All Children Reading (ABE ACR)

AID FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

Ministry of Education, Science and Tehnology

~ ~

~~

UKaid from the British people

Assistance to Basic Education:

All Children Reading (ABE ACR)

MERIT: The Malawi Early Grade Reading Improvement

Activity

Quarterly Progress Report, April 2017 to June 2017

July 31, 2017

This publication was prepared for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was

prepared by RTI International.

Assistance to Basic Education: All Children Reading (ABE ACR)

USAID’s MERIT: The Malawi Early Grade Reading Improvement Activity Quarterly Progress Report, April 2017 – June 2017

ABE-ACR IDIQ No.: AID-OAAA-1-14-00044 Task Order No.: AID-612-TO-15-00001

Prepared for Ramsey Sosola Contracting Officer’s Representative USAID|Malawi The Education Office NICO House – Ground Floor PO Box 30455 Lilongwe 3, Malawi Telephone: 265-1-772-455 E-mail: [email protected]

Prepared by RTI International MAA Halima Complex Private Bag B481 Plot 4/214 Lilongwe 3 Malawi

The authors’ views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

mailto:[email protected]

Table of Contents

Page List of Tables.............................................................................................................................. iv

List of Abbreviations ....................................................................................................................v

1. Introduction..........................................................................................................................1

1.1 Program overview ....................................................................................................1

1.2 Program description .................................................................................................1

2. Expected Results by Objective.............................................................................................2

2.1 Objective 1: Improved instruction for primary grade reading outcomes......................2

2.2 Objective 2: Increased parental and community engagement in supporting student

reading5

2.3 Objective 3: Safer learning environments for reading created....................................7

2.4 Objective 4: Pathways for sustainability instituted .....................................................8

2.5 Objective 5: Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) priorities for integration

advanced...........................................................................................................................10

2.6 XC 3.1: Monitoring, evaluation, and learning system development and management10

2.7 XC 8: Students with special needs/learning disabilities ...........................................12

2.7 XC 10: Management...............................................................................................14

3. Summary of Accomplishments ...........................................................................................14

3.1 Engagement with ministry counterparts ..................................................................14

3.2 Coordination with early grade reading projects........................................................15

4. Constraints and Opportunities ............................................................................................15

5. Activities for Next Quarter ..................................................................................................16

5.1 Objective 1: Improved instruction for primary grade reading outcomes....................16

5.2 Objective 2: Increased parental and community engagement in supporting student

reading16

5.3 Objective 3: Safer learning environments for reading created..................................17

5.4 Objective 4: Pathways for sustainability instituted ...................................................17

5.5 Objective 5: CDCS priorities for integration advanced.............................................18

6. Crosscutting Areas.............................................................................................................18

6.1 XC 3.1: Monitoring, evaluation, and learning...........................................................18

6.2 XC.6: Incorporating gender into MERIT implementation..........................................18

6.3 XC.9: Students with special needs/learning disabilities ...........................................18

6.4 XC 10: Management...............................................................................................18

7. Detailed Overview of Implementation Process....................................................................19

7.1 Progress narrative ..................................................................................................19

7.2 Implementation status ............................................................................................19

7.3 Notable activities ....................................................................................................20

7.4 Activity Monitoring and Evaluation Plan update.......................................................20

8. Implementation of Crosscutting Activities............................................................................20

ABE ACR – MERIT: The Malawi Early Grade Reading Improvement Activity Quarterly Report iii

8.1 Gender...................................................................................................................20

8.2 Special needs education.........................................................................................21

8.3 Information and communications technology (ICT)..................................................21

9. Management and Administrative Issues .............................................................................21

9.1 Staffing...................................................................................................................21

10. Challenges and Lessons Learned ......................................................................................21

11. What Does USAID Not Know That It Needs to....................................................................22

12. How Implementing Partner Has Addressed COR Comments from the Last Quarterly Report23

Annex A: Progress by Indicators............................................................................................24

Annex B: Quarterly Financial Report ......................................................................................28

Annex C: Success Story ........................................................................................................29

Annex D: Notable Activities....................................................................................................30

Annex E: Materials and Contract Deliverables .......................................................................31

Annex F: Short-Term Technical Assistance and Home Office Support ...................................33

List of Tables Table 1. Details of participants of April 2017 zonal Standard 1 teacher training ............................3

Table 2: August 2017 teacher training; planned participant numbers ...........................................4

Table 3: May–June 2017 Coach Training Participants..................................................................4

Table 4: August 2017 Teacher Training; planned participant numbers........................................12

Table 5: Categories of participants in the IEP training ................................................................12

Table 6: Participants in the 2017 Braille Cup Competition Judges’ Orientation ...........................13

Table 7: Braille and large print materials produced during this quarter........................................14

ABE ACR – MERIT: The Malawi Early Grade Reading Improvement Activity Quarterly Report iv

List of Abbreviations

ABE Assistance to Basic Education

ACR All Children Reading

AWP Annual Work Plan

CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy

COP Chief of Party

CSO civil society organization

DCOP Deputy Chief of Party

DEM District Education Manager

DFID (UK) Department for International Development

DIAS Department of Inspection and Advisory Services

DQA data quality analysis

DSNE Department of Special Needs Education

DTED Department of Teacher Education and Development

EGRA early grade reading assessment

EMIS education management information system

FY fiscal year

ICT information and communication technology

IEP Individualized Education Program

GPE Global Partnership for Education

LB learner’s book

LCDM Link Community Development Malawi

LGAP Local Government Accountability and Performance project

M&E monitoring and evaluation

ME&L monitoring, evaluation, and learning

MERIT The Malawi Early Grade Reading Improvement Activity

MIE Malawi Institute of Education

MoEST Ministry of Education, Science and Technology

MOI Ministry of Information

MWAI Miske Witt and Associates, Inc.

NGO nongovernmental organization

NRP National Reading Programme

PEA Primary Education Advisor

ABE ACR – MERIT: The Malawi Early Grade Reading Improvement Activity Quarterly Report v

PERFORM Protecting Ecosystems and Restoring Forests in Malawi

PPP public-private partnership

PTA parent-teacher association

RTI RTI International

S1, 2, 3, 4 Standard (1, 2, 3, 4)

SANE Strengthening Agricultural and Nutrition Extension

SBCC social and behavior change communication

SEGREM Strengthening Early Grade Reading in Malawi

SMC School Management Committee

STTA short-term technical assistance

TA Traditional Authority

TG teacher’s guide

TLM teaching and learning material

TTC teacher training college

TTFG Teacher Training Facilitator’s Guide

TOT training of trainers

TOR terms of reference

TRH Teacher Resource Handbook

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

USAID United States Agency for International Development

ABE ACR – MERIT: The Malawi Early Grade Reading Improvement Activity Quarterly Report vi

1. Introduction

1.1 Program overview

Name (first, last): Terry Giles, Chief of Party

Dates of support: April 1, 2017 – June 30, 2017

Task order name: USAID’s MERIT: The Malawi Early Grade Reading Improvement

Activity

Name of prime

implementing partner: RTI International

Task order number: AID-612-TO-15-00001

1.2 Program description

MERIT: The Malawi Early Grade Reading Improvement Activity is a five-year, United

States Agency for International Development (USAID) activity designed to provide

technical assistance to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST)

in improving the reading performance of Malawian learners in Standards 1–4,

nationwide. The award period is from September 29, 2015, to September 28, 2020.

The main goal of MERIT is to increase the reading skills of Malawian students in

Standards 1–4, defined as students’ achieving reading fluency as determined by the

MoEST reading skills benchmarks.

MERIT has five main objectives, served through five corresponding components:

• Objective 1: Improved instruction for primary grade reading outcomes

• Objective 2: Increased parental and community engagement in in supporting reading

• Objective 3: Safer learning environments for reading created

• Objective 4: Pathways for sustainability instituted

• Objective 5: Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) priorities for integration advanced

This is the MERIT quarterly performance report for the third quarter of fiscal year

(FY) 2017, covering the period from April 1, 2017, to June 30, 2017. Attached are

Annex A, which illustrates Activity progress by indicators; Annex B, our Quarterly

Financial Report; Annex C, which will present MERIT success stories; Annex D,

which provides information on notable activities; Annex E, which tracks MERIT

materials and contract deliverables; and Annex F, which tracks short-term technical

assistance and RTI Home Office support provided in Malawi.

ABE ACR – MERIT: The Malawi Early Grade Reading Improvement Activity Quarterly Report 1

2. Expected Results by Objective

2.1 Objective 1: Improved instruction for primary grade reading outcomes

Adequate high-quality teaching and learning materials for reading effectively used

Development of Standard 2, 3, and 4 Chichewa teacher’s guides (TGs) and Standard

2, 3, and 4 English learner’s books (LBs) and TGs continued during the quarter.

Development and review of Standard of the 2, 3, and 4 Chichewa TGs was being

done by a panel of 12 writers (5 women, 7 men) with technical support by the MERIT

team at the Malawi Institute of Education (MIE). The front matter for Standard 2, 3,

and 4 Chichewa TGs was reviewed in order to align it to the content of the TGs and

to reduce the page count. The Standard 2 Chichewa TG was submitted to USAID for

first review on April 19, while the Standard 3 and 4 guides were submitted on April

20, 2017. USAID made comments and recommendations, which the MERIT technical

team incorporated into the materials. The manuscripts for the Standard 2 and 3 TGs

were resubmitted to USAID for clearance on May 26 and June 2, respectively.

Feedback on these is yet to be received. The Standard 4 TG is yet to be resubmitted

to USAID for clearance. It is still with MIE editors, who had to put this aside while

they worked on the English LBs, which were the priority for the printing pipeline.

The process of developing Standard 2, 3 and 4 English materials has taken much

longer than anticipated. Panels of writers continued working at MIE right through

June. These comprised 8 writers (4 women, 4 men). As indicated above, during the

quarter, the MERIT team at MIE was strengthened by bringing in Dr. Margaret

Dubeck from April 9 to 19 and Elizabeth Long, who arrived on May 28. The team,

under the leadership of Dr. Kate MacIlwain, continued to provide technical support

and guidance to the writers.

Manuscripts of Standard 2, 3, and 4 English LBs were submitted to USAID for review

on June 9. USAID’s comments and recommendations on Book 2 were received on

June 15, while those for Books 3 and 4 were received on June 29 and 30,

respectively. Work on incorporating those comments and recommendations is in

progress, and it is expected that the books will be resubmitted to USAID for

clearance in the first half of July 2017. Drafting of Units 1–6 of the English TGs was

completed on June 15. Lack of capacity in editing and designing of teaching and

learning materials at MIE has been a major challenge in the process of developing

the materials and has contributed to the delays in their completion. In addition, the

arrangement whereby the editors have been based at Liwonde while the technical

team is at MIE has proved to be problematic, especially in the process of

incorporating comments and recommendations from USAID.

To improve the monitoring of progress of the development of the materials and as a

way of collectively resolving challenges and alerting MoEST/USAID of critical issues,

a meeting of the National Reading Programme (NRP) National Steering Committee

on June 6 agreed to formalize the existence of an NRP Technical Committee that

would meet at MIE on a weekly basis. The main purpose of the committee is to

monitor progress in the development of the materials and report to the Secretary of

Education, Science and Technology through the Director of the Department of

Inspection and Advisory Services (DIAS). By the end of June, the Technical

Committee had had three meetings, which took place on June 12, 20, and 29. At its


first meeting the Technical Committee agreed that its composition should include the

following:

• The NRP National Coordinator – Chair

• All MERIT specialists based at MIE

• All Strengthening Early Grade Reading in Malawi (SEGREM) specialists

• MIE Chief Editor (and members of the editing team as needed)

• MIE Director of Curriculum Development

The Steering Committee also agreed that due to lack of time, only term 1 guides for

Standard 3 and 4 English should be produced, in readiness for the rolling out of the

program in Standards 3 and 4 in September, 2017. However, a meeting of the NRP

Technical Committee later recommended that this should also be the case for

Standard 2 English TG, to reduce the workload of both the writers and MIE editors,

due to the multiple demands of the work on the LBs, TGs, and training program and

materials for three standards concurrently. This work would have to be completed in

full in time for approval, printing, and distribution at the December 2017 refresher

training for Standard 2, 3, and 4 teachers. This recommendation was circulated by

the Director of DIAS to MoEST and USAID on July 10, 2017.

Improved instructional practice for early grade reading

The final training of Standard 1 teachers, Infant Section Heads, and head teachers

for the 2016/2017 school year took place from April 10 to 13. A total of 21,273

Standard 1 teachers, Infant Section Heads, and head teachers were trained on

Chichewa and English term 3 content. (See Table 1 for details.) This training also

acted as a refresher for the participants on skills and techniques for teaching reading.

A total of 1,434 participants (636 women, 798 men) were trained during the April

2017 training of trainers (TOT) that took place from April 3 to 6. Of these participants,

1,269 (582 women, 721 men) facilitated zonal training sessions from April 10 to13,

comprising Primary Education Advisors (PEAs)/Coordinating PEAs and key teachers

from all 34 education districts.

Table 1. Details of participants of April 2017 zonal Standard 1 teacher training

Cadre No. Training

Days Men Women Total

1Head Teachers 4 4,839 746 5,585

2Section Head Teacher 4 2,788 2,131 4,919

Standard 1 Teachers 4 3,752 5,967 9,719

Other Teachers (not Standard 1) 4 366 239 605

Special Needs Education Teachers 4 47 44 91

Assistant Center Coordinators 4 306 48 354

Total 12,098 9,175 21,273

1 Includes 867 (703 men, 164 women) who teach Standard 1 classes 2 Includes 807 (344 men, 463 women) who teach Standard 1 classes


A workshop to start developing training materials for the training of Standard 2, 3,

and 4 teachers that will take place in August/September 2017 was held from May 2

to 5 at MIE. This workshop had 38 participants from MERIT, MIE, MoEST, and

teacher training colleges (TTCs). This workshop only managed to map out the

training program and identified content from existing materials that had been

previously used because the final LBs and TGs had not been completed by this time.

From June 19 to 23 a subsequent workshop was held to further draft the Standard 4

Teacher Training Facilitator Guide (TTFG) and Teacher Resource Handbook (TRH).

This involved a panel of 10 officers (7 women, 3 men) from TTCs and MERIT.

Preparations for teacher trainings to prepare teachers from Standards 2, 3, and 4 for

the next academic year included collecting information from all education districts

regarding expected participants. This is summarized in Table 2 below.

Table 2: August 2017 teacher training; planned participant numbers

No. Training

Participants

Facilitators

Teachers ISHs JSHs HTs ACCOs Total

1 Standard 2 7,958 4,960 12,918 1,162

2 Standard 3 8,192 3,129 461 11,782 1,150

3 Standard 4 7,843 5,611 13,454 1,176

ISH=Infant Section Head; JSH=Junior Section Head; HT=Head Teacher; ACCO=Assistant Center

Coordinator

Established classroom-level support for teaching reading

On May 16, a national facilitators meeting was held at Mponela to prepare for a

master trainers workshop for coaching training, which took place at the same venue

from May 17 to 18. This was to prepare for the delivery of the coaching TOT

workshop, which took place from May 22 to 23, and the training of Infant Section

Heads and head teachers, which took place on May 25, 26, and 29. A total of 957

PEAs and key teachers were trained as coach trainers during the TOT. A total of

5,248 Infant Section Heads and 5,230 head teachers were trained in coaching. The

aim of the trainings was to familiarize participants with content of the coaching

materials and the revised coaching tool. The expectation was that the section heads

will start using the tool after the training. Some of the trainings in 49 education zones

from 8 districts had to be postponed because of a clash with trainings under Global

Partnership in Education (GPE). The training in those zones took place from June 5 -

7. Details of participants attending these trainings are shown in Table 3.

Table 3: May–June 2017 Coach Training Participants

Cadre Training


A. Master Trainers Training, May 17–18

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Participants

2 44 34 78

B. Training of Trainers Workshops, May 22–23

Primary Education Advisors 2 313 162 475

Key Teachers 2 250 220 470


Cadre Training




Inspectors 2 5 4 9

District Education Managers / Senior Education Methods Advisors

2 0

Total 573 389 962

C. Zonal Training Workshops, May 25–26, June 5–7

Section Head Teacher 3 3,096 2,487 5583

Head Teachers 3 4,920 684 5604



Total 8,020 3,174 11,194

Increased access to teaching and learning materials

Printing of Standard 2 Chichewa LB was completed in April while the Standard 3 and

4 Chichewa LBs were submitted to the printers in the same month (these are being

printed through a direct procurement by USAID with a local printer). Production of

large print and braille versions of the teaching and learning materials continued

during the quarter. For details see Table 6 under Section 2.7 below. The large-print

versions of the books are meant for learners and teachers with low vision, while the

braille versions are for teachers and learners who are blind.

2.2 Objective 2: Increased parental and community engagement in supporting student reading

As reported last quarter Link Community Development (LCD) Malawi hired a social

and behavior change communications (SBCC) consultant, Mr. Fernando Garcia, and

a community mobilization training materials consultant, Ms. Annie Banda. Ms. Banda

continued to develop the training materials for the Community Mobilization and

Engagement (CME) training involving district-level stakeholders, civil society

organizations (CSOs), extension workers, and community-level stakeholders in April.

She submitted her first drafts on April 20. These were reviewed by both LCD Malawi

and RTI, who provided feedback to the consultant. Ms. Kate Sykes paid a short-term

technical assistance (STTA) visit from April 10 to 21 to support LCD Malawi in the

finalization of the SBCC strategy and the overall strategy for CME. She took part in

the review of materials developed by Ms. Banda. After incorporating the feedback,

Ms. Banda resubmitted the materials to LCD Malawi on April 25. The documents

were then submitted to USAID, which also provided feedback.

USAID requested a presentation of an overview of the Component 2 overall strategy.

This was done by LCD Malawi on May 4 at a meeting held at the USAID offices. The

presentation included the draft CME training materials and SBCC strategy. USAID’s

key feedback on the presentation was as follows:

• The NRP national awareness campaign should be prioritized.


• The SBCC should incorporate messages from the MoEST circular issued in October 2016.

• The SBCC messages should target all audiences at the same time.

• The CME training content should be reviewed to focus mainly on community-level structures such as School Management Committees (SMCs), Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs), and Mother Groups.

Following this, the training plan and the training materials were further reviewed. The

training cascade levels were reduced from three to two as follows:

• Level 1 – training for CSOs, district stakeholders, and the extension workers at a

district venue for 3 days.

• Level 2 – training for community stakeholders (e.g., SMCs, PTAs, Mother

Groups, village heads, and other community opinion leaders) for 2 days, by extension workers, supported by the CSOs.

The materials were further reviewed and refined during workshops that took place

June 19 to 21 and June 26 and 30. Apart from relevant MERIT staff, other partners

were involved in the review of the materials. These included officials from Ministry of

Civic Education, Culture and Community Development; Ministry of Gender, Children,

Disability and Social Welfare; MoEST; and Ministry of Information. The materials are

expected to be ready for submission to USAID in July, 2017

Increased number of parents and communities implementing evidence-based interventions to improve student reading

Work on the development of the overall Component 2 strategy and the SBCC

strategy also continued in this quarter. As reported last quarter, a draft SBCC

strategy was produced towards the end of March with the help of Mr. Garcia, who

stayed from March 7 to April 15. In addition, focus group discussions were conducted

in selected districts across the country to solicit ideas that would help refine the

strategy. From April 3 to 19 CME Specialist Ms. Sophie Mhoni worked with the SBCC

consultant to consolidate reports from the focus group discussions. The consultant

then reviewed the strategy and incorporated some of the ideas from the focus group

discussions.

Mr. Garcia visited Malawi on May 21 to continue supporting the CME Specialist in

finalizing the SBCC strategy and ensure coherence with the overall Component 2

strategy. Working with the CME Specialist, the Community Mobilization Strategy was

revised and edited, based on earlier observations and recommendations from USAID

and RTI. The revised strategy was submitted to USAID for review and clearance on

June 22. USAID has since made further observations, but with guidance that the

work should proceed. The strategy will therefore be reviewed again to incorporate

those observations.

From June 6 to 9 the SBCC consultant, CME Specialist, CME Officer, and

Communications Specialist conducted further focus group discussion sessions at

Chikamveka School in Zomba Urban, Chitekesa School in Phalombe, Kapeni

Demonstration School in Blantyre City, Kachanga School in Blantyre Rural, Nkhande

school in Nyachilenda Zone in Nsanje, and Mphande School in Mwanza. The

purpose of the discussions was to seek the views of the communities on criteria for

selecting Standard 1 students’ and parents’ panels for supporting student reading and tracking their progress. This will help MERIT track the results of the SBCC


intervention and inform any shift of emphasis when the campaign is refreshed at

intervals.

Increased number of parents and community members advocating for appropriate evidence-based interventions to improve student reading

Pilot road shows were conducted in Lilongwe Rural West in four areas of Traditional

Authority (TA) Kalolo from April 6 to 11. The aim was to assess the feasibility of using

road shows in raising awareness of the NRP. The roadshows were done in

collaboration with the Ministry of Information (MOI), the Ministry of Labour, Sports,

Youth and Manpower Development, the Ministry of Civic Education, Culture and

Community Development, and district officials of MoEST. The pilot road shows were

successful in reaching large crowds and provided a forum for dialogue with the local

communities on issues pertaining to supporting children’s reading. However, given the cost of the road shows, they may not be feasible to replicate in all TA areas.

MERIT will review the feasibility and added value of holding road shows strategically

to increase engagement and awareness.

On June 13, the SBCC consultant, Communications Specialist, Public-Private

Partnership (PPP) Specialist, CME Officer, and CME Specialist had meetings with

different media houses to determine packages and prices that they would offer on

some specific NRP campaign materials. The media houses included Zodiak radio

station, Capital Radio, Media Creation, Montgomery Thunde, and Mercantile. A

meeting with MOI was held June 14 to discuss how the Ministry can support the

NRP. Among other things, MOI offered to distribute NRP posters to rural areas

through the Boma Lathu newspaper. It also offered to contact various media houses

on behalf of the NRP to encourage them to provide the free air time that they are

supposed to offer as their corporate service to the country.

As part of the mass communications under the NRP, messages based on the

MoEST October 2016 circular were broadcast on three radio stations: Malawi

Broadcasting Station, Malawi Institute of Journalism, and Zodiak Broadcasting

Station from May 5 to 24 There were five distinct messages: the need to ensure that

(1) each learner has textbooks and is allowed to take them home to practice reading,

(2) parents and guardians are helping the learners practice reading, (3) schools are

adhering to the new times for the school day, (4) school feeding programs are not

interfering with school timetables, and (5) teachers and learners are punctual for

lessons. Each message had six slots per radio station. In total, there were 30

announcements per radio station.

2.3 Objective 3: Safer learning environments for reading created

In this quarter, Miske Witt and Associates, Inc. (MWAI) provided two STTA to

support Ms. Florie Chagwira-Betha, the Safe Reading Spaces and Gender Equity

Specialist. Dr. Kara Janigan, MWAI Senior Professional Development Specialist,

visited from April 17 to May 19, while Dr. Nancy Kendall, MWAI Senior Capacity

Development Specialist, visited from June 9 to 23.

Learning spaces with reduced physical harm and mental abuse provided

During this quarter, Ms. Chagwira-Betha worked with component managers to

ensure that their activities were sensitive to safe reading spaces and gender equity

issues. In April, Ms. Chagwira-Betha held discussions with division coordinators and


Division Community Mobilization and Safe Spaces Officers from Lilongwe, Mzuzu,

and Mulanje who monitored the TOT trainings, reported under Section 2.1, to find out

how the sessions on safe learning were handled. Among the topics reported was the

fact that gender discussions sparked hot debates during the trainings, and a lot of

women participants could be seen participating more.

Ms. Chagwira-Betha and Dr. Janigan participated in Standard 2, 3, and 4 Training

Manual Development Workshop (April 24 to May 5) and developed gender and

positive discipline sessions to be included in the training materials. These sessions

were informed by what was learned during the Standard1 teacher training conducted

during the 2016–2017 school year. They worked in collaboration with Mr. Augustine

Kanyendula, the Disability and Inclusion Specialist, to align the inclusion, gender, and

positive discipline activities as they are all elements of safe learning spaces.

Ms. Chagwira-Betha participated in the review of CME training materials, reported

under Section 2.2, as well as the Master Trainers’ Workshop for coaching at Mponela

to ensure gender and safe spaces element were included appropriately.

Dr. Kendall worked with Ms. Chagwira-Betha, Mr. Kanyendula, the Disability and

Inclusion Specialist, and the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (ME&L) team in

June to analyze data on the safe and inclusive school environment baseline

assessment conducted in February 2017. The initial findings were summarized in a

presentation that Dr. Kendall and Ms. Chagwira-Betha used to brief

all MERIT component leaders, including those at the MERIT MIE office. Initial

findings include the following:

• Many students report not feeling safe in school.

• School actors express support for inclusion, but school resources and practices to support inclusion are limited.

• Schools are becoming gender responsive in terms of parity in access, which can be said to be the impact of 20 years of focus on equality. The equality, however, has not yet had an impact on school leadership and does not yet address equity issues.

• Positive reinforcement is visible in teacher-pupil learning interactions in the classroom, but positive discipline is not reflected in broader school culture.

Key findings from the baseline assessment regarding safe and inclusive

school environments will be used to inform the next round of training materials for

teachers and coaches and the assessment will part of a report that will be prepared

by the ME&L Unit (see Section 2.6).

2.4 Objective 4: Pathways for sustainability instituted

In April, apart from participating in CME activities, the Capacity Building Specialist,

Ms. Nancy Chidzankufa, continued preparations for the central-level planning

meeting. The meeting itself took place on May 3. The meeting was attended by

officials from the departments of Basic Education, Education Planning, DIAS, and

Special Needs Education as well as MERIT staff. It was chaired by the Director of

Basic Education Dr. Joseph Chimombo. The meeting was also attended by RTI

MERIT Program Manager Dr. Bidemi Carrol, who has a role in providing technical

guidance for this component. She visited the country from April 29 to May 16.

Key outputs of the meeting included:


• A review of the proposed institutional system strengthening approach and process was done and recommendations were made to refine it.

• An agreement was reached to establish a task force comprising representatives from the departments to spearhead and guide implementation of capacity building activities.

The first meeting of the task force took place on May 30. During the meeting,

participants reviewed and approved the terms of reference (TOR) for the taskforce.

Increased government and community ownership of reading interventions

As indicated above, the MERIT Program Manager was in Malawi from April 29 to

May 16. During her visit, apart from providing general management support, Dr.

Carrol supported the Capacity Building Specialist. In this capacity, she, with the

Capacity Building Specialist held meetings with district education officials in Lilongwe

and Dedza, on May 2 and 5, soliciting their views on the education system functions

that need strengthening. On May 2, the two worked together to finalize the schedule

for institutional system strengthening activities. On May 5, they met head teachers,

Infant Section Heads, and Standard 1 teachers from some schools in Lilongwe.

During Dr. Carrol’s visit it was decided that there was need to consider hiring a

national STTA to support the institutional capacity assessment process. This STTA

would be supported technically by RTI and be guided by the taskforce. Draft TORs

for the STTA were produced in May, and from June 12 to 14 the Capacity Building

Specialist refined them in readiness for a meeting of the Capacity Building task force

on June 22, where they were reviewed.

Increased capacity of local organizations to implement reading interventions

The Capacity Building Specialist continued to participate in activities aimed at

enabling local organizations and communities to participate in NRP activities. She

worked with the Grants Manager on plans for CSO engagement meetings. She also

participated in the review of the CME training materials from May 16 to 19 and June

20 to 21.

Sources of additional financial and technical support leveraged.

During this quarter the PPP Specialist, Ms. Natasha Phoya, continued supporting

other component managers and making consultations with private companies and

organizations on the possibility of their contributing to funding for NRP activities. She

also continued to work with the Disability Inclusion Specialist in preparing for the

Braille Cup. The relationship with Airtel Malawi has continued with discussions of

partnership in funding the 2017 Braille Cup. In conclusion Airtel pledged to contribute

MK 3,000,000 to the cost of holding the competition. This was less than they had

hoped to contribute, but their Corporate Social Responsibility budget had been

reduced due to the business climate, and they were keen to maintain their annual

involvement in this event. In addition to Airtel, financial contributions from Save the

Children (MK 3,500,000) and the Malawi Union for the Blind (MK 250,000)

collectively contributed more than 60% of the cost of the cluster and national

competitions. The balance of the costs was underwritten by the MERIT budget.

On May 3, the PPP Specialist Phoya participated in the central-level planning

meeting convened under capacity building, where she made a presentation on PPPs.


During the meeting the Director of Basic Education, who was the chairperson, was

reminded about the need for a MoEST contact person for PPP. On May 5 MoEST

communicated the name of the PPP contact person in the Ministry: Ms. Grace Milner

of the planning department.

The PPP Specialist participated in the orientation of the 2017 Braille Cup competition

judges from June 13 to 14 and in monitoring cluster Braille Cup competitions from

June 21 to 23. The cluster competitions identified the learners who would participate

in the national competition on July 13 and 14, 2017.

2.5 Objective 5: Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) priorities for integration advanced

Robust participation in CDCS integration processes resulting in implementation of coordination requirements, particularly where MERIT activities and the CDCS focus districts overlap

MERIT Identified Strengthening Agricultural and Nutrition Extension (SANE) and

Protecting Ecosystems and Restoring Forests in Malawi (PERFORM) as possible

collaboration partners especially during the development of supplementary readers.

Unfortunately, the development of new supplementary readers cannot start until next

financial year as the process of developing LBs and corresponding TGs has taken

much longer than planned to be completed. Consequently, there have been no

activities under this section apart from MERIT participation in related meetings.

In April, MERIT met Jeremy Keeton of the Local Government Accountability and

Performance (LGAP) project to learn more about its activities and explore areas of

collaboration. The meeting was attended by the MERIT Chief of Party (COP), Deputy

Chief of Party (DCOP), CME Specialist, and Capacity Building Specialist. It was

learned that LGAP is focusing on local government services, citizen engagement,

and policy. The project is operating in Zomba Kasungu, Lilongwe Rural, Machina,

Balaka, Blantyre Rural, and Mulinde. It was agreed that a possibility for collaboration

exists, especially on capacity building and community mobilization. This will be

explored further after the implementation of CME activities at the local community

level has started, as well as the capacity building component.

On May, 16 MERIT staff attended an integration coordination meeting that was

convened by LGAP. This was attended by MERIT DCOP Charles Gunsaru, together

with the CME and Capacity Building Specialists. The meeting was also attended by

representatives from a number of other USAID-funded activities. For MERIT, the

meeting provided the chance for reviewing collaboration opportunities with SANE and

PERFORM.

Crosscutting Activities

2.6 XC 3.1: Monitoring, evaluation, and learning system development and management

As previously reported, the National Teacher Instruction and Safe School

Environment Assessment took place in 86 schools randomly selected across the

country in February 2017. Data related to safe school environment elements were

entered and cleaned in April. Data related to classroom instruction were entered in

March. The safe school environment data were shared with Dr. Kendall, MERIT

STTA for this work, who conducted a preliminary analysis. Some initial findings have

been reported in Section 2.3 above. The final analysis is being done by Dr. Robert J.


LaTowsky of Infonex, who is expected to produce the final report of the Instruction

and Safe School Environment Assessment in the next quarter.

As reported in Section 2.1, MERIT conducted the final training of the academic year

for Standard 1 teachers in April. Participant data for all three levels of the training,

i.e., master trainers, TOT, and training of teachers, head teachers, and others, were

collected using the M&E training booklets that were developed last quarter. The data

show that a total of 79 master trainers (44 men, 35 women) and 1,452 trainers (816

men, 636 women) were trained. A total of 21,273 teachers and head teachers and

others (12,098 men, 9,175 women) were trained by the trainers at the zonal level.

The 2017 NRP Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) was conducted in May

and June. The exercise was conducted in 86 schools randomly selected from across

the country. From May 17 to 19 a total of 21 MoEST assessors (7 men, 14 women),3

two (both men) MoEST supervisors, and 10 (7 men, 4 women) MERIT ME&L staff (7

men, 4 women) were trained at Liwonde. Field assessment in the 86 schools started

on May 22 and was completed on June 6, 2017. The focus was on Standard 1 and 3

learners;10 learners (5 boys, 5 girls) were randomly sampled and assessed from

each focus standard and sampled school. The assessment teams were monitored by

MoEST officials,4 the MERIT M&E Advisor, and the ME&L Specialist for quality

assurance. A total of 1,720 randomly selected Standard 1 and 3 students (860 boys,

860 girls) from the 86 schools were assessed. The data collected are being

analyzed, and the report will be ready in August 2017.

Geo-referencing of zonal map boundaries and collecting of missing GPS coordinates

for MoEST primary schools, which started last year, continued in this quarter and

was completed in May. Consolidation of the GIS data and production of zonal maps

has started and is expected to be completed in the next quarter. MERIT intends to

print and disseminate the maps to all MoEST division and district offices in the next

quarter.

Individual participants’ data for the coaching training that took place in May were

checked and summarized from June 5 to 16. The dataset shows that 78 people (44

men, 34 women) were trained during the Master Trainers’ Workshop, 962 (573 men,

389 women) were trained during the TOT workshops, and 11,194 (8,020 men, 3,174

women) were trained during the trainings that took place in the zones. Table 2 below

shows the details.

Collection of data for Standard 2, 3, and 4 teachers in readiness for the 2017 August

trainings, which started in March, was completed in May. The entering of individual

teachers’ data was completed in June. These data inform the preparations for the

trainings. Preliminary results show that 12,918, 11,782, and 13,454 participants will

attend the Standard 2, 3, and 4 August zonal trainings respectively. Table 4 shows

the details.

3 12 primary school teachers, 5 TTC lecturers, 3 Inspectors, 1 Coordinating PEA 4 One officer from the Department of Teacher Education and Development and three officers from the Department of Inspection and Advisory Services, respectively.


Table 4: August 2017 Teacher Training; planned participant numbers

No. Training Participants Facilitators

Teachers ISHs JSHs HTs ACCOs Total

1 Std. 2 7,958 4,960 12,918 1,162

2 Std. 3 8,192 3,129 461 11,782 1,150

3 Std. 4 7,843 5,611 13,454 1,176

ISH=Infant Section Head; JSH=Junior Section Head; HT=Head Teacher; ACCO=Assistant Center

Coordinator

USAID conducted the first external data quality analysis (DQA) for MERIT from June

27 to 30. The impression was that MERIT ME&L had the requisite systems and

structure in place. The report is due to be received by MERIT in the following quarter.

XC 3.1.1 Dialogue on/finalization of Activity Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (AMEP) with MERIT team and MoEST counterparts

On June 8, the ME&L Specialist, Kondwani Nyirongo, attended a USAID meeting that

discussed Activity Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (AMEP) indicators to be rendered

on DevResults. During the meeting, AMEP targets were clarified and AMEP

indicators mapped to F-indicators were reviewed. USAID has since sent to MERIT a

list of F-indicators proposed to be rendered on DevResults to review and provide

feedback for the rendering process to be completed.

2.7 XC 8: Students with special needs/learning disabilities

A TOT workshop on development of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for

children with disabilities was conducted from April 16 to April 20. The facilitator was

Martha Majors, an STTA from Perkins School for the Blind. The aim of the training

was to help participants have a better knowledge of the following:

• Development of IEPs

• Teaching and learning strategies that are effective for children with disabilities

• Resources that are used in teaching

• Information about who will be working with the child and how they can best support the child

• Information on how parents and relatives can support learning at home

• Ways to check that the child is making good progress

The training was attended by a total of 35 participants as shown in Table 5.

Table 5: Categories of participants in the IEP training

Institution/Designation Participants

Men Women Total

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Staff

4 0 4

Special Needs Education Desk Officers

6 0 6

Teacher Training College Lecturers 2 3 5


Institution/Designation Participants

Senior Education Methods Advisors 2 3 5

Special Needs Education Key Teachers

4 2 6

MERIT Staff 5 0 5

Save the Children 2 2 4

Total 35

The Disability Inclusion Specialist, Mr. Kanyendula, continued to participate in other

component activities to ensure that they are disability inclusive. He participated in the

development of training manuals for Standards 2, 3, and 4 teachers from May 2 to 5,

during which a unit on Inclusive Education was developed and incorporated in the

training manuals. In May, he also participated in the review of CME training

materials.

Preparations for the 2017 Braille Cup continued during the quarter. From April 3 to 6

the Disability and Inclusion Specialist worked with the Braille Cup Steering

Committee to develop test materials for the cluster phase of the competition. These

materials were later transcribed into braille. Ms. Angela Affran, Perkins International

Regional Coordinator for Africa, made an STTA visit from June 10 to 25 to support

Mr. Kanyendula in preparing for the Braille Cup. From June 15 to 16 they conducted

a workshop to orient judges for the 2017 Braille Cup cluster and national

competitions. A total of 35 participants (21 men, 14 women) attended the workshop.

Table 6 below shows the details.

Table 6: Participants in the 2017 Braille Cup Competition Judges’ Orientation

Institution Participants

Male Female Total

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology

3 0 3

Montfort College 9 4 13

Malawi Union of the Blind 8 7 15

MERIT 1 3 4

Total 35

The cluster level of the competition took place from June 21 to 23 in five centers

including Ekwendeni Primary School in Mzimba, Chilanga School for the Blind in

Kasungu, Nsiyaludzu Primary School in Ntcheu, Montfort Demonstration School in

Chiradzulu, and Makande Primary School in Nsanje. Out of the 90 participants who

took part, 40 were identified to participate in the national Braille Cup competition on

July 13 and 14.

Production of teaching and learning materials continued during this quarter. The

braille and large print versions of Standard 2 and 3 Chichewa LBs were adapted from

the approved books in April and submitted to the printers in May. They have since

been printed and delivered. A large print version of the Standard 4 LB has also been


produced and is currently being printed. The braille version of the Standard 4 LB

book is yet to be adapted. There is a plan for this to be done next quarter with the

English LBs. Table 7 gives the details.

Table 7: Braille and large print materials produced during this quarter

Book Type Quantity Status

Standard 2 Chichewa

Braille 200 Printed but yet to be distributed

Large Print 2,500 Printed but yet to be distributed

Standard 3 Chichewa

Braille 200 Printed but yet to be distributed

Large Print 2,500 Printed but yet to be distributed

Standard 4 Chichewa

Braille 200 Not yet adapted

Large Print 2,500 Being printed

2.7 XC 10: Management

XC 10.1.2 Develop MERIT rollout strategy in collaboration with Strengthening Early Grade Reading in Malawi, Early Grade Reading Activity, and MoEST

The Year 2 Annual Work Plan for MERIT was finalized and is being revised to

incorporate comments on the first draft from the Contracting Officer. It will be re-

submitted next quarter.

Plans for training and other implementation during the 2017–2018 academic year are

being drafted and will be reviewed with USAID prior to the NRP Steering Committee

meeting in August.

3. Summary of Accomplishments

3.1 Engagement with ministry counterparts

A meeting of the NRP Steering Committee meeting was held on June 6 at the

MoEST headquarters. The meeting was chaired by the Secretary for Education,

Science and Technology, Dr. Ken Ndala. During the meeting, MERIT supported the

NRP National Coordinator, Mr. Jeremiah Kamkuza, in presenting an update of the

implementation of the Activity and timelines for activities leading to the August

training of Standard 2, 3, and 4 teachers.

However, as already indicated above, MERIT management has been attending the

meetings of the NRP Technical Committee, which are chaired by the NRP National

Coordinator Kamkuza. DCOP Gunsaru attended all three meetings that took place in

June.

MERIT also continued to involve MoEST staff in the development of training

materials, training of teachers, and monitoring of the TOT and teacher trainings. The

panels of writers that are involved in the development of training materials comprise

MoEST personnel from TTCs, primary schools, and MoEST headquarters. Staff from

TTCs have been used as master trainers and trainers of trainers, while PEAs and


key teachers have been used as trainers of the teachers and head teachers.

Directors and other senior staff were involved in the monitoring of both the training of

teachers in April and the coach training in May.

The Central Level Planning Meeting to move forward with plans for the assessment

was held on May 3 to review the proposed institutional system strengthening

approach and process under Objective 4. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Joseph

Chimombo, Director of the Department of Basic Education, MoEST. A task force was

set up at the meeting and met on May 30 to review the TOR for the work to proceed.

There were no meetings of MoEST technical working groups in this quarter.

3.2 Coordination with early grade reading projects

No activities involving other early grade reading projects happened this quarter.

However, Save the Children joined the preparations for the 2017 Braille Cup. The

organization has pledged to contribute MK 3,500,000 towards the cost of running the

competition.

4. Constraints and Opportunities

Last quarter it was reported that after the COP and the DCOP met the MIE Executive

Director on March 16, there was an improvement in the pace of refining the Standard

2, 3, and 4 materials. It was hoped then that the process would be completed in April.

Unfortunately, this has not been possible. Among other things, inadequate capacity

of editors and designers at MIE has contributed to the delay of the process. In

addition, the MIE editors and designers insisted on working away from the Institute,

and this created a problem when it came to consultations between them and the

technical team that has been working at the Institute. The English LBs have also

taken longer than the Chichewa LBs, as there were several reviews from USAID that

led to significant restructuring and reworking of the content, which required further

design and editing time from the MIE editing/design team.

However, as has been indicated above, the formalization of the Technical Committee

has had a positive impact on the process. By the end of June, manuscripts of all the

Standard 2, 3, and 4 English LBs had been submitted to USAID for review, and

feedback from them had also been received. The technical team is working with the

editors to incorporate the comments and recommendations from USAID. It is now

expected that the books will be print-ready in July.

The continuation of the material development support for SEGREM/MIE has taken up

most of the time of the MERIT team at MIE during this quarter. The only other

activities that have taken place have been the April refresher training for Standard 1

teachers and a refresher training for Infant Section Heads on coaching. This also led

to later than anticipated completion of the training materials for the training of

Standard 2, 3, and 4 teachers due to the final versions of the LBs and TGs not being

available during the initial training materials development workshops.

Following the presentation of the Objective 2 strategy and approach, including the

SBCC strategy, the strategy document had to be further refined and adjusted to

reflect the feedback received from USAID. However, the clarity gained from this

discussion helped complete the materials that would be used in the CME training

cascade (to district-level stakeholders and community stakeholders). The other

opportunity that was utilized was to harness the support and technical capacity of the


MOI to support the design of the SBCC materials. It is hoped that this close

cooperation with MOI will also lead to coordination and support from the district

information officers for SBCC and CME implementation.

5. Activities for Next Quarter

5.1 Objective 1: Improved instruction for primary grade reading outcomes

Adequate high-quality teaching and learning materials (TLMs) for reading effectively used

Improved instructional practice for early grade reading

• Continue supporting SEGREM in finalizing the development of Standard 2, 3, and 4 English LBs and TGs ready for USAID and MoEST approval

Teacher training to improve instructional practice for early grade reading in Chichewa, Standards 1 and 2

• Finalize the development of training materials for Standard 2, 3, and 4 teachers

• Print training materials for Standard 2, 3, and 4 teachers

• Conduct orientation of national facilitators for the training of Standard 2, 3, and 4 teachers

• Train master trainers for TOT for the training of Standard 2, 3, and 4 teachers

• Train Standard 2, 3, and 4 teachers, primary school head teachers, and junior section heads

Establish classroom-level support for teaching reading

• Train PEAs in the use of tablets for monitoring coaching

Increased access to TLMs

• Complete distribution of Standard 1 supplementary materials

• Initiate gap analysis of supplementary readers for Standard 2, 3, and 4

5.2 Objective 2: Increased parental and community engagement in supporting student reading

Increased number of parents and communities implementing evidence-based interventions to improve student reading

• Finalize MERIT CME strategy (including SBCC strategy), following USAID comments

• Finalize training materials for CSOs and extension workers

• Source raw materials for local development of reading materials to support CME implementation

• Train facilitator team and conduct training for district-level stakeholders; begin training of local community mobilizers in community engagement for reading approach and adaptations

• Initiate CSO involvement in CME implementation


Increased number of parents and community members advocating for appropriate evidence-based interventions to improve student reading

• Finalize development of SBCC messages and design of SBCC communication materials

• Disseminate SBCC messages through radio and other media

5.3 Objective 3: Safer learning environments for reading created

Learning spaces that reduce physical harm and mental abuse provided

• Continue participating in materials development and training workshops to ensure TLMs are responsive to gender issues and child-friendly teaching practices

Positive reinforcement in the teaching of reading increased

• Integrate Safe Learning school and classroom approaches into the training of teachers

• Continue to ensure that TLMs produced are sensitive to issues of positive discipline, gender, and disability and are free of bias

• Continue working with the CME Specialist to ensure activities in Component 2 integrate safe space and gender elements activities

5.4 Objective 4: Pathways for sustainability instituted

Increased government and community ownership of reading interventions

• Continue working with MoEST to assemble policy documents for review

• Hold monthly institutional system strengthening taskforce meetings

• Hold a central level planning meeting to refine capacity building plans

Increased capacity of local organizations to implement reading interventions

• Facilitate rapid capacity assessment exercise for CSOs

• Host monthly institutional system strengthening taskforce meetings

• Conduct database appraisal exercise

• Review institutional capacity assessment tools by task force members

• Conduct key informant Interviews and rapid assessment

• Conduct Partner Local Organization Capacity Assessment

• Continue to work with CME Specialist on issues related to capacity building of CSOs

Sources of additional financial and technical support leveraged

As part of maintaining and sustaining existing private-sector partnerships the PPP

Specialist will:

• Continue working with the Disability Inclusion Specialist to mobilize resources for Braille Cup

• Work with the CME Specialist to mobilize materials for the development of reading materials by local communities and identify opportunities for sponsorship of SBCC posters


• Continue meeting companies on PPP activities

5.5 Objective 5: CDCS priorities for integration advanced

Robust participation in CDCS integration processes resulting in implementation of coordination requirements, particularly where MERIT activities and the CDCS focus districts overlap

• Develop integration plans with PERFORM, SANE, and LGAP

• Continue attending district coordination meetings in Balaka and Machinga districts

• Hold meetings with the identified integration partners

6. Crosscutting Areas

6.1 XC 3.1: Monitoring, evaluation, and learning

• Enter data, analyze data, and compile report on Standard 1 teachers April training data

• Finalize data files and refine maps from zonal GIS mapping of public schools

• Complete collecting, entering, and cleaning data on Standard 2, 3, and 4 teachers in readiness for August trainings.

• Update TraiNet Database

• Roll out use of new report writing software (SAP Crystal Reports), which will be to create dynamic, user-friendly reports for monitoring purposes

• Conduct rapid appraisal of MERIT/MoEST department databases

6.2 XC.6: Incorporating gender into MERIT implementation

• Participate in Standard 2, 3, 4 Training Development Panel Meetings to make sure that gender equitable teaching practices are incorporated in the teacher training manual

• Support community engagement activities for gender integration

• Monitor zonal trainings to ensure integration of gender equitable activities

• Compile report on gender integration based on MERIT staff reports

• Provide feedback to MERIT staff on gender integration in the monthly reporting process

• Participate in training for master trainers to make sure that there is gender integration

6.3 XC.9: Students with special needs/learning disabilities

• Prepare for TOT on development of IEPs

• Conduct the 2017 Braille Cup

• Conduct adaptation workshop for Standard 4 Chichewa and Standard 2, 3, and 4 English LBs

6.4 XC 10: Management

• Support MoEST to convene meeting of the NRP Steering Committee (August 2017)


• Complete recruitment of DCOP [Operations]

• Finalize the MERIT Year 2 work plan and budget and re-submit to USAID

• Prepare draft of FY18 MERIT work plan and submit to USAID by August 31

7. Detailed Overview of Implementation Process

7.1 Progress narrative

• MERIT continued providing technical leadership and support to SEGREM in the development of Standard 2, 3, and 4 Chichewa TGs and English LBs and TGs.

• Development of training materials for the August and September training of Standard 2, 3, and 4 teachers was started.

• Collection of information and individual data with respect to the Standard 2, 3, and 4 teachers, head teachers, and section heads to be trained in August and September in order to pre-populate attendance registers, has been completed.

• Standard 2 and 3 Chichewa LBs for use during the August and September trainings have been printed.

7.2 Implementation status

As indicated above, major activities in Objective 1 during this quarter have included

training of Standard 1 teachers, head teachers, and Infant Section Heads in April;

coach training of Infant Section Heads and head teachers in May; continuation of the

provision of support to SEGREM in finalizing Standard 2–4 English LBs; and drafting

of training materials to be used in the training of Standard 2–4 teachers in August

and September. The delays in the finalization of the process of developing the

Standard 2, 3, and 4 English materials affected the work of developing the training

materials not only because the materials had to reflect the content of the LBs but also

because MERIT technical staff could not find enough time to concentrate on the

development of the training materials. This also affected the timelines for the training

of Standard 2, 3, and 4 teachers. However, in general work in Component 1

progressed well. The training materials will be ready for the August trainings.

Standard 2, 3, and 4 Chichewa LBs to be used during the August trainings have

already been submitted to the printers and are expected to be ready early and

delivered in July. A number of activities under Objective 1 had to be put on hold due

to the overrun of the materials development for Standard 2, 3, and 4 teachers and

the training program, as all staff at MIE have been fully involved in these activities,

other than when refresher training for Standard 1 teachers and coaching training for

Infant Section Heads were taking place.

Work in Objective 2 has continued to gather momentum. Development of the SBCC

strategy, the CME training materials, and the overall strategy for Component 2 is

about to be completed. The identification of CSOs to be involved in CME activities

has been completed, and their training is expected to start in August. The training of

community stakeholders is also expected to start in August

In Objective 3, the Safe Reading Spaces and Gender Equity Specialist has continued

to work very closely with the Disability Inclusion Specialist in ensuring that materials

are responsive to issues of safe learning environments and disability inclusion. They

reviewed all the materials developed during the quarter. As reported above, the Safe


Reading Spaces and Gender Equity Specialist continued to receive support from

MWAI STTAs, which included Dr. Kara Janigan and Dr. Nancy Kendall.

7.3 Notable activities

Engagement with MoEST

A Steering Committee meeting was held on June 6 at MoEST headquarters. The

meeting was chaired by the Secretary for Education, Science and Technology, Dr.

Ken Ndala. During the meeting, MERIT supported the NRP National Coordinator, Mr.

Jeremiah Kamkuza, in presenting an update of the implementation of the program

and timelines for activities leading to the August training of Standard 2, 3, and 4

teachers. At the meeting, they reviewed training plans for August/September 2017

(Standard 2, 3, and 4 teachers), materials required, and their status based on

ongoing activity at MIE, and discussed proposals for allowance payments.

Engagement with MIE

During the quarter, MERIT continued to interact with SEGREM management. The

COP for MERIT and the SEGREM Program Manager continued to liaise very closely

as they tried to coordinate the finalization of the Standard 2, 3, and 4 materials. The

MERIT COP and DCOP also met the SEGREM Executive Director on May 24 to

ensure efficient working modalities for the teams working on the materials. In

addition, as it has already been reported above, the DCOP for MERIT attended all

the meetings of the Technical Committee that took place in June. The Literacy

Advisor, Dr. Kate McIlwain, and her team continued working with SEGREM technical

staff and MIE editors to ensure that the Standard 2, 3, and 4 materials being

developed are of good quality.

7.4 Activity Monitoring and Evaluation Plan update

As reported above, Kondwani Nyirongo, MERIT Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

Specialist met Fiona Rowand and Mayeso Zenengeya from USAID on June 8, where

there was a discussion of the AMEP indicators to be rendered on DevResults. The

meeting clarified AMEP targets and reviewed the AMEP indicators mapped to F-

indicators. USAID sent to MERIT a list of F-indicators proposed to be rendered on

DevResults to review and provide feedback. MERIT is therefore reviewing the

indicators and should be providing feedback in early July.

8. Implementation of Crosscutting Activities

8.1 Gender

Each month this quarter, MWAI reviewed the monthly reports submitted by all project

components and areas (such as ME&L, Field Operations, Human Resources, etc.),

focusing on how gender is integrated into planning and reporting activities. MWAI

provided feedback to MERIT staff to help deepen their understanding of how to

effectively conduct gender-responsive programming. For example, in April, Ms. Florie

Chagwira-Betha, the Safe Learning Spaces and Gender Equity Specialist, provided

feedback and suggestions to Component 1 (Teacher Training and Literacy) and

Component 2 (CME) staff. She also provided support to three Division Coordinators

and three Division Community Mobilization and Safe Spaces Officers by discussing

how gender as a topic was covered during the TOT (PEAs and key teacher trainings)

and zonal teacher trainings. Ms. Chagwira-Betha also trained divisional MERIT staff


(in South East, Shire Highlands, and South West Education Divisions) on how to

integrate gender into their planning and reporting.

In May, Dr. Kara Janigan, MWAI Senior Professional Development Training

Specialist, in collaboration with Ms. Chagwira-Betha, developed a gender integration

tracking and feedback mechanism, which includes a spreadsheet. In May and June,

Dr. Janigan entered data from all monthly report submissions for project components

and areas into the spreadsheet in preparation for an analysis of six months of

submissions to be conducted by MWAI in the next quarter.

8.2 Special needs education

Apart from participating in material development and training workshops, this quarter

Disability Inclusion Specialist Kanyendula also successfully coordinated the 2017

Braille Cup cluster competitions. As reported above, the competitions took place from

June 21 to 23 in five centers, including Ekwendeni Primary School in Mzimba,

Chilanga School for the Blind in Kasungu, Nsiyaludzu Primary School in Ntcheu,

Montfort Demonstration School in Chiradzulu, and Makande Primary School in

Nsanje. A total of 40 learners were identified for the national competition, which will

be held in July.

8.3 Information and communications technology (ICT)

Mobile money remains unable to provide MERIT an efficient payment system for

mass trainings.

9. Management and Administrative Issues

9.1 Staffing

During the reporting period the following staffing changes occurred:

• An Accountant and a Finance Assistant were employed in April 2017 to support the finance unit that was set up in the Blantyre Division Office. One Finance Manager who was based in Lilongwe was transferred to Blantyre to manage the finance unit.

• In May 2017 two staff were terminated; the IT Assistant and one driver.

• In June 2017 a Finance Assistant resigned.

• Advertisements were put in the national newspapers for the following positions: IT Manager (April 2017) and IT Assistant and Finance Assistant (June 2017)

10. Challenges and Lessons Learned

As reported in Section 4, the volume of materials development, and the additional

need for training materials to be developed, has taken a significant amount of time for

the technical specialists on the MERIT team, forcing some planned work to be

delayed. This has limited the time available for monitoring what is happening in

schools and classrooms (in fact some of the team have not been able to visit schools

at all). This has taken up time not only from the technical team but also from

management in coordinating and supporting the materials development work. It has

also taken time away from supporting other components.


During the training of Standard 1 teachers in August and December 2016 and April

2017, MERIT tried a range of options to try to identify an efficient and cost-effective

method of payment of allowances. For the August/September trainings for Standard

2, 3, and 4 teachers where allowance payments for over 40,000 participants are

anticipated over a three-week period, MERIT management proposed to the NRP

Steering Committee on June 5 that all participants would be paid by electronic funds

transfer, to participants’ bank accounts. MoEST accepted that this method of

payment was the most financially responsible method, but asked to consult the

District Education Managers to determine if this would be acceptable. The managers

responded that they felt that participants could not manage with receiving all the

allowances after the training, so MERIT proposed that one-third of the allowances

would be paid in cash by the end of the second day of the training, with the balance

paid to participants’ bank accounts within four weeks after the end of the trainings.

11. What Does USAID Not Know That It Needs to

In April 2017, an additional Finance Unit was established in the Blantyre Division

Office, comprising a Finance Manager, Accountant, and Finance Assistant. This was

set up to facilitate accounting for activities that take place in the three southern

divisions to manage the disbursements and liquidations more closely and reduce the

workload of the finance team in the Lilongwe office. It should be noted that all major

procurements and authorizations for transactions are still made from Lilongwe by the

relevant MERIT officers.

Regarding Annex A: Progress by Indicators, MERIT is currently mapping the existing

indicators against the standard Education and Social Service Indicator list and aims

to complete this to update the coding in the FY18 Work Plan and in the FY17 Annual

Report.

MERIT expects to request an extension to the contract for Elizabeth Long, STTA for

materials development support for Objective 1, due to the expected demand for

technical support for materials development through to the end of the calendar year.


12. How Implementing Partner Has Addressed COR

Comments from the Last Quarterly Report

The USAID Contracting Officer’s Representative asked MERIT to work on success

stories. RTI has identified an associate from the home office to link with the

Communications Specialist to provide support and guidance.


Documents

All Children Reading (ABE ACR)