How Citizens in Mozambique and Botswana are Improving Learning Outcomes of their Children

A comparative analysis of how the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach is implemented in Mozambique and Botswana

By: Armando Ali, Facilidade – ICDS, TPC Moçambique Project

1. Introduction “Eithiema, eithiemaaa

Thum, thum, thum, thum thum,

I am touched”1

Yes. I am touched by the simplicity and the contagiousness of citizens actions for learning that are happening in Mozambique and Botswana. In both countries, civil society organizations, Facilidade-ICDS2 and Young 1ove3, are leading and implementing innovative actions that are improving learning outcomes of school age children.

This paper aims to analyze and compare the implementation context of these actions focusing on how government engagement and school infrastructure is shaping the design, implementation and results of both initiatives.

Both located in the southern Africa region, Botswana and Mozambique have significant socio economic and political differences. In 2017, Botswana ranked at 5th place in Africa and 76th in the world in terms of GDP per capita while Mozambique ranked at 49th place in Africa and 186th in the world4. However, both countries have almost achieved universal access to education with very high rates of enrolment in primary school. According to the World Bank 2014, public investment in education in Botswana is high, reaching more than 9% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Primary school enrollment in the country stands at 90%, and in the last five years, this has assisted the government’s drive to achieve universal basic education and has resulted in between 96-100% of students continuing on to secondary education. In Mozambique, the enrolment rate in primary school was 97% in 2014 (UNICEF, 2014). However, 50% of children enrolled in primary school do not finish it (EPDC 2014).

Since its independence in 1964, Botswana lives in a political stable environment with regular elections and multiparty democracy. Mozambique got its Independence in 1975. Despite 16 years of civil war that followed Independence, Mozambique has experienced long-lasting peace since 1992 and regular multiparty elections every 5 years since 1994. Sporadic political and military conflict have taken place since 2013 between the government and former rebel movement but this have had little effect in global figures of learning outcomes in the country.

1 A very strong way that Young 1ove team uses to call attention, recognize, retribute someone’s statement, action or reflection. 2 www.facilidadeicds.org 3 www.young1ove.org 4 Source: statisticstimes.com accessed on October 8th 2018 Learning outcomes are very low both in Botswana and Mozambique, with Mozambique recording the lowest outcomes. We used citizen-led assessment data produced in both countries to make the comparison.5 Taking grade 5 pupils as a reference in both countries, we found striking findings. In literacy, 4 in 10 grade 5 children cannot read a simple grade 2 story in Botswana while in Mozambique 8 out of 10 children could not read a grade 2 story. Only 20% of children in grade 5 could not read a paragraph in Botswana while 54 % of children in Mozambique could not read a paragraph. In arithmetic, the situation is also striking. In Botswana, only 1 in 10 grade 5 children can do division while in Mozambique, almost 4 out of 10 grade 5 pupils can do division. Seemingly, 32% of grade 5 pupils in Botswana could not do subtraction while in Mozambique, the percentage stood at 73%.

These dismal findings inspired civil society actors to take action. Both Facilidade6 and Young 1ove adopted interventions based on TaRL approach to contribute to the solution of the learning crises in their countries. TaRL is a remedial education program which is an evidence-based intervention developed by Pratham in India and has improved learning outcomes for almost 50 million students. The approach involves evaluating students using a simple assessment tool and then grouping them according to their learning level rather than age or grade. Teaching students at their ability and not at grade level has shown to be one of the most cost-effective approaches to improve basic literacy and numeracy.

2. Intervention models “Concentration is the game, keep the rhythm if you can”7

In 2018, both Botswana and Mozambique implemented their pilot phase of the TaRL approach. The objective of the pilot was to justify that the concept can be adapted to different contexts. The common traits of the experiences of implementing the pilot are that both are citizen-led, are applied to grade 4 pupils and use TaRL approach. However, informed by specificities of the context, the experiences have some differences that are synthesized in the table below.

Criteria Botswana Mozambique Where In public schools, using school In public schools, using school premises, resources and premises, resources and infrastructure infrastructure. Some classes take place under the trees due to shortage of classrooms When After school (one to two hours During school time, integrated in the per day) subject of Language and mathematics, two to three hours a day By whom Young 1ove facilitator Grade 4 teachers and facilitators recruited by Facilidade Subjects Mathematics Both reading (Portuguese language) and mathematics Duration 30 days 50 days

5 Citizen led assessment is based on pratham and UWEZO experience that used simple to understand tests, conducted on a one to one basis, at the household, to see if children can read and do basic arithmetic. Data from Mozambique are based on a pilot assessment conducted in 2016 by Facilidade ICDS in 23 districts of Nampula province. Data from Botswana are based on the baseline assessment conducted by Young 1ove before the numeracy interventions in 2018. 6 Facilidades’ action model takes the designation of Wichutha Nituelaca meaning Fun Learning. 7 A common icebreaker that was used by Young 1ove facilitators during TaRL activities.

3. Government involvement and support Education is traditionally seen as the government’s responsibility. Education systems are often top down structured, working with commands from the top (National laws, national curriculum and central government commands and directives) with little autonomy of the schools to decide what teaching methods and practices should be implemented. Although in both cases schools are gaining more management autonomy, interventions related to teaching and learning methods require approval from the top. This is the case both in Botswana and Mozambique. However, although senior officials from the ministry of education may show willingness to introduce alternative methods, they face the bureaucracy, and this slows down the processes. Piloting is one of the most recurred alternative to prove the efficacy of some methods and practices. Facilidade and Young 1ove have invested from the beginning to get government involved in the initiative. They involved government officials in the test development, invited teachers to see and participate in the activities with the pupils, trained the teacher about the method encouraged anyone to try do it themselves. It is easy to see that in both countries the ministry of education has shown willingness to see and to understand how this approach can effectively increase learning outcomes of the pupils.

In Botswana, the government opened the doors to Young 1ove to experiment this approach in 40 public schools but only as after school activities which are conducted by Young 1ove facilitators. Every school appointed a contact person to oversee and follow-up the process. When the first results were released, the government showed interest in providing paid trained teachers to the program. Some schools took the initiative and contacted Young 1ove to train their teachers on the use of the TaRL approach. The government is clearly open to see, learn and integrate the approach in the education system. Simon Coles, representing the ministry of education of Botswana said on 25th September 2018 that, teachers are the crucial element to change the system and establish a teaching mechanism by which pupils can learn.

In Mozambique, the government offered unwavering support that allowed the pilot to be conducted within the normal school time, using the time allocated for Portuguese language and mathematics. The government supported inclusion of teachers from the beginning to have human resource that can potentially duplicate the method in other grades and schools. This openness is, in my opinion, both a result of the acknowledgement of the ongoing learning crises and the willingness to solve the problem as soon as possible.

4. School infrastructure

4.1 The “Hardware” School infrastructure is mentioned as one of the necessary inputs to improve learning outcomes. Having studied under the trees for some years, I would not position this in the top three most relevant factors. However, school facilities have a lot to say about how we prioritize education.

Primary schools in Botswana are remarkable. The buildings are wide, fresh, clean and full of Teaching and learning materials. They follow the same pattern all over the country. They have fences, toilets and students can have a meal if they stay at school for afternoon activities. If one was to judge the education system in Botswana by the primary school infrastructure, one would say it is one of the best in Africa. None of the stakeholders we met during the field work in Gaborone complained about it. The teacher pupil ratio in the intervention schools is 1 to 30 at most. School infrastructure in Mozambique is a big constrain. Thopuitho, where Wichutha Nithuelaca is being piloted is not a good representation of the reality. A mining company that is operating in this district, built schools in the entire locality (Posto Administrativo) and equipped with chairs. However, in rural areas, schools are mainly built in mud, covered with grass and do not have chairs. Even so, 4 out of 13 groups doing TaRL in Larde district are having their activities under trees. The average teacher pupil ratio in the targeted classes is 1:45.8

1.1. The software Apart from the buildings and school material, there is one key factor that differentiates Mozambique and Botswana in this field: quality of primary teachers. This seems to be the most relevant in all strategy and approach that Mozambique has to deal with while thinking in scaling up the approach. In preparation for the pilot, 18 teachers of grade 3 and 4 were subjected to the same test that is administered to pupils to find their level. The results are shocking:

. 16.6% of teachers could not read a simple story. . 11.1% could not do simple addition. . 22.2% could not do simple subtraction. . 5.5% could not do multiplication and . 11.1% could not do division.

One of the assessed teachers failed 7 out of 12 basic operations. Four teachers failed 2 or more operations. Yet, these teachers have 10 years of schooling plus one or three of teacher training. Some teachers could not do mental calculations and used sticks to do the operations in the same way that children do. Teacher quality was never put on the spot in Botswana.

2. Lessons learned from the pilots NAMANKHUEMA, YEEE!

Cahirowa opasari, Yee!

Quinpuanha ncunha, Yee!

Othela maihi, Yee!

Oirale wiiira, Yee!

Anamuane ala assomeque, Yee!

Niineque etoropa, Yee! Niineque etoropa, Yee! Niineque etoropa, Yee!9

Citizen actions for learning implemented both in Botswana and Mozambique are clearly offering important lessons for both the government and the people. Learning outcomes of involved children are increasing and definitively showing that the current learning crises can be tackled.

In Mozambique for instance, the number of grade 4 pupils who could not recognize even letters dropped from 56.2% to 30.2% in the first 15 days. In the same period, the number of pupils who

8 However, there are some classes with 120 pupils. 9 A very energetic icebreaker used by teachers and facilitators during Wichutha Nithuelaca activities in Mozambique. could read words increased from 14.7% to 25%. In Arithmetic, the number of pupils who could do addition increased from 22.9% to 50.4%.

At the end of 40 days, the results were impressive:

. The number of children who can make addition more than doubled. Only 23 out of 100 children could do simple addition operations at the baseline. With Whichutha Nithuelaca, in 40 days of activities, 52 out of 100 children can do simple addition. . There are 6 times more children who can do subtraction operations at the end line. The number of pupils doing subtraction increased from 4.1% to 25.9%. . About 2 out of 10 children could do simple multiplication operations at the beginning of the project. After 40 days, about 6 out of 10 children can do them. . Increased by more than 10 times the number of children who can do simple division operations. At the baseline, only 6.5% of the pupils could do division. This percentage rose exponentially to 70.8%.

In Botswana, in 15 days, we have seen the number of beginner students down by 1/3 with the group moving from 143 students at baseline to 60 students at midline. The division group almost tripled with students 54 students at baseline to 156 students at midline. In addition, we have seen 65% of students moving up one operation level. After 30 days of intervention the results were even better:

. Majority of students shifted from lower levels to higher levels

The vast majority of students before the intervention (84.7%) were at the Beginner, Addition or Subtraction level. After the intervention, this number was reduced by roughly half to 43% and the majority of students (67.6%) were evaluated at either the Multiplication or Division level.

. Few students unable to do any operations after intervention

The number of students unable to perform any basic mathematical operations (those in the Beginner level) decreased by 64.8% after the full 30-day intervention. At Baseline, 26.2% students were at the Beginner level, while a mere 9.2% students were still performing at the Beginner level by the end of the intervention.

. Plurality of students performed at division level after intervention

Before TaRL implementation, only 9.2% of students were performing at the Division level, the minimum Botswana curriculum expectation. After the 30-day intervention, this number quadrupled, and 36.9% students were performing at the desired Division level, making it the level at which the largest number of students performed at Endline.

Conclusion

There are more and more actors showing interest on citizen’s actions for learning. Both governments and cooperation agencies are interested in learning from this approach and scaling it up. This momentum demands a strong joint action from CLA countries within PAL Network to come up with regional programs that can leverage the debate. The network’s regional hubs can be the platform by which citizens from different countries can make a strong contribution providing alternative policies or practices with proven capacity to increase learning outcomes and effectively contribute to SDG4. Joint actions leaded by the regional hubs could provide evidences from different countries and bust the voice of individual organizations within the countries. With this, in country debates could be informed by regional data. Official discourses from Zambia and Botswana show that there is room for scaling up the intervention programs. Scaling up does not only mean adoption by the governments, It means embracing in a mid to long-term engagement between governments, donors and civil society to “infest” the education systems with the TaRL spirit. Teacher training, material development, improvement of school governance and local accountability are important ingredients to sustain the changes we want to be and see.