The government of Sierra Leone, through the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), has confirmed the launch of the $18.3 million US dollar Sierra Leone Education Innovation Challenge (SLEIC) program in September 2022.
The SLEIC program will be launched in the country under the Education Outcomes Fund (EOF), an independent Global Trust Fund hosted by UNICEF. It aims to improve the learning and employment outcomes for 10 million children and young people globally.
In Sierra Leone, the program will benefit a total of 134,000 children, representing 1.34 percent of the worldwide beneficiaries.
In a press statement by the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, the country is the first to be funded for the implementation of the program in Africa. During the program implementation, the Sierra Leone government will be working in partnership with donors and funding partners.
According to the MBSSE, "The SLEIC is being funded by the government of Sierra Leone with a commitment of $1.5 million United States dollars, with additional funding including from the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) $14 million, Bank of America, $.500, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) $1 million, the Hempel Foundation with $1.179 million, and the Waterloo Foundation with $.210 to the program."
According to MBSSE, EOF funding is matched with results using the Results-Based Financing (RBF) model, during which learning outcomes and competency of learners will be improved for three years.
The ministry also said the addition of quality to the government's flagship program, the Free Quality Education, for which 134,000 children will benefit from 325 schools across 16 districts nationwide.
The Ministry's press statement said, "The SLEIC will see the government, donors, schools, and non-state education providers working together to improve literacy and numeracy for students across the participating schools."
It says, "Following its launch, the program will run for three years, with each of the schools allocated to one of five geographic "lots," each of which will be awarded to a different service provider."
The successful providers expected to roll out this program are EducAid, Street Child, Rising Academy, Save the Children, UK, and the National Youth Awareness Forum (NYAF).
They were shortlisted based on the RFP model, which identified them during a call for expression of interest. However, the SLEIC focuses on improving the educational outcomes for disadvantaged children in the country.
The program, according to the ministry, "has a specific focus on girls’ learning, reflected in the 20 percent premium awarded to providers if they secure improvements for girls’ learning."
The press statement said, "This monitoring will provide an invaluable evidence base for the government to identify and scale up the most effective interventions across the country."
The ministry states, "Critically, the program has been designed with a sustainable and scalable maximum cost-per-outcome of USD 36 per child, creating a ‘program to policy pathway’ to ensure that successful learning support activities are continued following the end of the initial three-year period."
It assures that "An independent quantitative evaluation by Oxford Policy Management (OPM) will measure the impact of the program in improving learning outcomes." A learning agenda and qualitative evaluation will complement this to understand the broader impact of the program.
Contact: Augustine Sankoh.
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