To strengthen basic literacy and numeracy, and to promote socio-emotional skills in children between 6 and 12 years old, Medición Independiente de Aprendizajes (MIA) Mexico rolled out “MIAventura de Verano”, a radio program with 15 sessions that involve: socio-emotional learning, preserving the environment, cooking, science activities, reading, writing, and math. The program was implemented in 12 municipalities in Veracruz (Mexico) during the 2020 summer school break, and it reached 1500 children.Young 1ove, Botswana Low-tech Intervention Results Published in the Center for the Study of African Economies

In the month of August 2020, the Center for the Study of African Economies published the results of the Young 1ove low-tech interventions designed to be simple, scalable, and reach the most disadvantaged children through short message service (SMS) and phone calls during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the first experimental evidence of the intervention revealed that it was effective at improving learning outcomes. Activities were targeted and tailored to the parent and child’s learning level – reducing innumeracy by up to 52% and increasing parental engagement in children’s learning by up to 17%.Zizi Afrique Foundation, Kenya Adopts a Community-Based Learning Approach 

Guided by four principles, i.e. Identify, Enable, Engage and Equalize, Zizi Afrique Foundation adopted a community-based learning approach to support continued learning amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Zizi Afrique Foundation and Usawa Agenda had earlier on conducted surveys, which revealed inequities arising from the remote learning options. The reports revealed that learners’ furthest behind were the hardest hit. The blended approach combines radio, SMS, and study packs and has reached over 6,000 learners.

On August 4, 2020, The Education Partnership (TEP) Centre, Nigeria, launched a report dubbed “Learning in a Pandemic.” According to the report, most states across Nigeria responded to the pandemic by providing television (77%) and or radio programmes (75%) for students to continue learning. Additionally, 49% of the states reported that internet-based learning platforms were created for students to learn, and only 4% were pursuing offline learning alternatives. Access the report here.

ITA, Pakistan, and others Launch GEM Report 2020

Policy Dialogue: Inclusion of Learners with Special Education Needs

The Ministry of Education together with KICD and PAL Network will hold a second Policy Dialogue on October 13, from 10:00 – 11:30 am EAT. The virtual event will bring together various stakeholders from government agencies, civil society organisations, academia among others, to dialogue on expanding access to remote learning for children living with different disabilities, among other issues. Register for the webinar here. Policy Dialogues is funded by the INCLUDE Platform.