Education Program

Guided by the Education Sector Plan 2022-2026 of the government of Sierra Leone, whose overarching goal is to improve learning outcomes for all children and youths and the P4 agenda, DCI-SL’s education program equally aims at building the foundational literacy and numeracy acumen of rural primary and junior secondary school students in order to improve their learning outcomes. In both 2023 and 2024, the program targeted 19 rural schools in Bo, Bombali, Kenema and Pujehun Districts.

Interventions
With special focus on driving foundational learning of students, DCI-SL
• Provided training and regular coaching for all the teachers at the targeted schools,
• Strengthened schools governance systems
• Mobilized community support towards the schools,
• Organised bi-weekly life skills sessions for the students,
• Increased number of children with disability benefiting from the project by targeting special needs schools that provide education for children with disabilities including those with hearing impairment or suffering from blindness
• Strengthened the relationship between the schools and the government (both Ministry of Education and the Teaching Service Commission).
• Supported after school study group sessions especially targeting students with no study facility at home
• Supported school to organised extra curricula activities including games and sport, debate, quiz and drama competitions
Achievements
• These interventions have been promising and have contributed significantly towards improving the pedagogical competencies of teachers and learning outcomes of the students. In two years (between September 2023 and May April 2024) DCI trained and repeatedly coached 157 teachers (62% male and 38% female) and 2% are with disability from 20 schools. Both DCI’s monitoring and continues teachers’ assessment data and project evaluation data show that on average over 80% of the teachers at the primary and 83% at the secondary school are now good at using the DCI’s child centered methodology to teach. At the beginning of the project only 20% of teachers in primary schools and 23% of teachers at the secondary schools had relatively good knowledge and skills in applying child centered teaching methodology.
• In 2023, about 5616 students benefited from the project. By 2024, the number rose to 6115 students (50.9% girls, 49.1% boys and 3.2%with disability). Due to the use of improve child centred methodology, learning outcomes of the students have been steadily increasing. The recent evaluation study of this project reveals that there is a considerable increase in foundational literacy abilities among students of the primary schools from 14% or less to 65% or more, whilst those with foundational numeracy abilities increased from an average of 23% to an average of 64.5%. Similarly, at the junior secondary schools, the percentage of students with basic foundational literacy abilities has increased from 14% (baseline) to 70% whilst those with basic foundational numeracy abilities have increased from 32% to 66%.
• Furthermore, all the 20 schools covered now have functional school governing bodies such as the School Management Committees, Board and Community Teachers Associations (CTAs) meeting regularly and playing their roles despite of their own challenges and shortfalls including low commitment of some of the members.