Enhancing learning outcomes through emergency education response
January 16, 2025
Education Cannot Wait (ECW) First Emergency Response (FER) initiative was launched between March 2023 and June 2024 and it aimed to provide safe, equitable, and inclusive education to 43,000 crisis-affected learners in Banadir and Bay, with a focus on 60% girls and 4,300 learners with disabilities. By June 2024, the program reached 43,011 learners across 135 learning centers, including 56% of girls and 13% children living with disabilities (CLWD) despite significant climate and conflict-related challenges. Average literacy scores among the participating children rose from 10% to 27% (+17 points) and average numeracy scores increased from 29% to 47% (+18 points). Average zero scores—indicative of learners who scored zero on assessments—dropped in both literacy and numeracy, reflecting the program's success in addressing foundational deficits. Literacy zero scores fell from 48% to 12% (-36 points) for word reading and from 78% to 18% (-60 points) for reading comprehension.
IDP learners often face instability, displacement, and limited resources, all of which significantly impact their educational progress. Despite these challenges, they demonstrated substantial gains, including a 14-point increase in literacy and a 16-point improvement in numeracy. Learners with disabilities made significant progress, improving their literacy scores by 17-18 points and numeracy scores by 25 points. Af-Maay speakers, started with lower scores and showed greater improvements than non-Af-Maay speakers. Their literacy scores increased from 7% to 29% (+22 points), compared to 14% to 25% (+9 points) for non-Af-Maay speakers. In numeracy, Af-Maay speakers improved from 22% to 43% (+20%), while non-Af-Maay speakers improved from 38% to 50% (+12%). These gains helped narrow the performance gap between the two groups.
