OVERVIEW

USAID works with the Ministry of Education (MoE) to improve educational attainment of students in Afghanistan, and to provide educational services that generate measureable learning outcomes.

USAID’s ACR project has two main objectives: 1) To build the capacity of the MoE to develop, implement, and scale up a nationwide early grade reading curriculum and instruction program in public and community-based schools; and 2) To pilot evidence-based early grade reading curricula and instruction programs to improve reading outcomes for children in grades one through three in public and community-based schools.

ACTIVITIES

• Develop and adopt policies, standards, and benchmarks that support improved early grade reading instruction in public schools and community-based education classrooms.
• Establish and make use of national and sub-national early grade reading assessments data collection and analysis systems.
• Implement procedures and systems for supervision, coaching, and monitoring of teachers and students.
• Increase partnerships with parents, school shuras, communities, the private sector, and non-traditional actors to increase equitable access to a quality education.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Printed and distributed 595,000 Early Grade Reading (EGR) teaching and learning materials, including textbooks, student workbooks and teachers’ guides to students and teachers in pilot schools and community based classes in Kabul, Herat, Laghman, and Nangarhar provinces.
• Supported 292,982 students (155,079 boys and 137,903 girls) in reading programs in Kabul, Herat, Laghman, and Nangarhar provinces.
• Developed the first draft of the EGR policy, which outlined major policies that could be adopted to support EGR in Afghanistan around curriculum development, teaching, reading, writing, language of instruction, time on task for reading, and reading assessment and evaluation.
• Trained 3,682 primary teachers and introduced new teaching skills on EGR.
• Trained and built the capacity of 1,178 education administrators and MoE officials on EGR methodology.
• Supported the MoE’s Teacher Education Department to develop five pre-service literacy courses, totaling 18 credit hours needed for Teacher Training Colleges.