Final Report: Akazi Kanoze Accelerated Learning Program Retrospective Study

From 2011 to 2014, the ALP trained over 800 youth in five districts of Rwanda. The program aimed to prepare low-skilled, minimally educated Rwandan youth for active engagement in economic and civic life. The objectives of the ALP were to provide youth with accelerated basic education at the Primary 5-6 level, market-relevant entry-level technical training, and career guidance and work experience opportunities. The program was designed to address the challenge of Rwanda's under-educated, unemployed youth population, which represents a hindrance to the government's goal of becoming a leading economy in the region. The ALP provided youth with a variety of activities and trainings, including accelerated basic education, vocational training, and livelihood accompaniment services. The program was implemented by a cadre of local implementing partners, who worked with the youth to equip them with the skills and knowledge necessary to earn a livelihood. The ALP also provided opportunities for youth to connect with market actors and gain work experience. The program's outcomes were evaluated through a retrospective study, which collected quantitative and qualitative data on youth literacy and employment outcomes, project implementation, and potential opportunities for government partnerships and scale-up. The study found that ALP students improved their reading fluency and comprehension to surpass national standards for primary school students. By the end of the project, youth had high levels of comprehension and were reading at an average pace of 60 words correct per minute with a grade-level text. The study also found that the youth who were largely unemployed before the start of the program were able to find at least part-time work after completion. The technical training appears to be the most attractive part of the program, and graduates and partners asked for more time to be spent on this component. Female ALP participants, who had the lowest level of prior work experience, reported the highest level of employment compared to AK males and females and their ALP male colleagues. The study's findings suggest that the combination of basic education, mentoring, and the AK package may be more effective for preparing this group of at-risk youth for the workplace than AK training alone. ALP youth who had no work experience were significantly more likely than AK youth with no prior work experience to have employment after the program. More data should be collected on this topic in order to better understand the impact of the mentoring and job linkage services on employment outcomes. Implementing partners who were interviewed discussed the need for accelerated basic education programs in Rwanda, and further credentialing for this group of at-risk youth. These local NGOs noted the importance of aligning the technical training with local market demands, and one rural organization recommended a higher focus on agricultural job tracks for rural youth. The continuous demand for ALPs shows that primary school dropouts are eager to learn and advance their skills. An accelerated learning program similar to this, but with additional modules, could be aligned to the TVET qualifications framework in order to provide an entry point into the system for youth without a formal 9-year basic education. For this group of highly vulnerable youth, allowing them to test into the TVET system would give them the opportunity to attain a nationally recognized credential and work readiness level to be active and productive members of the Rwandan economy.