Quarterly Progress Report: Sindh Community Mobilization Program (CMP)

The program commenced in August 2013 and forms a cornerstone of the Sindh Basic Education Program (SBEP), particularly component four of the program. The primary objective of CMP is to increase and sustain student enrollment in primary, middle, and higher secondary schools in seven districts in northern Sindh. CMP has four key components: 1) increasing communities' involvement in the Government of Sindh's (GOS) reform campaign of merging, consolidating, and upgrading schools; 2) improving community and district administration coordination for increasing girls' enrollment; 3) improving child nutrition in selected communities and government schools through research that informs innovation and good practices; and 4) the launch of Education Management Organizations (EMOs) - CMP's pilot component. Additionally, CMP has three cross-cutting themes (CCTs) that add significant value to these objectives: 1) gender: mainstreaming of program activities; 2) water and sanitation (WATSAN): improving facilities, knowledge, and practice; and 3) disaster risk reduction (DRR): improving awareness, knowledge, preparation, and practice. The program tracks and supports the construction, merging, consolidation, and upgrading of SBEP schools. In addition to the 106 newly constructed schools, CMP also works with 303 non-construction schools (also termed "neighboring schools" due to proximity to construction schools). CMP's inclusive community activities aim to engage local stakeholders, including parents, teachers, and community leaders, in the education reform process. The program provides small grants to neighboring schools to address needs that they identify and prioritize in school improvement plans (SIPs). CMP's community mobilization efforts focus on increasing girls' enrollment and improving the nutritional status of children. The program works with local support units (LSUs) and community health workers (CHWs) to promote education and health services. CMP also provides technical assistance (TA) to the GOS's School Education and Literacy Department (SELD) to support the implementation of education reforms. The program's progress is monitored and evaluated through a robust monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system. CMP's quarterly progress reports provide an update on the program's achievements and challenges. The reports highlight the program's successes in increasing student enrollment, improving girls' education, and promoting community engagement in education reform. In the second quarter of Year V (April 1 - June 30, 2018), CMP achieved several milestones. The program continued to support the construction, merging, consolidation, and upgrading of SBEP schools. CMP also made progress in improving child nutrition in selected communities and government schools through research that informs innovation and good practices. The program's community mobilization efforts resulted in increased community engagement in education reform, with a focus on increasing girls' enrollment and improving the nutritional status of children. CMP's cross-cutting themes (CCTs) also made significant progress in the second quarter. The program's gender mainstreaming efforts resulted in increased participation of women in education decision-making processes. The WATSAN CCT improved facilities, knowledge, and practice in selected communities, while the DRR CCT improved awareness, knowledge, preparation, and practice in disaster risk reduction. Overall, CMP's progress in the second quarter of Year V demonstrates the program's commitment to improving education outcomes in Sindh. The program's inclusive community activities, technical assistance, and monitoring and evaluation efforts have contributed to significant achievements in increasing student enrollment, improving girls' education, and promoting community engagement in education reform.