities for stakeholders at every level in 4. The absence of legal tools, guidelines, and the federalist system. procedures for planning and implementing the 4. Local governments received encouragement to educational activities, which meant that many initiate the development of legal documents local government officials were unclear about (policies, procedures, and guidelines) needed to their roles and responsibilities create a positive environment for educational interventions. Local capacity workshops supported this effort. Frequent transfers of GON officials and long delays EGRP continued to meet with and inform the new in replacing some posts impacted EGRP’s working officials about EGRP and the work undertaken, and modalities, pace of implementation, and institution- decisions made to date. EGRP also organized al memory about previous decisions, and required refresher orientation programs for newly deployed repeated orientations on NEGRP and EGRP. officials at federal, provincial, and local levels. Language, curriculum, materials, and teacher professional development and professional support It took a long time to resolve language issues in EGRP facilitated and provided technical guidance for EGR, especially development/piloting mother- discussions and dialogues on how best to support tongue materials and entering into dialogue around reading in a way that would recognize the needs of Nepali instruction for non-Nepali speakers. This learners who speak languages other than Nepali. For lack of consensus hampered EGRP’s ability to future interventions, it would be best if USAID and the move forward with core contractual requirements GON could reach agreement before the procurement and consequently NEGRP success in supporting stage on policies and modalities for mother tongue and appropriate EGR approaches for all students was Nepali L2 instruction. hampered. Delays in TLM development meant that materials EGRP suggested two options to CDC: (1) CDC could were not ready in time for the start of the share existing drafts with EGRP and EGRP could 2017/2018 school year. The lack of materials also support CDC to examine whether they were aligned caused downstream delays in development of the with the books currently in use and then quickly TPD approach. develop a plan for completing the new materials. (2) The parties could agree that the existing materials would be reviewed and revised under CDC leadership, and grade 3 materials would be developed, all based on learning from the field, with EGRP supporting the process.

EGRP worked with the then-NCED (now CEHRD) to understand how a training plan could be developed,

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 131 Challenges Solutions based on evidence-based EGR teaching principles, that would be the same regardless of materials (as long as the TLMs also followed best practices), while leaving “bookmarks” for particular materials-based activities. Merging of NCED with CEHRD under the new EGRP remained in close contact with CEHRD/HRDD federal structure and consequent reshuffling of and followed up regularly to ease the process of G2G their staff caused serious delays in rolling out budget flow and to plan the trainings. teacher training in Cohort 1 and 2 districts. All training budgets, and training rollout, were the EGRP supported ETCs as much as possible on a responsibility of ETCs. However, because there continuous basis to plan and implement the staggered was only one ETC per province, the ETCs were not training. able to efficiently manage training rollout for all districts at once, resulting in significant delays as they implemented trainings one district at a time. The new designation of Reading Motivators EGRP assisted by clarifying the need for and (originally proposed as Resource Teachers) from importance of Reading Motivators, including making among the existing cadre of teachers raised suggestions on flexible and cost-effective ways and concerns about policy implications and means to deploy surplus teachers and to manage them sustainability in the long run. for mentoring and coaching purposes. The TPS system continued to be only partially Ultimately, ensuring that the Resource Person, or a implemented because of the removal of the similar position, is reinstated and the TPS system can Resource Person position. At the same time, be fully implemented is a policy issue. The same is turnover and promotion out of primary level of true for allowing (and building capacity of) districts and EGR-trained teachers, who also supported social local authorities to carry out specialized and refresher and community mobilization and other related training to ensure that new EGR teachers are trained. activities, reduced the effectiveness of ongoing EGRP continued to discuss these issues at all levels efforts. This challenge was amplified by the lack of and supported related policy dialogue and a strong ongoing support mechanism to help new recommends that these efforts should continue in EGR teachers get up to speed. future programs. Furthermore, long-term (and localized) solutions should be sought based on evidence and learning generated through EGRP and any successor program. Local-level capacity and systems State restructuring into a federalist system was a Through workshops, EGRP built local governments’ new practice in Nepal, and many locally elected capacity to initiate development of the legal documents representatives and officials were unclear about (policies, procedures, and guidelines) needed to create their roles and responsibilities. In addition, there a supportive environment for educational interventions. was a lack of legal tools, guidelines, and procedures for planning and implementing the educational activities. Local-level capacity for creating demand for During local capacity-development activities, EGRP education reform and ensuring quality education supported local governments to develop action plans, was limited. Because of that, the resources identifying the key EGR activities and incorporating available at local level were often allocated to them into local-level plans. sectors other than education or to EGR. Limited technical capacity of the local government EGRP advocated with MOEST to recruit technical staff bodies to carry out education functions created at the local level. EGRP also supported CEHRD, challenges in smoothly carrying out education EDCUs, and LEUs through capacity-development management functions at decentralized levels. activities to build the capacity of local-level education personnel to implement EGR activities. All local governments sought the same level of EGRP coordinated with EDCUs to brief and orient all coordination and frequent briefings from the EGRP local governments to ensure their engagement and team, which was challenging due to time, staffing, participation in EGR activities. and resource constraints. It was challenging to find capable Resource EGRP continued to coordinate with EDCUs for pre- Persons to facilitate technical sessions, such as planning at the local level to identify capable Resource education planning and reporting in the federal Persons and to build their capacity through TOTs and setting, NEGRP policy and guidelines, or student workshops. reading fluency benchmarks and standards. Positions remained vacant in many of the LEUs, EGRP staff and partner NGOs continued proactive which posed challenges for leading and coordination with local governments to encourage implementing NEGRP/EGRP programs at local them to appoint and deputize education personnel to levels, resulting in delays or partial implementation palikas as soon as possible. In addition, they collaboratively looked for alternative approaches for

132 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Challenges Solutions of some activities, including LEU monitoring and supporting activities, such as identifying dynamic head support of the TPS system. teachers or mobilizing former Resource Persons. Delays occurred in forming District Social and EGRP followed up with DOE and supported the Community Mobilization Core Teams due to lack of circulation of the letter as well as orientation and a guidance letter from the then-DOE. planning meetings for six Cohort 1 DEOs. Structures for community and parent engagement Due to limited capacity, schools sought intensive In early 2019, NGO staff participated in SMC grant support from NGO staff to execute almost all SMC planning meetings with SMC and PTA members and grant activities and to fulfill the related reporting teachers. All were briefed on the roles of the various and documentation requirements. This level of stakeholders as per the established detailed need posed a challenge to NGO staff to manage implementation plan for effective management of SMC SMC grant support while also achieving the targets grants. They then supported the grantees’ execution of set under their own NGO grants. their activities, as well as the grantees’ completion of appropriate documentation. Due to the large number of beneficiaries and, The EGRP team continued advocating with local therefore, high number of TRGs, program and stakeholders, including the TRGs, on their engage- NGO staff faced challenges in following up with the ment with communities, in order to remove the burden TRGs regularly and ensuring their effectiveness in on the limited number of EGRP staff members able to enhancing the reading culture in their communities. directly support community mobilization activities. Some districts had no functioning SMCs or PTAs, EGRP continued to coordinate with the MOEST, which affected EGR subcommittee formation and EDCUs, and local levels, and to advocate about the functioning, and the rollout of SMC grants as per need for SMCs and PTAs to ensure timely the detailed implementation plans of local NGO implementation of social and community mobilization partners. activities. In some of the schools in program districts, delays EGRP discussed the issues with the then-DOE and in formulation of SMCs and PTAs, or limited DEOs and helped them strategize ways to form and/or functionality of those structures where they did activate local government structures that are important exist, affected social and community mobilization for community mobilization work to proceed, such as activities related to IR 3, such as mobilization of SMCs, PTAs, VECs, and MECs. SMC grants. In the absence of separate budgets for schools to SIP-based programming and budget allocation conduct social and community mobilization systems should be strengthened, both by schools activities, and in the face of inadequate integration themselves and by local governments. of social and community mobilization into SIPs and local government plans, sustainability of these Future programs should ensure adequate time for efforts is questionable. sustained investments in school and community capacity development, over several years. Assessment The adaptation of EGRA instruments in Nepali took Joint discussions among CLAs, USAID, and longer than expected due to multiple orthographies international NGOs were organized to agree on a used to render the Nepali language in written form. standard script to be used in the assessment.

8 Lessons Learned and Recommendations Over the course of slightly more than 5 years of implementation from 2015 to 2020, EGRP generated a range of lessons learned and recommendations based on experience. These lessons will be useful for informing future expansion of EGR activities and improving the quality of learning across Nepal. This section describes lessons and recommendations in language and instruction; systems strengthening; social and community mobilization; and program management and coordination. Language and Instruction Promote evidence-based language strategies and approaches: One of the key lessons learned related to instruction and materials centered on the need for extensive consultation and advocacy around language policy. Based on EGRP experience, this language policy must build on evidence generated through language mapping of teachers and students, and through systematized collection of nationwide language data that is institutionalized through the IEMIS. Shifts in language policy, including moves toward L2 and mother-tongue-based

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 133 approaches, take time and require buy-in from all levels, from grassroots interests to policy makers. Mother-tongue approaches in particular require practical guidance, especially for linguistically heterogeneous areas. For example, when there are multiple mother tongues in classrooms, teachers need guidance on how to select which language(s) to use and how to employ mother tongues as helping languages in their instruction. Local policy makers must have guidance on teacher allocation to ensure as much of a match between the languages spoken by children and teachers as possible. The Rana Tharu pilot produced preliminary evidence that using mother tongue as a subject rather than as the language of instruction had limited effects on children’s learning and faced multiple practical challenges to roll out. Policy makers should carefully consider the modalities for future mother-tongue efforts based on evidence generated in Nepal and internationally. In addition, curricular and instructional shifts toward mother-tongue approaches must be coupled with social and behavior change campaigns to ensure adequate buy-in from parents and community members and understanding of the value of mother-tongue instruction to eventually help children develop skills in the language of wider commerce and educational opportunity. Finally, L2 and mother-tongue-based approaches may require adaptations to common learning benchmarking and assessment approaches, such as development of EGRA tools in local languages, which may be significantly different, both phonologically and orthographically, from the dominant language of assessment. Ensure a place for reading in the integrated curriculum: Beginning in the 2020/2021 school year, the MOEST started rolling out its integrated, theme-based curriculum in grade 1, with grades 2 and 3 to follow the next year. It will be vitally important for future interventions to advise CDC on allocating sufficient time and instruction in basic reading skills. If integrated curriculum teacher guides and workbooks reduce the amount of reading time, it may also be necessary to consider additional supplemental materials that students could use to develop and practice sound early literacy skills. In addition, monitoring during the first year of the grade 1 pilot in 2019/2020 demonstrated that teachers will need more structured support with segmenting the broad themes in the integrated curriculum through lesson planning while MOEST is rolling out the integrated curriculum. Explicitly focus on specific instructional changes: While teacher uptake of some basic improvements in reading instruction was apparent during EGRP based on impact evaluation findings and monitoring, future interventions need to explicitly target specific changes in teacher practice to an even greater extent. Program staff and counterparts should communicate about, reinforce, and focus more on easily identifiable teacher behaviors— e.g., attention to individual students, consistent use of materials, eyes on text, time for individual student practice—as a way to support greater fidelity of implementation. To see further advances in reading performance, rather than continued plateau effects, monitoring and mentoring support going forward should incorporate repeated, specific focus on concrete instructional practices. Maximize the value of teacher training: Future TPD should seek to rigorously monitor and improve the quality of training delivery and consequently increase the likely impact on teacher practice. Focusing the content of training more explicitly on teacher behavior change (with greater time for teachers to practice instructional techniques, and reduced time on

134 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 theory or lecturing) should be considered. Additionally, close monitoring of the quality of training delivery is recommended, including benchmarks for training quality that can be incorporated into the TOT and used for monitoring trainer performance. Address issues of teacher motivation: Research supported by EGRP identified that teacher motivation is an important factor in encouraging adoption of improved EGR teaching and learning practices in a sustained manner. Policy makers and practitioners in the EGR space should consider solutions related to equitable allocation of teachers, lack of job security for some teachers, and teacher innovation and improvement. Motivational incentives for teachers, for example, could include low- or no-cost approaches such as public recognition, improved professional support, and increased opportunities for refresher training and credential upgrading. Increase the equitable use of technology to promote learning: Research on cell phone use and public awareness, as well as consultations with local officials and monitoring with teachers, revealed strong interest in and demand for technology-based solutions to improve children’s reading and learning more broadly. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 further underscored the need for remote teaching and learning options. Nevertheless, EGRP- supported research also identified significant inequities in access to higher-level technology based on socioeconomic status and geographical location. Future interventions should support measured development and rollout of education technology, starting with technologies that are broadly accessible, such as radio and SMS. If cell network coverage and ownership of smart phones progresses, other areas for exploration could be use of social networking apps to push instructional tips and content (such as video clips) to teachers. Systems Strengthening Help local governments build capacity to provide TPS: The changes brought on by federalism left limited structures at the local level for ensuring consistent, high-quality TPS. Future interventions should direct efforts to helping local governments, districts, and provinces consider viable options for providing a meaningful degree of regular follow-up and support to teachers. This subnational assistance should build on the findings of EGRP- supported research and monitoring, which showed that local actors were already instituting practical adaptations and workarounds to the current TPS system. For example, they were allocating local resources to rehire Resource Persons, and instituting peer mentoring by EGR teachers in cases where head teachers and primary in-charge teachers were too overloaded or lacked the technical capacity to coach effectively. Invest in capacity development for local government structures: EGRP experience demonstrated that local-level capacity was critical to uptake and expansion of best practices in EGR. However, there are no shortcuts: Sustained and targeted support over the long term is crucial. Future interventions must develop capacity in policy formulation, planning and budgeting, resource allocation, and reporting and accountability. Advocacy to promote local investments in EGR activities will also be crucial but must be based on stakeholder mapping and target key local decision makers, including mayors and deputy mayors. Moreover, the nationwide financial management and reporting system will need mechanisms for ensuring that local governments report on EGR-related budgetary allocations and are held accountable for those investments.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 135 Encourage learning from the best practices of others: Joint monitoring visits and study tours were among the most well-received aspects of EGRP-supported capacity development. Participation of central, provincial, district, and local government officials helped close gaps and increase contextual understanding across the decentralized levels of government. Study tours between schools, LEUs, districts, and even provinces helped to highlight best practices and practical solutions to common challenges that others had developed. That said, such exchanges must be well planned and structured so that participants can take maximum advantage of the learning opportunity. Social and Community Mobilization Support community engagement in the absence of SMC grants: SMC grants were instrumental in mobilizing and engaging parents and communities in support of improving early grade education. However, differences were plainly evident in the quality of learning environments and the levels of parent and community engagement between grant recipient and non-grant-recipient schools/communities. In future, emphasis should be placed on instituting effective community mobilization approaches without the burden of setting up an entire grants management system, and on working with the education system to make better use of existing school grant mechanisms. Ideally, EGRP’s experience regarding community mobilization around EGR would inform the system so that all schools would receive the same amount of support. Finally, the SBC activities during EGRP made a significant contribution to stimulating community engagement. Strategic use of SBC communications techniques should figure into any community mobilization strategies going forward (with messaging more explicitly focused on and reinforcing the types of instructional changes mentioned above). Promote SBC through interpersonal communication. Qualitative research identified interpersonal communication as the most common way in which parents obtained information and as the most likely best platform to raise awareness about EGR. This dimension of communication should feature prominently in future advocacy and social mobilization work. Interpersonal communication could come in the form of peer education and peer-to-peer messages as well as use of cultural groups as channels for disseminating information and advocating for behavior change around EGR. All messages should focus on tangible steps that parents and/or communities can take to improve their children’s reading— such as setting up print-rich classrooms and simple home reading corners and conducting reading festivals—even in low-resource and low-literacy settings. Build sustainable systems for parent and community engagement: EGRP-supported research as well as experience regarding sustainability of SBC interventions pointed out that several factors must be in place to ensure sustainability of structures such as TRGs and EGR subcommittees. Among the factors are strong involvement of school leaders and an emphasis on networking with community institutions. In addition, these structures benefit from practical toolkits and forms to guide their work. Finally, these groups must have inclusive membership that represents all levels of society, and institute policies such as flexible scheduling to ensure that women, minorities, and community members with lower socioeconomic status are able to participate.

136 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Program Management and Coordination Strengthen staff numbers, ensure gender balance, and build capacity at decentralized levels: In 2018, as Nepal moved to a highly decentralized, federal system for governance and management of public service delivery, it was agreed among EGRP’s leadership (in consultation with USAID) that EGRP should add staff at the district level to enable more effective support for capacity development at the local level, which had become the new nexus for basic education management. District Program Officers were hired—one for each district—to complement existing District Coordinators and to focus on capacity building and support across localities within each district. Although this staffing realignment helped, the overall feedback from the team was that even after the addition of these District Program Officers, the program was understaffed at the decentralized level, and that it was difficult to recruit female staff in many localities. In addition, ensuring adequate capacity for M&E functions at local levels was a continuous challenge. Any future work will need to introduce concrete strategies to confront the challenges of appropriately staffing program offices at the local level. Innovations could include building more subnational positions into staffing plans and budgets, emphasizing gender equality in hiring decisions, considering internship positions and English language training to enable traditionally excluded women and minorities to gain the professional experience and language skills required for NGO work, and hiring M&E staff at district levels and/or providing additional M&E training for existing staff. Promote stronger alignment across IRs: Program staff consistently advocated that both conceptually and operationally, EGRP would have benefited from more explicit alignment of activities across the IRs. For example, capacity-building work under IR 2 could have focused more on helping districts and localities provide ongoing TPS as follow-up to the training provided under IR 1. In addition, IR 3 activities could have sought to mobilize parents around specific aspects of the instructional changes being supported under IR 1. These recommendations should be taken into account in future program design and staffing configurations, orientations, and capacity-development initiatives. 9 Funds Obligated and Dispersed As of EGRP’s end in 2020, the obligated amount of funds was $44,904,773, of which a total of $42,399,814 had been disbursed through September 2020. With an expected remaining disbursement of $332,418 for the September invoice and $451,799 for the October invoice and remaining trailing costs, there is an estimated $1,720,742 remaining from the obligated amount. Error! Reference source not found. provides further details.

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 137 Table 21: Summary of funds obligated and disbursed (in US$) Item Amount Notes Obligated amount Funds disbursed to date Disbursements current as of October 28, 2020 Invoiced, not yet disbursed September invoice pending disbursement Estimated October actuals and trailing costs

Total to be disbursed

10 Summary of Grant Implementation and Appraisal EGRP, with support from partner organizations, executed three types of grants: Advocacy and media mobilization grants, community mobilization grants, and SMC grants. The grants were implemented for two purposes: (1) to increase community awareness and parental involvement in children’s reading and literacy through advocacy and media campaigns, and (2) to develop the capacity of parents and SMCs/PTAs to raise the quality of reading instruction in schools. Partner NGO Grants EGRP partnered with Equal Access Nepal to conduct social and behavior change communication activities, media campaigns, and radio programs and jingles in six districts of Cohort 1. Similarly, EGRP partnered with 15 organizations (1 national-level, and 14 district- based) to implement national advocacy and media work as well as community mobilization grants in 16 EGRP districts. These grants were implemented in two phases (in Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 districts) as per the EGRP implementation plan. All of the grants were hybrid cost- reimbursement grants (see Table 22 for a list of NGO grants in the 16 districts).

Table 22: Summary of grants Total Coverage expenditure Name of grantee area Program activity (NPR) Digital Broadcast Initiative, Equal Cohort 1 – six SBC communications, Access Nepal districts public relations, advocacy, and media Cohort 1 Backward Society Education Kanchanpur Community mobilization Banke UNESCO Club Banke Community mobilization Chame Youth Group Manang Community mobilization Child Welfare Scheme Nepal Kaski Community mobilization Save the Saptari Saptari Community mobilization Transformation Nepal Bhaktpur Community mobilization

Cohort 2 Backward Society Education Dang Community mobilization

138 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 Total Coverage expenditure Name of grantee area Program activity (NPR) Banke UNESCO Club Bardiya Community mobilization Center for Depressed and Ethnic Surkhet Community mobilization Development Human Rights Social Awareness and Dhnakuta Community mobilization Development Center Nepal Loo Niva Child Concern Group Dadedhulda Community mobilization Multi-Purpose Development Society Kailali Community mobilization Seto Gurans Child Development Rupandehi Community mobilization Service Rupandehi Social Organization DCC, Parsa Parsa Community mobilization Step Nepal (Paila Nepal) Mustang Community mobilization Sustainable and Equitable Dolpa Community mobilization Development Academy Total

EGRP, jointly with the government stakeholders and USAID, also developed a scope of work and followed a rigorous competitive process, including disseminating Expressions of Interest and Requests for Applications to onboard partner organizations for the execution and management of grants. Before awarding grant agreements, EGRP used a pre-award assessment tool to determine each potential grantee’s risk level, and an organizational capacity assessment tool to assess ability to manage the grants. Based on the pre-award assessment of partner NGOs on technical and financial management aspects, EGRP offered a range of post-award onsite support to enhance their capacity. EGRP’s technical team trained NGO staff on programmatic deliverables, the M&E team built their capacity in M&E, and the grants team supported them with grants oversight and financial management. Likewise, the EGRP team provided field-level support to assure the quality of planned activities. EGRP established a comprehensive mechanism for grants review and monitoring to ensure proper use of funds as well as high-quality, timely implementation of program activities. The EGRP grants team conducted monthly financial reviews, including verification of expenditures, documentation, and financial compliance. The EGRP team also visited each grantee organization in person to ensure high-quality management and delivery of the activities, both technically and financially. Likewise, the EGRP grants team collected scanned financial documents—such as bills and vouchers—at the EGRP central offices to verify expenses. This combination of periodic financial reviews, onsite visits, and remote verification supported grantees to enhance their skills in financial management and documentation. In addition, EGRP offered multiple periodic capacity-building opportunities to NGO partners, covering technical and financial management topics, to strengthen their organizational capacity. As a result, the NGO partners were able to successfully administer their grants, document their work, and implement their program activities. SMC Grants As a part of building the capacity of SMCs and PTAs to support high-quality reading instruction in schools, EGRP, jointly with the government stakeholders and USAID, designed

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 139 and implemented SMC grants in 1,500 schools in 16 districts (see Table 23 for numbers of schools that received SMC grants and their subsequent budget expenditure, by district). The specific objectives of SMC grants were to strengthen or increase parental involvement in schools, to create more opportunities for children and parents to read and learn together, and to generate opportunities for children to use reading materials after school. EGRP used fixed- amount awards as the SMC grant type.

Table 23: SMC grant-recipient schools and budget expenditures, by district

Number of SMCs No. District receiving grants Total expenditure (NPR) Cohort 1 1 Banke 103 2 Bhaktapur 40 3 Kanchanpur 72 4 Kaski 107 5 Manang 7 6 Saptari 111

Total 440 Cohort 2 7 Bardiya 95 8 Dadeldhura 79 9 Dang 134 10 Dhankuta 94 11 Dolpa 36 12 Kailali 179 13 Mustang 18 14 Parsa 115 15 Rupandehi 151 16 Surkhet 159

Total 1,060 Grand total 1,500

EGRP, together with USAID, supported the GON to prepare an SMC grants implementation strategy. Aspects covered included the targeted number of schools, the process for selecting schools, and a list of activities approved to be conducted using SMC grants. Because of the requirements specific to managing SMC grants, EGRP developed a separate SMC grants implementation and management guideline. It contained defined forms and formats to be used for planning, implementing, documenting, and reporting. Likewise, the SMC grants guideline included a list of approved activities and their implementation procedures, the process for awarding grants, and roles and responsibilities of different parties. EGRP facilitated rollout of the SMC grants-management strategy at the district level,

140 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 involving DCTs and members of district and local governments. The DCTs finalized the list of 440 schools in the six Cohort 1 districts and 1,060 schools in the 10 Cohort 2 districts (see Table 23). EGRP, in coordination with the district and local governments, trained SMCs as well as school administrations on the concept of school-focused grants, implementation procedures, expected outcomes, and compliance expectations. Furthermore, EGRP, together with the NGO partners, provided onsite technical support as the SMCs conducted their grants activities, documented their own progress, and prepared and submitted the required reports. For quality assurance, the EGRP conducted three rounds of meetings with each school that had been proposed to receive a grant. At the first meeting, the school administrations received support to finalize their grant application, including choosing activities and verifying the final budget. At the two follow-up meetings, the EGRP grants team reviewed with the schools the status of their grants and any issues that were hindering program implementation. The staff of NGO partners attended many of the SMCs’ grants activities and provided technical support to them, which was a key strategy that EGRP adopted for quality assurance purposes. Additionally, to ensure adequate and efficient documentation, EGRP practiced a multi-level review system. First, the SMC grant-recipient schools shared photographs, attendance sheets, meeting minutes, and other supplementary documents as evidence of program implementation and the subsequent impact. Next, the EGRP district team reviewed the documents and forwarded them to the regional team. After its review, the regional team sent paperwork on to EGRP’s central office for a final quality assurance assessment. The multiple checks significantly minimized gaps and errors in the final products. Approximately 30% of schools in each district received an SMC grant valued at (about ). Through workshops and review meetings, federal, district, and local governments, as well as schools, communities, and parents, shared positive feedback on the grant-funded activities, the transparent and accountable management approach, and the noticeable impact on beneficiaries.

11 Conclusions Over the course of more than 5 years of implementation, EGRP successfully met its goals of improving the reading skills of public primary school students in grades 1–3 and demonstrating an EGR model that could be scaled up throughout the country to support NEGRP. The program’s impact evaluation identified significant increases in reading skills, with gains comparable to those achieved in other similar USAID-supported reading programs around the world. EGRP also supported Nepal’s journey to self-reliance by strengthening citizen, civil society, and government capacity to improve EGR outcomes. At the same time, EGRP contributed a large body of new knowledge about the best ways to strengthen EGR in Nepal, generating important lessons for the future that can be applied both in the country and globally. The most critical areas to consider going forward are twofold. First, Nepal’s education system must ensure that teachers have the support needed to fully apply the model of EGR instruction developed with EGRP’s technical assistance, and effectively adapt it for L2 learners. EGRP’s impact evaluation findings suggested that the

EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 141 EGR model promoted by the program reached a plateau, leading to improvements up to a certain level, after which greater instructional changes were required in order to continue substantially transforming children’s reading outcomes. In addition, the impact evaluation highlighted that children started from a very low skill base in general, and that the EGR model was notably successful in advancing learners beyond foundational levels but did not lead to widespread increases in fluent reading with comprehension. The evaluation findings also underscored that L1 students benefited more from EGR interventions than their L2 peers, which, despite some improvements for L2 learners, was a persistent gap that the program had not fully surmounted by endline. These findings pointed to the need to push for greater fidelity of implementation and time spent on task when further rolling out the EGR model through the new integrated curriculum. The low skill levels across the board indicated a role for strengthening the foundations of reading earlier than grade 1, through improved pre-primary access and quality. In addition, considerably larger investments will be required beyond the initial promising steps that EGRP was able to take in developing instructional resources for L2 learners and piloting an approach to mother tongue as a subject in the early primary grades. EGRP-supported monitoring and research also identified the critical importance of reviewing and strengthening the TPS system, expanding on local innovations in teacher support and coaching that took place post-decentralization. In the continued absence of strong and consistent TPS, it will be difficult for the Nepali education system to overcome the plateau effect in student reading outcomes that the impact evaluation uncovered. At the same time, EGRP’s research pointed to the need for addressing systemic constraints to teacher performance and innovation, including issues related to permanency in teacher status, teacher motivation, and mismatches between the languages spoken by teachers and their students. Second, to sustain and expand on the gains engendered through EGRP, decentralized government structures, schools, and communities must have the capacity to roll out NEGRP nationally with fidelity to the original strategy but with contextualization to local realities. EGRP’s experience clearly highlighted that an instructional model, however evidence-based and effective, cannot sustain or scale itself. Instead, that model must be matched by considerable capacity investments at all levels of governance. Districts, local governments, and schools that have yet to implement NEGRP will require orientation and capacity development in planning, budgeting for, and rolling out at least the minimum package of NEGRP investments. At the same time, the 16 districts that EGRP supported will require deepened technical assistance in areas such as TPS and the use of assessment and IEMIS data for decision making in order to maintain the improvements they realized over the life of the program. EGRP’s research and monitoring system identified that local governments will need to commit to allocating their own resources to fund innovations and improvements in TPD and coaching and mentoring at a much larger scale than current levels, learning from others who have done so successfully. At the same time, the additional resources must be bolstered by the capacity—and human resource base—to manage and be accountable for those investments. As EGRP came to a close in 2020, the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic underlined the importance of technology-based solutions to ensure that children

142 EGRP in Nepal, Final Progress Report, March 2015–October 2020 can continue learning even in the face of widespread disruptions to the “business as usual” model of education service delivery. Lastly, EGRP experience pointed out that improvements in systemic capacity must be coupled with heightened demand creation for improved reading outcomes among parents, community members, policy makers, and elected officials. The program catalyzed substantial interest—as well as notable levels of resource allocation—for EGR among local governments. This is a testament to the potential for an integrated, multi-stakeholder EGR model to continue improving children’s reading outcomes well into the future, if there is both a way and a will.

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