FY 2021 Quarterly Performance Report for USAID Let's Read Project

The project aims to improve reading outcomes for approximately 1.4 million children attending pre-primary (kindergarten) through to Grades 3 and provide professional development for teachers to support reading interventions in Zambian public and community schools. The project is managed by the Education Development Centre (EDC) in partnership with VVOB, Resonance, and Kentalis. The project is designed to achieve two major results: IR 1 Public and Community Schools Performance Improved and IR 2 Ministry of Education Systems Strengthened. The project will seek to achieve the following four key objectives encompassing a number of activities: Objective 1: Reading Package Intervention, Objective 2: Meet the Metrics, Objective 3: Performance Tracking System, and Objective 4: Increase Parent, Community, and Private Sector Engagement. During the first quarter of FY 2021, classes continued for all grades, including early grades, with schools and communities being urged by the Ministry of General Education (MoGE) to put in place all health and safety precautions as per the guidelines provided. However, with the guidelines also including reductions in class size and contact time, there continue to be concerns about limited instructional time for students. Changes to the academic calendar also meant changes to the timing for standardized assessments. As such, the Let's Read, in collaboration with the MoGE, was only able to administer two instead of three Standardized Literacy Assessments (SLAs). The project facilitated a number of meetings with the MoGE and other stakeholders during the quarter, including meetings with core Departments, review and inputs into the USAID Let's Read Year 3 workplan, meetings with the World Bank, USAID, and the MoGE around possible areas of coordination for the proposed Zambia Enhancing Early Learning (ZEEL) project, and validation meeting by MoGE of the additional materials for the ECE Emergent Literacy Package. The project also conducted a number of activities during the quarter, including preparation and facilitation of the ECE teacher trainings, participation in Data Quality Audit (DQA) led by USAID/Zambia Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Platform (Z-MELP), and conducted Tablet Training for Master Trainers (MT), Trainer of Trainers (ToT) and District Training (Schools). On December 15, 2020, USAID Let's Read did a formal handover of tablets and other Teaching and Learning Materials (TLMs) to the Minister of General Education at Mulungushi International Conference Centre, Lusaka. The symbolic hand over was done by the Charge d' Affaires, David Young, to the Honorable Minister of General Education, Dr. Dennis Wanchinga, MP. The hand over was attended by approximately fifty participants, including the Provincial Education Officers from the five provinces that the project currently implements in. In all, over two million pieces of TLMs and 5,000 tablets had been procured for distribution. The project's financial performance during the quarter was as follows: Obligations as of [date] ($): $32,348,084, Average monthly expenditures ($): $464,940, Accrued expenditures ($): $1,003,852, Pipeline ($): $2,109,248, and Pipeline months ($): 3 months (January 1, 2021 to March 31, 2021).