Monitoring implementation and ensuring data is collected and analysed accurately is key to ensuring sustainable implementation of programmes as they are scaled out. This week a combined team of Ministry of Education, World Vision and VVOB - education for development are in Muchinga Province supporting the Ministry of Education in the conduct of quality monitoring in Catch Up schools. The support entails building capacity in the Ministry staff at Provincial and District levels to appreciate available Catch Up data acquired from Catch Up baseline, midline and endline assessments. Once appreciated and analysed in the right way, the data informs the staff of the actual challenges and enables the setting up of right goals and targets thereby planning effectively for lesson activities which are aimed at improving performance of literacy and numeracy.
With this kind of support, the Ministry of Education is making purposeful contributions to the pool of performance at school level as they are now fully aware of the actual challenges and are now clearly informed where to channel efforts more and hence tailor the implementation of Catch Up to the needs of all the learners.
Muchinga Province is one of the five beneficiary Provinces under the Catch Up Zambia! Sustaining and Scaling Project. The Project which is focusing on strengthening the implementation of Catch Up in Districts where the intervention is being implemented and rolling out to new Districts is being implemented in Northern, Muchinga, Eastern, Southern and Lusaka Provinces.
In Muchinga Province the Catch Up Programme is being implemented in 409 schools; sustaining the programme in Chinsali, Isoka, Nakonde and Shiwangandu Districts while efforts of scaling are now in Mafinga and Mpika Districts.
Catch Up is a Ministry of Education led remedial progrmmae and supported by Unicef Zambia, VVOB - education for development, #TaRL Africa Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) Pratham Education Foundation, #WorldVision and #Zambia Open Community Schools. The Programme which has now been rolled out to close to 5024 schools in Zambia is evidence- based on the Teaching at the Right Level methodology, targeting learners in grades three to five to improve their foundational skills in literacy and numeracy.
