USAWA AGENDA
Established 2018
BACKGROUND
Usawa Agenda is a registered, Kenya-based not-for-profit organisation. The name ‘Usawa’ in Swahili means for equity, underlining the belief that equity is the socio-political and economic exigency of our time in the education sector and in society. This belief is rooted in the work of the organisation’s precursor, Uwezo programme, which has been implemented by Twaweza East Africa in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania over the last 10 years. Usawa is fully registered and has a board of directors for effective governance.
USAWA AGENDA’S EXISTENCE
Usawa Agenda’s vision is to ensure equitable access to quality education for all children in Kenya. This is done by generating independent evidence on learning outcomes through the Uwezo Learning Assessment in basic literacy and numeracy among children aged 6-16 to stimulate evidence-based policies that would result in equitable learning. Since 2009, they have regularly conducted assessments to evaluate learning outcomes among primary school children in 158 districts in Kenya, and the results revealed the actual status of literacy and numeracy competencies among the children. These findings are used to engage with policy actors and citizens to address the learning crisis.
USAWA AGENDA CITIZEN LED ASSESSMENT
Usawa Agenda’s vision in to ensure that there is equitable access to quality education for all children in Kenya. This is often done by generating independent evidence on learning outcomes through the Uwezo Learning Assessment in basic literacy and numeracy among children aged 6-16 years to stimulate evidence-based policies that would result in equitable learning for all children.
Since 2009, we have regularly conducted assessments to evaluate learning outcomes among primary school children in 158 districts of Kenya, and the results revealed the actual status of literacy and numeracy competencies among the children. These findings are used to engage with policy actors and citizens to address the learning crisis. Uwezo has used the citizen-led learning assessment approach and methodology pioneered by the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) in India, in which trained citizen volunteers carry out learning assessments on children’s competencies in literacy and numeracy at the households.