Pilot Design Plan: Tajikistan - School Dropout Prevention Pilot Program

The program's objective is to provide evidence-based programming guidance to USAID missions and countries in Asia and the Middle East on student dropout prevention by piloting and testing the effectiveness of dropout prevention interventions in four target countries: Cambodia, India, Tajikistan, and Timor Leste. The program will advance knowledge on dropout prevention through an applied research approach in a three-stage process. The first stage involves identifying best practices in dropout prevention in the US and developing countries. The second stage involves analyzing dropout trends in each country to identify those groups, grades, and/or geographic areas most severely affected by dropout and conducting a situational analysis of the target group to understand the risk factors and conditions affecting dropout. The third stage involves designing, implementing, and rigorously assessing interventions to keep at-risk students in schools in the most acutely affected areas. The Pilot Design Plan for Tajikistan presents the dropout mitigation intervention aimed at Grade 9 students that the School Dropout Prevention Pilot Program will implement and assess in schools in five target districts in Tajikistan. The intervention proposed is the Stay-in-School Program, comprising two components: an Early Warning System to assist schools to identify, track, and provide "first response" support to at-risk students, and an After-School Tutoring/Enrichment Activities program offering at-risk students academic support and recreational opportunities. The intervention and its components are the result of the School Dropout Prevention Pilot Program Intervention Consultation Workshop that brought together more than 40 stakeholders from the Ministry of Education, district education authorities, school principals, teachers, USAID, donors, NGOs, and other projects to review the findings from the global School Dropout Prevention Pilot Program literature review, as well as the Tajikistan-specific dropout trend analysis, policies, and programs inventory, and in-country situational analysis. The Pilot Design Plan comprises two sections: the description of the intervention and a detailed work plan that focuses on its further design and operationalization up to the point that it will be introduced in the schools. The Intervention Description presents the objective, purpose, and rationale for the intervention, and provides a description of the intervention and where it will be implemented, the sample selection methodology, resource/implementation provisions, an assessment of its sustainability/replicability, and issues associated with its implementation. The Stay-in-School Program aims to reduce Grade 9 student in-grade dropout, increase attendance, and improve Grade 9 at-risk student academic performance in treatment schools in the target districts of Temurmalik, Baljuvon, Danghara, Khovaling, and Vose. The program will institute a two-component "Stay-in-School Program" in 80 treatment schools in the target districts, comprising an Early Warning System to identify students who are at risk of dropping out, and an After-School Activities program with tutoring/enrichment and social/leisure activities to provide academic support to the at-risk students. Evidence from the School Dropout Prevention Pilot Program Situational Analysis indicates that the top causes of student dropout among Grade 9 students in the target districts are economic reasons, including inability to pay for school expenses, and academic reasons, including poor performance, falling behind in lessons, and poor school quality. Schools fail to adequately track and provide timely support to at-risk students, and at-risk students seldom receive the support they need to improve their academic performance, pass exams, and keep up with their studies. The program will address these issues by providing targeted programs such as the after-school tutoring program, keeping accurate and detailed records to track attendance, actively involving parents and guardians in monitoring their child's attendance and progress, and providing close and regular communication between home and school. The program will also provide extra-curricular activities and recreational opportunities to at-risk pupils, and will aid them in developing supportive social bonds, working collaboratively, and collectively addressing issues and examining problems.