@ UNICEF-oPt/Pirozzi C4D in Education Initiative Dhaka, Bangladesh, May 2015 Mobilising Communities for Education in Afghanistan

Overview c Context and Situation Education and Community Mobilisation Strategy Results Insights and Planned Support

Current Situation c *Joint sector report, MoE, million children (40%) of primary school age are estimated to be out of school, 64% of which are girls* *Education Management Information System EMIS 2013

Historical, Political and Cultural Context Three decades of war Girls prevented from going to school during Taliban regime Female teachers rendered unemployed Contributed to disproportionately high number of out of school and over-age girls. Poverty Insecurity Deep rooted patriarchal social values Fragile Governmental systems Data availability challenging Combination of factors not conducive to girls’ education

Critical Barriers * Few schools in remote areas Long walking distances Harassment of children on way to school 49% schools without proper buildings 61% qualified teachers Low quality of education Specific barriers to girls education: Shortage of female teachers – 31.7%** Child/early marriages Gender based disparities Lack of facilities such as WASH, boundary walls However, parents aware of the transformative potential of education for their children, and keen to educate. High unmet demand for schooling and quality learning *NESP **JSR, 2014

National Strategy for Access to Education Education Community Based Education Bringing schools closer to families. Recognising the importance of engaging communities, MoE designed the CBE as an outreach mechanism of the national education system. The CBE Policy envisions a community ‘owned’ school within 3 km of every community. Community Based Schools (CBSs) Grades 1- 3, ages 5-9 years Accelerated Learning Centres (ALCs) Grades 1-6 in 3 years, ages 9-15 years CBE implementation by MoE, supported by UNICEF and donor partners.

Community Engagement in CBE MoE Social Mobilisers engage with communities and generate commitment towards their children’s schooling. The community agrees to: Generating community commitment to schooling is a key strategy. provide a learning space identify a potential teacher, ideally a female create a ‘school shura’ that creates buy-in, motivates families and monitors the CBS/ALCs

Community Engagement in CBE c Gaining community buy-in to the creation of a community based school is an entry point for influencing mindsets about schooling especially for girls.

Specific Results c 2700 new CBS and 607 new ALCs between 2010 and 2014 through UNICEF support alone (55%) 412, 882 children (226,117 girls) newly enrolled in CBSs and 15,505 children (11,576 girls) in ALCs More girls enrolling in CBEs than in formal schools Greater enrollment of girls in CBEs - 59% (2013), 84% in ALCs Average attendance in ALCs - 90% Includes children with special needs, and most disadvantaged minority communities

Specific Results – ALCs* c Transformative shift in attitude to schooling – conservatives in many areas actively encouraging girls to attend; individuals, communities, authorities more convinced; encouraging girls to continue till university; change in quality of life at home… Enhanced community ownership – contributions going beyond the mandatory, strong intentions to continue to support the school even if funding stopped Community as advocates – community strongly recommends school to neighbors or even to children to continue attending *LUL Evaluation Report 2015

Specific Results – ALCs* c Multiplier effect – students help parents with literacy tasks, teach fathers at night, share with siblings and parents after school.. Civic sense - Increase in respect for elders, decrease in violence, more considerate to each other.. Equity – girls overwhelmingly supported for schooling; older and younger siblings also audit; refugee returnees benefit; boys more likely to enter Grade 7.. *LUL Evaluation 2014

Challenges Full cadre of Social Mobilisers yet to be in place Social Mobilisers should be from local background for greater acceptability and trust Capacity of Social Mobilisers needs enhancing Community understanding of education as a basic right needs reinforcement Building trust in the education system remains an ongoing effort Participation of women in school shuras needs to be a focus Female teachers not always available Clear guideline on social mobilisation yet to be developed

Insights Plenty of evidence of high demand among parents. When services are responsive to real and perceived barriers, families respond overwhelmingly favourably. Community engagement is the key to gaining support, even of resistant community elders and religious leaders Evidence of results changes mindsets Success breeds success

3080 new CBEs to be established per year from , enrolling about 70,000 new out-of-school children each year Capacity Building for MoE Social Mobilisers – using appreciative inquiry based approaches, creative methods of generating community engagement, positive deviance, testimonies, mullah involvement etc Twinning with the Child Protection Action Network (CPAN) for joint mobilizing on education and child marriage. Technical support to draft National Social Mobilisation Guidelines Next Steps and UNICEF Planned Support

Thank you! Rahila, an ALC student, Logar Province