July 14, 2020

Quote of the week “A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.” -  Nelson Mandela

Our RELI Africa external website is LIVE!!!

We are so excited to have you on this newly launched website which gives us an opportunity to tell our story to the World. Remember to sign up via reliafrica.org

Country Updates

Kenya:

The first session of the Kenya virtual country convening kicked off on Monday, July 6. During the two and a half hour session, the country and thematic leads presented their work plans, while the support team presented the capacity areas mapped from the plans. The session served to inform members of the overall work plan and revealed areas of convergence across the groups for effective implementation. The Special Interest Group (SIG) on school leadership convened their learning session on July 13 to share experiences and lessons from implementing the various RELI member projects on school leadership. The Urban Education SIG will convene a webinar on July 15 at 2:30 PM EAT to deliberate on issues affecting the education and schooling of children from urban poor areas.

The African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) and Uungano Tena (U-Tena) youth organization through the A LOT-Change project hosted the Ministry of Education and ZiziAfrique on July 3, for field visit of the project in Viwandani. The Ministry was represented by Ms. Mumina Bonaya the Chief Administrative Secretary, State Departments for Early Learning & Basic Education and University Education and Research and Dr. Sarah Ruto the chairperson of Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development Council (KICD). The aim of the visit was to share, learn and document some of the key lessons learnt in implementing the parental engagement intervention that the project has been implementing since 2013. Following the visit, it was agreed that the lessons learnt be documented in a briefing paper and shared with the MoE for further engagements. The field visit was also documented by Citizen TV and will be part of a feature on parental empowerment and engagement that will be aired later in the month.

Uganda: On July 1, a draft report on the current teacher education curricula gap analysis was presented to the focal team responsible for the Teacher Education Curricula Review within the Teacher, Instructor Education and Training (TIET) department of Ministry of Education and Sports. The aim of the analysis was to assess the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness and impact of the teacher education curricula ahead of the planned reforms. Predominant use of teacher centered methods, increased focus on content than pedagogy and curriculum overload were among the most notable gaps highlighted. The need to harmonize the teacher education curricula at all levels, revision and consolidation of teaching methods to nurture practically-oriented teacher trainees were among the recommendations proposed. The teacher development cluster contributed to this report by participating in focus group discussions at the analysis stage.

On July 2, STiR Education, a RELI Uganda member organisation, launched a fortnightly radio based Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme for teachers. The 30-minute sessions are based on simple but effective evidence-based teaching strategies promoting reflection and improvement of practice. They are intended to motivate teachers and excite them about supporting their learners during this period and subsequent return to classrooms.

Funding and Opportunity Tracking Resource  Following up on the survey that many of you were able to fill out, Wellspring Philanthropic Fund hired a consultant to help scan for funding opportunities. Her findings are available here.

Look out for this:

What we're reading this week: Back to business at the Airport - Tips by BCD Travels Covid-19 Webinar series Double tragedy for learners in informal settlements amidst pandemic by Catherine Asego Considerations for re-opening schools post Covid-19: Insights from Uwezo surveys in Uganda Listen to this: Comm-unity Civsource-Africa podcast: Returning to fundamentals in education. 10 immediate WASH in schools (WinS) actions - for school heads to manage the response to covid-19

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