The education sector of Mozambique is set amidst an armed conflict that causes the displacement of many people and aggravate already poor education and learning outcomes. Education outcomes in Mozambique show high levels of school dropouts and poor performance of children, and the many internally displaced who stay in camps in neighbouring provinces without access to education.

Thus, large disparities in access to education exist in Mozambique and it is the goal of FACILIDADE to tackle this together with their alliance partner Instituto para o Desenvolvimento Social e Económico (IDES).  

Citizen participation in the education sector is limited to discussing issues such as distribution of books, availability of teachers, and rehabilitation of classrooms, while student learning is neglected. Parents are absent from policy discussions, and rarely aware of the consequences of the poor quality of education and have little understanding of how they can contribute to improving the situation. 

However, when given the opportunity to assess the skills acquired by children and the tools to monitor teacher absenteeism, pupils, and public spending in the education sector, experience shows that citizens become committed actors in improving the quality of learning for children in the community. Citizens tend to be good at finding practical solutions that contribute to the quality of teaching and learning. 

By combining tools for learning assessments, data collection, and monitoring public spending in education with initiatives to engage citizens, parents, and carers, this project will hold duty bearers accountable to their commitments and ensure accountability of government agencies, and ultimately enhance equitable access to education. 

The project consists of five phases:

1. Mobilisation of citizens and parents to initiate the project while coordination mechanisms are set up. The project will take measures to ensure the inclusion of women and other vulnerable groups. 

2. A baseline study will be created, by training citizens, teachers, school managers, and volunteers to assess children using simple tools. Data on children’s learning will be collected and made available. 

3. Producing evidence on pupil and teacher absence, learning outcomes, dropout rates, and risks in the early years of schooling to analyse the effectiveness and inclusiveness of public spending in the education sector. 

4. Recovery and reintegration of learners into education by implementing playful learning activities and initiating a process of reflection with schools and the community on learning methods, all to improve children's skills. 

5. Documentation and advocacy by using the generated data to underpin reflections and discussions at various levels. The data will be analysed, organised, and presented in reports and presentations adapted to the target audience. 

With concrete data and the right tools, citizens will be able to hold schools and authorities accountable and collaborate with them to better utilise resources and improve educational outcomes, while the reintegration of displaced children presents an opportunity to demonstrate concrete alternatives for the recovery of pupils in an emergency context. By establishing a constructive dialogue with parents and the community on one side and authorities and schools on the other, the project will improve educational outcomes for the children of Mozambique. 

Before receiving a full grant, FACILIDADE participated in the Year Zero process of OC2. Year Zero is part of the Education Out Loud learning agenda and functions as a developmental pathway for the candidates. Read more about it here.