ACTIVITY_DESCRIPTION__FOR_LARA.pdf

SECTION A - ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

A.1 Introduction

The purpose of the Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity is to address literacy and retention issues in an additional 28 districts in Uganda by geographically expanding the Early Grade Reading EGR) methodology developed by USAID/Uganda’s current School Health and Reading Program on behalf of the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) as the national early grade reading approach and is being scaled up by MoES to 27 districts through a Global Partnership for Education (GPE) grant. The School Health and Reading Program is implementing the EGR methodology in 30 districts, with an additional four control districts. The Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity will further expand the EGR methodology to approach a national rollout of the methodology (see Attachment F).

The Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity will contribute to the achievement of Development Objective 3 (DO3) of USAID/Uganda’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy. The Activity will address DO3’s IR3.1.3: Health Seeking Behaviors and Demand for Quality Services Increased, and two IR3.1.3 outcomes- Expected Outcome 7: “Increased children and youth access to quality social, psychological, economic, and protective services” and Expected Outcome 8: “Improved reading at grade level.”1

The activity is expected to reach up to 1.0 million learners and train 11,000 teachers in the EGR methodology in approximately 3,300 schools based on MoES data from targeted districts.2 The activity will also contribute to Goal 1 of USAID’s worldwide education strategy: “Improved reading skills for 100 million children in primary grades by 2015,” and Goal 3.1 “Safe learning spaces for children and youth provided.” Thus, the activity will focus on the three key areas identified in USAID’s education strategy:

(1) improving teacher effectiveness, (2) increasing availability and use of reading materials, and (3) strengthening classroom and school management. The activity stems from USAID’s research and experience that demonstrates education is both foundational to sustainable human development and critically linked to broad economic development, health, and democratic governance.3

A.2 Activity Description

A.2.1 Background

In 1997, Uganda introduced Universal Primary Education (UPE), and there was a sharp rise in primary enrollment from a pre-UPE number of about 2.5 million to 8.1 million in 2011. This remarkable increase in enrollment was viewed as a major success, both because of the inclusion of the “most vulnerable and disadvantaged children” as well as the achievement of gender parity in access to primary education.4 While access is a “crucial pre-condition,” the quality of education matters more---access alone does not contribute to development goals.5

Uganda is confronted by a number of challenges in primary education:

1 DO3 Project Appraisal Document, USAID Uganda, p. 11.

2 Uganda Education Statistical Abstract, 2011, Ministry of Education and Sports, pp. 109-111. This information will be validated and revised as needed by the Recipient in a remapping exercise at the beginning of the activity.

3 USAID Education Strategy, 2011, pp. 10, 27-29.

4 Countdown to 2015: Is Uganda on Track? Assessment of Progress to Attainment of EFA Goals in Uganda, Uganda National Commission for UNESCO: 2012, pp. 1, 12.

5 USAID Strategy, p. 2.

• Very low literacy rates- Primary students are often not learning to read. The Uwezo6 Report of

2012 states that “only one out of every 10 children assessed in P3 was able to read a P2 level story.” Further, “only 3 out of 10 of all” P3 through P7 “children assessed nationwide were able to read and understand a Primary 2 level story text. Unsurprisingly, a majority of the children having these skills were in Primary 7.” Both reading fluency (words read per minute) and reading comprehension were reported to be very low in English and in local languages, with many students unable to answer even one reading comprehension question after reading a story. The Uwezo Report and another study done by USAID’s School Health and Reading Program found no significant gender differences in primary-grades reading achievement.7

• Low primary survival rates- The primary survival rate is the percentage of pupils starting grade one who reach the last grade of primary school and is a Millennium Development Goals (MDG) indicator under universal primary education. Uganda’s recent primary survival rates as reported on the MDG indicators website were 2008- 37.8%; 2009- 31.8%; and 2010- 24.8%.8 Another study reported similar percentages: 2007- 29%; 2009- 29%; and 2011- 31%, with almost no difference between boys and girls.9

• Weak teaching-of-reading practices- Of 69 P1 classes surveyed in one study, only one had local language reading materials, and teachers did not have a systematic approach to teaching reading. Often, teachers would drill letters without teaching the corresponding sounds the letters represent, and 45% of lessons were taught without a lesson plan. 94% of teachers said they needed reading materials; training was the second most requested support.10

• Unsafe School Environment- A 2013 UNICEF Research Briefing commissioned by the

Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) reported the following:

Abuse is common in schools: A range of mistreatment and violent and non-consensual behaviors were found to be common occurrences in schools. A large share of children (81 per cent) in the sample understood and depicted numerous forms of violence that they had experienced at school, including sexual abuse and physical and psychological abuse;

many of the children interviewed (68 per cent) said teachers were the main perpetrators of violence in schools, followed by fellow pupils (30.4 per cent).

Sexual abuse: Some 77.7 per cent of the primary school children and 82 per cent of the secondary school students surveyed reported having experienced sexual abuse at school;

51 per cent of victims were aged between 10 and 13 years and 40.6 per cent between 14 and 17. Some 5.9 per cent of children [were] found to have been subjected to defilement.

The interview asked about sexual abuse perpetrated by teachers and peers. Teachers were repeatedly reported to be the major perpetrators of abuse: 67 per cent of children said they were sexually abused by male teachers.

6 “Uwezo” is the Kiswahili word for “capability.”

7 Are Our Children Learning? Annual Learning Assessment Report, Uwezo-Uganda: 2012, pp.3-5, 13; and The Status of Early Grade Reading Support to Primary School Teachers to Teach Reading in Uganda, USAID/Uganda School Health and Reading Activity: 2013, pp. 1-3.

8 http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/SeriesDetail.aspx?srid=591 9 Is Uganda on Track? p. 25.

10 Status of Early Grade Reading, p. 4.

http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/SeriesDetail.aspx?srid=591

Other findings regarding safety in the school environment included severe corporal punishment, lack of mechanisms for reporting violence, and risks to physical safety and security.11

A.2.2 USAID Engagement in Uganda’s Education Sector

USAID has been a strong development partner of Uganda since the 1960s, providing support to the education sector through a number of mechanisms. Current and recent education initiatives include:

• The Education Management Information System (EMIS) was developed to strengthen MoES data collection by building a comprehensive data management system that provides information for analysis and decision-making. USAID provided support for the software development of the EMIS system and training at the central level. Most recently USAID support expanded the EMIS decentralized data management by providing district level software and hardware, training and connecting district-level education offices in all 112 districts and five municipalities to MoES at the central level.

• USAID/Uganda’s School Health and Reading Program is a five-year activity designed to support MoES to improve the reading ability of primary grade children and improve HIV/AIDS knowledge and health seeking behaviors among adolescents. Since May, 2012, the activity has been using a systems reform approach and working through the MoES Teacher Development and Management System (TDMS) to support reading interventions in 3,300 schools in 30 districts by building capacity at central, district and school levels. Capacity building efforts include enabling Primary Teacher Colleges to train college tutors, Coordinating Center tutors, teachers, and head teachers effectively to teach reading. The activity is also working with the National Curriculum Development Center to strengthen Language Boards and develop grade-specific reading instructional materials for students in English and 12 local languages, and teachers’ guides in English. Finally the program is strengthening the support supervision system, developing observation tools and training District Education Officers and supervisors to carry out effective school and classroom visits. By 2015, the activity will have developed orthographies and materials in all 12 local languages and English, trained approximately 11,000 teachers and provided improved reading instruction to almost 800,000 pupils. The program also supports the development of Uganda’s National Early Grade Literacy Strategy by utilizing Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) data and providing technical support to MoES counterparts on strategy, policy discussions, and service delivery. Follow-up EGRA assessments in the cohort 1 intervention schools demonstrate very positive results in reading improvement as compared to control schools.

• Other partners operating in Uganda’s education sector include a number of major international donors working through the Education Development Partners (EDP) group. The EDP group has enabled partners to adopt a common voice for interaction with the government on education topics, and expect to continue the partnership as USAID assumes the chair of the group in January, 2015. EDP members worked with MoES to successfully submit a $100 million proposal for a Global Partnership for Education (GPE) grant.. In August, 2014, Uganda’s $100 million GPE grant was signed and $39 million was set aside to improve teacher and school effectiveness in the government primary education system.

The working development hypothesis for this activity is if USAID/Uganda supports primary-grade literacy and complementary retention interventions, to be specifically defined by data collected early in

11 Assessing Child Protection, Safety, and Security Issues for Children in Ugandan Primary and Secondary Schools, UNICEF:

2013, p. 2.

the activity, and works through MoES systems at all levels to strengthen their capacity to sustain EGR methodology implementation at scale, then better quality educational services will become more accessible, higher literacy levels will be achieved, and primary retention rates will increase, providing foundational support to broad-based economic growth and health outcomes.12

A.2.3 Intended Results

The overarching purpose of the Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity is to improve the reading skills of primary-grade learners in government schools in Uganda through the scale-up of the EGR methodology approved by the MoES. The activity aims to improve literacy by supporting interventions that (1) improve key aspects of reading skills in both English and 3 of the 12 selected local languages in the early primary grades, and (2) improve the year-to-year retention of learners in the primary grades through safe school environments. It is expected that primary learners, over time, will demonstrate improved reading skills at grade level, and complete the primary school cycle. The activity is intended to be an integral part of the government primary grades literacy strategy, along with the School Health and Reading Program and the MoES/GPE EGR interventions. The assumptions of the activity are:

1. The activity will achieve lasting impact by concentrating resources on specific high impact interventions in 28 key focus districts that complement the government’s GPE-funded literacy initiative and USAID’s School Health and Reading Program. Together, these three programs will cover 85 of Uganda’s 112districts using a common EGR methodology.

2. The Government of Uganda through the MoES will commit to maintaining or raising the national allocations for education to ensure funding is sufficient for sustainability of the national implementation of reading activities and measures of student achievement.

3. USAID’s financial support, technical inputs, and development diplomacy will help institutionalize permanent reforms in Uganda’s education system, positively influence the enabling environment, and promote effective teaching practices at the classroom level, in support of improving national reading outcomes for early grade readers.

Activity Results Framework

12 USAID Strategy, p. 2.

Activity Objective: Increased reading skills for 1.0 million students.

Result 1: Improved reading skills in 3 local languages and English for early primary grade learners.

Result 2: Improved retention in primary grades.

IR 2.1: Improved classroom management.

IR 2.2: Increased school, community, youth and parental involvement in promoting retention and safety in and around schools.

IR 2.3: Strengthened existing child protection and referral systems IR 2.4: Improved capacity of MoES and the education system to sustain retention interventions

IR 1.1: Improved capacity of MoES and education system to sustain the national roll-out of the EGR methodology.

IR 1.2: Improved reading skills for learners in P1-P4.

IR 1.3: Improved supervisory support and mentorship for primary teachers.

IR 1.4: Increased community, youth and household level involvement in promoting literacy attainment.

Result 1: Improved reading skills in 3 local languages and English for primary grade learners.

The Recipient will scale-up and implement the EGR methodology in 28 districts. This will include training teachers, tutors, and district officials, providing support supervision for teachers, as well as printing and distributing teacher and pupil reading materials13 in 3 local languages and English. Special emphasis will be placed on collecting data and information on Primary 4, the transition year from local language to English. The program will collect and analyze information on key factors contributing to a successful transition from the use of the local language to English as the main means of gaining academic information and skills. Increased reading comprehension will be the focus of P4 interventions. The Recipient will continue to strengthen MoES support-supervision processes to ensure teachers receive sufficient support as they put into practice the newly acquired teaching methodologies in the classroom.

Additionally, the Recipient will develop and carry out community and household level interventions to promote literacy in communities and at homes by mobilizing youth and family members. This activity will complement the current capacity development work of the USAID/Uganda School Health and Reading Program by focusing its efforts of capacity development for effective sustainability of the national implementation of the EGR methodology.

Indicators: The Recipient will use relevant standard foreign (F) assistance indicators from the below list and select other F indicators if needed. The Recipient will develop, in coordination with USAID, other indicators as needed to support the Recipient’s technical approach and the program’s ability to undergo an impact evaluation.

• Number of textbooks and other teaching and learning materials (TLM) provided with USG assistance. (3.2.1.33)

• Number of learners receiving reading interventions at the primary level. (3.2.1-35)

• Number of teachers/educators/teaching assistants who successfully completed in-service training or received intensive coaching or mentoring with USG support. (3.2.1-31)

• Number of Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) or similar “school” governance structures supported. (3.2.1-18)

• Proportion of students who, by the end of two grades of primary schooling, demonstrate that they can read and understand the meaning of grade level text. (3.2.1-27)

Required Activities:

• Print and distribute teaching materials, teacher manuals, and complementary materials in English and local languages. A remapping exercise will be conducted to verify and revise information from MoES regarding the number of students, schools, and other important information to support the technical approach.

• Train teachers in methodologies for teaching early grade reading and in the use of the teaching materials. Relevant stakeholders at the school, community, Primary Teacher College, district and central levels should be included in trainings.

• Carry out support supervision of teachers in the use of new teaching methods and materials.

• Engage youth, communities, and parents in literacy advocacy activities.

• Conduct Early Grade Reading Assessments (see page 15).

• Technical assistance on financial and systems planning for sustainable provision of literacy services at scale.

13 Instructional materials are being developed by the School Health and Reading Program.

• Other activities will be developed as needed to support the Recipient’s technical approach.

Expected Outcomes

• Up to 1.0 million students in P1-P4 will demonstrate improved reading skills in a local language and English as measured by the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and one or more indicators. [To be developed and quantified by the Recipient]

• MoES budgets aligned to support national level efforts in literacy.

• Trained teacher’s ability to teach reading in the early grades is improved

Result 2: Improved retention in primary grades.

Promoting a safer primary learning environment and improved classroom and school management are expected to increase retention because learners will be able to focus on their lessons and feel secure enough to stay in school. Acquiring a better reading foundation in the lower classes will enable students to engage in purposeful learning in upper primary classes, alleviating feelings of frustration experienced by unsuccessful learners.

The Recipient will execute a rapid assessment in the first 90 days of the award to identify the most important causes of primary students “dropping out,” focusing on critical vulnerabilities for children at schools--special attention will be given to vulnerabilities faced by girls. The activity will use information from the rapid assessment to refine approaches to classroom management practices that will create a safer learning environment and improve retention. The Recipient will propose innovative and culturally appropriate approaches to equip learners with skills to protect themselves from abuse and violence.

Community-based approaches will be developed or strengthened to promote accountability for students’ safety and to improve retention. These interventions must be coordinated with other USG implementing partners working in child protection, as well as relevant health services. Training will be provided for school management committees, teachers, parents, community members, and learners on how to curb gender-based violence and other forms of abuse in the school system. Activities under this component will create safer learning environments for both girls and boys that promote gender-equitable relationships and reduce school-related violence resulting in improved educational outcomes, recognizing that gender-based violence is not a binary concept with girls as victims and boys/men as perpetrators.

Additionally, the Recipient will assess the relationship between safer learning environments and learning.

The following key principles will guide activities under this component:

1. Use a social mobilization approach at multiple levels: national, district, community, school and individual

2. Address three areas of vulnerabilities – prevention, reporting and response

3. Integrate an approach working with men, women, boys and girls as perpetrators, victims, and guardians

4. Work with appropriate authorities and other USG implementing partners to support referrals to protective and health services

5. Coordination and collaboration with relevant USG and non-USG programs, and leveraging support from private sector and public national level efforts

Indicators: The Recipient will use the below standard foreign (F) assistance indicators and select other F indicators if needed. The Recipient will develop, in coordination with USAID, other indicators as needed to support the Recipient’s technical approach, particularly concerning year-to-year enrollment, and the program’s ability to undergo an impact evaluation.

• Number of students enrolled in primary schools and/or equivalent non-school based settings with USG support. (3.2.1-14)

• Number of USG supported schools or learning spaces meeting criteria for safe schools program.

(3.2.1-40)

• Number of teachers and SMCs trained in retention and safe schools approaches.

Required and Illustrative Activities

• Rapid assessment to identify the most important causes of primary students “dropping out,” focusing on critical vulnerabilities for children at schools--special attention will be given to vulnerabilities faced by girls (see A.2.1 – Unsafe School Environment)

• Train School Management Committees or similar structures to advocate and work for retention, child protection, and against violence in and around schools (required)

• Support or develop extracurricular activities that address retention, child protection, and school violence (illustrative)

• Provide training, support supervision, role modeling, and/or mentoring to teachers regarding retention, child protection, and violence in schools (required)

• Develop and implement approaches to strengthen interaction between communities and schools regarding retention, child protection, and violence (illustrative)

• Develop and implement approaches to engage youth in retention, child protection, and violence in and around schools (illustrative)

• Train stakeholders to strengthen community “policing” of areas in and around schools as a child protection intervention (illustrative)

• Training to strengthen existing school referral and reporting systems regarding child protection (illustrative)

• Other activities will be developed if/as needed to support the Recipient’s technical approach.

Expected Outcomes An overall decrease in learners’ exposure to physical and sexual abuse and violence in schools and nearby communities will lead to improved retention for all learners, tracked year-to-year, providing overall support to literacy interventions. Improvements in year-to-year retention are expected after a full program cycle. Overall primary survival rate improvements will not be available during the life of the activity because the seven-year primary school cycle in Uganda is longer than the length of the activity. The Recipient is expected to develop methods to quantify achievements in retention and reduction of vulnerabilities at schools.

A.2.4 Activity Emphases

The activity will be implemented within the context of MoES policy and procedures, with the Recipient coordinating and implementing through government systems at all relevant levels except for procurement.

All major aspects of the program will be transferable to the government.

• Uganda has adopted a curriculum that uses local languages as the medium of instruction in P1-P3, then transitions to English by P4. The curriculum includes the EGR methodology developed by the USAID/Uganda School Health and Reading Program. A crucial component of the activity will be teacher training---teachers must be trained in EGR methodology, including special emphasis on transitioning from local language to English. Training and instructional materials from the USAID/Uganda School Health and Reading Program will be printed and used. It is not expected that the Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity will develop new reading instructional materials.

• Youth have the potential to be “game changers,” yet they are an underutilized resource in the education sector. The program will develop a youth engagement plan as part of the annual work plan to leverage youth enthusiasm and innovation to promote literacy in the community.

• The Recipient will incorporate training and follow-up to the training in classroom management practices that create a safer school environment. During the activity’s 90-day start-up period, a rapid assessment to guide specific programming decisions will be conducted to identify key factors that make schools unsafe and increase vulnerabilities for children, disaggregated by gender. The rapid assessment will verify enrollment by grades in districts and schools, retention rates year-to-year, primary survival rates, and other key data. Also, gender-specific issues will be clarified regarding retention and safe schools, with information on sexual violence and non-sexual violence in and around schools. A carefully documented literature review will be done of selected studies and reports on retention and school safety with an initial overall analysis of the problem and a bibliography of the materials used in the analysis, with comments on their usefulness. The Recipient will analyze the relationship between vulnerabilities at school and retention rates, as well as provide data useful for a long-term approach to retention issues. The Recipient will identify best practices in Uganda that have enabled girls and boys to stay in school, and work with schools, communities, and local leaders to adopt these practices to increase retention. The Recipient will also work with schools and communities to create awareness regarding children’s safety and well-being.

• The activity will implement a social mobilization approach, defined as actions and processes to influence all relevant segments of society to create an enabling environment for learning, for increased reading achievement, and improved retention rates.

• The activity will require buy-in from MoES at the national level and by district-level education officials as well as community leaders. Use of education systems in place such as Primary Teacher Colleges for teacher training and district education officers, inspectors and head teachers for support supervision will be required to strengthen the sustainability of the activity. The retention component will be designed in collaboration with relevant stakeholders including the PTCs and district and local education authorities as well as social workers and para-social workers in communities.

• The retention component will rely on existing systems to engage government, community and school stakeholders on school-related issues of sexual and physical violence, on referrals of students to social protection and health services and in reporting acts of violence against students.

A.3 Activity Monitoring and Evaluation

Project monitoring and evaluation (M&E) will be conducted in accordance with ADS 203 and applicable policy. Performance will be measured against the Activity Monitoring and Learning Plan (AMLP) that will include performance indicators based on standard F indicators, and other indicators as needed. Data will be disaggregated by gender, class level, and age. Selected indicators must be used to measure activity objectives and results and to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. The activity will track a range of appropriate indicators (input, output, outcome) that are relevant for each of its components and consistent with USAID’s performance monitoring and evaluation policies, including using financial data to permit costing and financial analysis. Baseline and endline data must be collected on indicators. The Recipient will identify the approximate dates for data collection, as well as the method, type and source of information to be collected. Best practices will be documented and presented to appropriate forums. The Recipient is expected to work closely with the USAID/Uganda’s evaluation contractor to coordinate, plan and implement a literacy and retention learning agenda as well as prepare for an impact evaluation.

A.4 Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA)

Collaborating: This activity will identify best practices and proven successful interventions including USAID’s Safe Schools Project implemented in Ghana and Malawi, and others within the region. The Recipient will work with USAID/Uganda’s Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) programs to assist School Management Committees to develop and implement safe school plans, and with teachers to identify children who are at risk of dropping out of school. A high degree of collaboration will be especially important with USAID/Uganda’s Governance, Accountability, Participation, and Performance program (GAPP). GAPP is working in a number of districts that the Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity will work in, and both activities will benefit from joint efforts on District Development Plans (see attachment F) and other district-level initiatives.

Learning: The Recipient will conduct an initial rapid assessment under component 2 and use the assessment information in the start-up activities of the program. The Recipient will coordinate closely with MoES, UNICEF, and other organizations regarding violence against children in schools, in view of the planned MoES national strategy regarding school violence. Data assessment and analysis through EGRA will continue throughout the activity. The Recipient will loop new learning and performance information back into the program strategy to inform program management, design USG-GOU policy dialogue opportunities. Additionally, data will be collected and analyzed by an independent monitoring contract to provide lessons learned and enable the activity to respond to changes in the Ugandan implementing context.

Adapting: The Recipient will build on the current School Health and Reading Program to inform the roll-out of reading activities in P1-P4, and will use methods and materials developed by the USAID/Uganda School Health and Reading Program and adopted by MoES. MoES input will be incorporated into the activity. The Recipient will build on other reading and retention development experience and include the resulting learning in strategic and programmatic adjustments. The Recipient is expected to propose an activity management staffing structure that advances learning and results in an adaptive program.

A.5 Implementation Approach

A.5.1 Geographic and Instructional Focus

The activity will be implemented in 28 districts not covered by the USAID/Uganda School Health and Reading Program or the upcoming GPE-funded MoES reading program (Attachment F). These three “sister” programs will use the EGR methodology and materials developed by the USAID/Uganda School Health and Reading Program.

A.5.2 Coordination with Government Entities and District Operation Plans

USAID/Uganda is committed to greater coordination, efficiency, and an effective division of labor. A major component of USAID/Uganda’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy applies the principles of selectivity and geographic focus by coordinating programming across Mission Development Objectives (DO) in the 19 districts where all three of the DOs have activities. These "Focus Districts," comprising approximately 17 percent of the country, operationalize this concept through a coordinating mechanism known as the District Operational Plan (DOP). The Mission has signed these DOPs (essentially, memoranda of understanding) with the district government leadership and the Chiefs of Party of each USAID implementing partner operating in that district. The DOPs formalize a process of collaboration, coordination and mutual accountability among the three parties to these agreements. The approach embodies the aid effectiveness principles of country ownership and leadership, consultation and aid coordination, and seeks to utilize the principles in order to leverage greater overall development impact. The three “sister” programs will cover 17 of the 19 DOP districts (see Attachment F).

This activity will be working in two DOP Districts and participate in the implementation of DOPs. In practice, this will mean using the DOP Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) as the framework for district-based interventions rather than signing bilateral MOUs with the local government. The activity will provide quarterly reports, work plans, and other relevant information to the district government and attend scheduled and special meetings with district officials. Senior representation will be expected at some meetings.

A.5.3 Sustainability

Sustainability will depend on the extent the government institutionalizes and funds the EGR methodology and retention interventions. USAID’s School Health and Reading Program and the Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity are both designed to assist the government in the institutionalization of the government's EGR methodology. The $100 million three-year GPE-funded MoES reading program will be heavily informed by both USAID programs, and together the three programs will introduce EGR methodology in 85 of 112 districts. At the local level, sustainability will be influenced by the extent to which School Management Committees hold schools accountable for reading instruction, help parents support reading initiatives, and execute safe-schools plans to encourage retention. With only about one-third of students who begin P1 “surviving” to P7, retention is crucial in the overall literacy framework.14 The Recipient, over the course of the activity will begin implementation of approaches that will result in sustainability of the results.

A.5.4 Local Capacity Development

Local capacity development is inherent in the design of the activity. The activity’s interventions will be carried out through relevant education systems at all levels to strengthen their capacity to provide quality education services. The activity provides reading methodology training for local school teachers, encourages local communities to support literacy and retention efforts, and assists School Management Committees to be an integral part of reading and retention initiatives. The intense interaction with district governments in DOP districts will also develop the capacity of local government to support literacy.

Capacity development at all levels will focus on the sustainability of the national implementation of the EGR methodology.

A.5.5 Gender

Promoting gender equality and advancing the status of women and girls is vital to achieving USAID’s development objectives. It is USAID policy that the activity must mainstream and integrate gender into its interventions. Therefore, the recipient will be expected to demonstrate compliance with USAID Policy ADS 205, and should explicitly state how this activity supports the gender policies and strategies of the United States and the Government of Uganda.15 While gender parity has been largely achieved in access to primary education in Uganda, girls face unique, often severe challenges in the school environment.16

14 See page 2.

15 These U.S. policies and strategies include: The Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy; The U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security; The U.S. Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally; The USAID Vision for Ending Child Marriage and Meeting the Needs of Married Children; The USAID Counter-Trafficking in Persons Policy.

16 Water and Environment Sector Performance Report, Ministry of Water and Environment: 2013, p.191.

The rapid assessment will collect information on the unique challenges girls face in the primary grades that affect retention. (See Attachment B)

A.5.6 Youth

49% of Uganda’s population is under age 15 and 70% is under age 25.17 USAID/Uganda is committed to ensuring the integration of youth considerations into its activities. A youth action plan will be developed as part of the annual work plan to ensure that opportunities for youth involvement in support of literacy and retention are appropriately and effectively integrated, not only into the activity’s analyses, approach and interventions, but also into the outcomes realized by it. The activity will also ensure the systematic monitoring of youth activities, outcomes and results is an integral part of the Activity Monitoring and Learning Plan. (See Attachment C)

A.5.7 Measures to Ensure Effective Results

Given the potential for misuse or abuse of funds, the Recipient will have a management system in place that is capable of achieving the below:

• Sub-grants – As part of the overall management of the sub grant program, the Recipient will ensure applicants are thoroughly vetted in terms of technical, operational capacity and past performance. The Recipient will have adequate oversight to validate sub grantees results and corresponding expenditures.

• Personnel – All activity personnel, including consultants, must be appropriately vetted in terms of technical capacity, past performance, legal status (e.g. police check) and trained annually on ethical standards and reporting requirements.

• Activity results – The Recipient will have a robust system in place for validation of results, activities and associated expenditures.

The above actions will ensure that activity resources are used in the most effective manner to achieve desired outcomes and benefit the citizens of Uganda.

A.5.8 Environmental Considerations

All USAID funded activities must comply with 22CFR 216. Pursuant to this, USAID/Uganda Investing in People activities are covered by the extended umbrella Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) file name: Uganda_FY08_SO8_IIP_IEE_092408. Upon review, the following threshold decisions will apply for the activities in this program:

Categorical Exclusion: This includes activities involving trainings, meetings, workshops, research, education, public awareness, capacity building, advocacy, information management, legal systems, etc.

These activities will have no adverse effects on the environment.

Any new activities outside the scope of the approved Regulation 216 will require an amendment to the documentation for USAID review and approval. No such new activities shall be undertaken prior to receiving written USAID approval of environmental documentation amendments. Any ongoing activities found to be outside the scope of the approved Regulation 216 environmental documentation shall be halted until an amendment to the documentation is submitted and written approval is received from

USAID.

17 CIA World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ug.html.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ug.html

All grantees will undergo a prior environmental screening procedure using the " Environmental Screening Form" contained in the Africa Bureau Environmental Guidelines for Small-Scale Activities in Africa, section 4.3 of the IEE will apply.

Each individual grantee activity will be environmentally screened to ensure that they are within the Categorical Exclusion Threshold Determination. Any activity outside the scope of the Categorical Exclusion Threshold Determination will require an amendment to the current IEE, for USAID review and approval. (See Attachment E)

A.5.9 Other Requirements

The Recipient will also report according to the 2011-2015 USAID Education Strategy, Update to Reporting Guidance:

Provide data, technical materials, and other information produced in the execution of USAID funded activities.

The Recipient will provide USAID with data, technical materials, and other relevant materials produced in the execution of this Award. This includes pedagogical materials and other technical inputs developed to support early grade reading outcomes and other Award objectives, as well as data and information needed for reporting under the relevant foreign assistance objectives, areas and elements.

Pedagogical Materials and Technical Inputs The Recipient is required to provide pedagogical materials and other technical inputs developed to support early grade reading outcomes and other Award objectives. Examples of technical inputs to be provided to USAID include scripted lesson plans, supplementary readers, assessment instruments, observation tools, training guides, workshop reports, radio programs, assessment tools, sampling frames, photographs, videos, and other recordings. The Recipient will transmit technical materials to the relevant TOCOR (if applicable) and/or AOR/COR, and submit them to the USAID Development Experience Clearinghouse (https://dec.usaid.gov/).

Data for Reporting Under Foreign Assistance Objectives The Recipient is required to provide datasets and codebooks that include data on student learning outcomes and information needed to estimate the number of unique pupils benefiting from program activities over the life of the program. Implementing partners may be responsible, in collaboration with USAID, for obtaining country level memoranda of understanding that allow for the sharing of the datasets and other data with USAID, as well as public access to the data through the partner organization, where possible.

Within 90 days of the completion of data collection, the Recipient will transmit requested data to USAID.

The transmittal shall be according to the following specifications:

• Datasets should be complete, clean, and final, and include any derived or secondary variables used to calculate indicator values provided in assessment reports.

• Datasets must be cleansed of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) prior to transmittal to USAID. PII includes any information that could be used to identify an individual student, teacher, or administrator for whom data have been collected.

• Datasets will include all variables included in the initial data collection, with the exception of any data that must be edited or cleaned to protect the privacy and anonymity of students, teachers, or administrators represented in the data.

• If variables are edited or removed in order to protect the privacy and anonymity of research subjects, steps should be taken to ensure that sufficient information is retained to allow analyses that require grouping students by school, or track schools/students across datasets if appropriate.

• Data must be transmitted along with relevant supporting materials and instruments. This includes questionnaires and other instruments, codebook, data dictionary, information on sample design, setup and weights, assessment reports, performance management plans or other materials that describe the structure of the assessment and/or program, and any other information a researcher may need when working with the data.

• Learning Assessment data can be transmitted in formats including Stata, SPSS, SAS, R, or an open and machine readable format. Supporting documents can be transmitted in MS Office or an open and machine readable format.

• Recipient will provide information on the number of pupils benefiting from the program, disaggregated by sex and grade for each year that the program is active.

• Datasets will be delivered through email, addressed to the relevant COR/AOR. The Recipient may also be directed by USAID to submit data and related documents to a third party site (e.g.

https://sartdatacollection.org).

• All prerequisites to providing the complete, cleaned datasets must be completed by the implementing partner prior to the provision of the dataset to USAID, such as review and approval by Missions and host country governments, as appropriate."

A.5.10 Grants

The Recipient will manage a grants program of $4,200,000. Grants will support achievement of Results 1 and 2. Please note the following:

• The total value of individual grants to local or regional organizations must not exceed $500,000.

• USAID retains the ability to terminate the grant activities unilaterally in extraordinary circumstances.

• Grants will support innovative approaches at the community level in support of reading and retention. In particular grants will be used to support youth led initiatives and initiatives benefitting vulnerable girls and other initiatives to further Results 1 and 2.

• The Recipient must not award grants to host country (Ugandan) government entities including, but not limited to, public universities, district and regional office and/or national ministries.

• All grants must be completed six months prior to the end of the project.

A.5.11 Risk Assessment

USAID/Uganda has developed a guidance document to assist implementing partners (IPs) and its sub-awardees/grantees in assessing risk towards implementation of a planned or current activity. All IPs are encouraged, though not required, to review the document (See Attachment H) and to the extent possible, utilize the information to ensure the safety and security of staff, employees, facilities, records, sub-awardees, and all Recipients. To the extent that costs associated with mitigating the risk environment are identified, approval for these costs must be agreed to by the Agreement Officer.

A.6 Key Personnel

Three required key personnel are listed below. Two additional key personnel positions will be developed by the Applicant to best support the Applicant’s technical approach. Qualifications will be specific yet allow some flexibility for retaining the services of the best candidate.

USAID reserves the right to determine relevance of education and experience of key personnel.

Chief of Party (COP): (100% time commitment)

• Master’s Degree in Education, Administration, or Management or related field is required.

• Ten years of relevant activity management and supervisory experience; excellent past performance references; strong knowledge of US Government (USG) policies, regulations, procedures, and documentation

• Demonstrated team player with visionary leadership and demonstration of professional accomplishments

• Excellent managerial and operational experience, preferably in managing large donor projects involving coordination with multiple implementing partners or institutions in Uganda or the region

• Excellent representational and communication skills, written and oral proficiency in English

• A high level of technical and analytical skills relevant to this activity

• Significant experience managing and mitigating fraud and corruption issues preferred

Director of Finance and Administration: (100% time commitment)

• Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting or other relevant field, or a

Bachelor’s or certified accounting degree with 10 years’ experience

• Eight years of experience in financial, human resource, procurement, sub-award and logistics management of large-scale, complex, organizations with international development experience preferred

• Familiarity with USG financial reporting and compliance requirements

• Demonstrated experience and skills in developing and managing budgets of a similar size

• Proficiency in relevant computer applications and databases

• Strong experience managing and mitigating fraud and corruption issues preferred

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Coordinator: (100% time commitment) The M&E Coordinator will provide technical support to the implementation of quantitative and qualitative activities including;

recording, documenting, and internalizing experiences within the activity activities and will develop and implement a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework to ensure evidence-based programming and USAID compliance. The M&E Coordinator must:

• Have at least a Master’s degree in Project Management, Development Studies, Research or other area relevant to M&E

• Five years of M&E experience including technical experience in managing quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis

• Experience relevant in leading the development of the AMLP, including designing key indicators

• Have a high level of technical and analytical skills directly related to the work of the proposed project, and excellent writing skills.

• NOTE: USAID/Uganda retains the right to determine relevance of education and experience.

A.7 Authorizing Legislation

This award is authorized in accordance with the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended.

22 CFR 226 / 2 CFR is applicable to an award to a U.S. organization made under this RFA.

All provisions of 22 CFR 226 / 2 CFR and all Standard Provisions attached to this agreement are applicable to the recipient and to sub recipients which meet the definition of "Recipient" in Part 226, unless a section specifically excludes a sub recipient from coverage. The Recipient shall assure that sub recipients have copies of all the attached standard provisions.

For any sub awards made with Non-US sub recipients the Recipient shall include the applicable "Standard Provisions for Non-US Nongovernmental Grantees."

[END OF SECTION A]

SECTION A - ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION