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Annual Report to DFID Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe Girls’ Secondary Education

April 2015 – March 2016

Purchase Order Number: 40055163

DFID Component Code: 203292-101

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Report Contents

1. Project Details

2. Project Summary

3. Expected Results

4. Output Scoring

5. Progress and Results

6. Cost and Timescale

7. Evidence and Evaluation

8. Risk

9. Value for Money

10. Conditionality

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1. Project Details

Implementing partners: Camfed International and Camfed Zimbabwe

Project title: Zimbabwe Girls’ Secondary Education

Project period: April 2012 – March 2017

Reporting period: April 2015 – March 2016

Report date: 29th April 2016

DFID component code: 203292-101

Purchase order number: 40055163

Project budget: £15,549,077

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2. Project Summary

This project is designed to support vulnerable girls in rural areas to persist and succeed in secondary

school as Zimbabwe’s education system recovers from the crises which marked the last decade.

Through this project, DFID initially provided £12 million to Camfed Zimbabwe to halt the decline in

girls’ participation in secondary education, over four years to 2016. This has mainly been delivered in

the form of bursaries, with some complementary inputs ensuring and developing community

engagement. The funding is designed to help Zimbabwe achieve gender parity in the secondary

cycle, with consequent wide-ranging social and economic benefits. The project is being implemented

in 28 districts, where 923 partner secondary schools are working with Camfed to improve retention

and quality of education for girls. To date the project has provided 26,973 girls with bursaries and

complementary support, including 6,952 girls who have completed four years of secondary

education. The initial project time frame is April 2012 to March 2016: in December 2015 DFID

approved a one-year costed extension, with additional funding of £3,549,077. This will enable

continued support to rural girls in school, and introduce new interventions to support disabled

children and vulnerable boys at secondary school, support to girls completing school to progress to

further education, and community initiatives to tackle early marriage and pregnancy.

Camfed’s bursary programme incorporates a holistic approach to tackling the obstacles impeding

girls’ education at all levels. The bursary programme is one component of a broader, long-standing

education programme. It thereby capitalises on already-existing infrastructure for delivery, as well as

synergising with related activities that focus on improving the educational environment. It also links

to CAMA, Camfed’s post-school programme that connects girls who complete secondary school with

skills training, tertiary education and employment opportunities to enable them to make the

transition to a secure adulthood supported by a network of their peers.

Since March 2013, Camfed Zimbabwe has also delivered a project funded through DFID’s Girls’

Education Challenge Step Change Window, which provides a complementary investment in

education quality. This involves CAMA members volunteering in their local schools as Learner

Guides, using My Better World, a curriculum which has been designed by Camfed and CAMA

members specifically to boost children’s aptitude for learning and enhance their prospects after

school. The curriculum emphasises the students’ wellbeing and development of skills and qualities

such as leadership, self-esteem, collaboration, and effective communication. This has been

accompanied by Step Up Fund (SUF) support in secondary school, which provides a new, responsive

mechanism of more tailored support for girls at high risk of dropping out of school, as well as

targeted local initiatives to tackle obstacles to girls’ success, such as distance to school. With

additional funding approved under the Girls’ Education Challenge, Camfed plans to conduct research

into the effectiveness of the responsive model, which has the potential to achieve greater value for

money at scale. As DFID monitoring visits have noted, the two initiatives co-exist well in the same

partner schools, despite girls receiving varying levels of support: this is achieved through clear

communication and the accountability and transparency of community-led selection processes.

Camfed is continuing to build relationships with district, provincial and national officials at the

Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE). The national moratorium on school fees,

achieved through effective lobbying by organisations including Camfed Zimbabwe, has held in the

last academic year. Lessons from the bursary programme are shared regularly with the Ministry at all

levels, with the aim of integrating best practice into government systems in order to extend capacity

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for the delivery of bursaries and related programmes going forward; recently this has included

sharing best practice in community-driven school feeding programmes, as a direct input into the

design of the national school feeding scheme. Over the past year Camfed has contributed to ongoing

consultations on the new Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP), and the Curriculum Review.

3. Expected Results

Based on the project’s target districts and schools, which were approved by the MoPSE, the

logframe for this project was revised by Camfed and approved by DFID in April 2013 and again in

December 2015 following DFID approval of a funding extension to the programme. Progress to date

shows Camfed is on track to achieve the following results:

Impact: Zimbabwe achieves gender parity in the secondary cycle, with consequent wide-ranging

social and economic benefits. Impact is measured through improved gender parity and increasing

pass rates. The project will contribute towards the following impact-level indicators:

Impact indicator 1: The Gender Parity Index will have stabilised at > 0.95 in secondary

education.

Impact indicator 2: Examination pass rates at Form 4 will have increased from 19% to 33%.

Progress towards these Impact level indicators is very encouraging; with 2014 EMIS data showing a

Gender Parity Index of 1.0, and exam pass rates nationally having risen to 27.96% by the end of

2015.

Outcome: Strengthened scope and quality of educational services enhances student access,

retention and achievement in the secondary cycle, with special attention to disadvantaged girls. The

outcome is measured through improved enrolment and completion rates across Forms 1-4 in 28

districts.

By the end of the project:

Outcome indicator 1: Enrolment in Forms 1-4 in 28 districts will have increased from 162,860

(82,867 male and 79,993 female) to 282,916 (142,169 male and 140,747 female).

Outcome indicator 2: Completion rate (Forms 1-4) in 28 districts (gender disaggregated) is 94%

for males and 88% for females by the end of the project.

4. Output Scoring

Progress towards the project’s outputs is described below.

Output 1

Output 1: Disadvantaged girls supported in secondary school Forms 1-4

Output 1 score: A+

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Progress against expected results: At the end of the year, the 2015 milestone was exceeded with

26,994 girls supported to date against the original project target of 24,000 girls. Two additional

targets have been added under this output for the extension year of the project, reflecting the

increased scope of activities funded – these will track the number of disabled students, and the

number of highly disadvantaged boys enabled to go to school with a pilot package of support. The

cumulative target against indicator 1.1 will increase to 30,186 to reflect the cost extension.

Performance description:

During the past year, bursary provision including termly school fee payments and distribution of

material support has been consistently timely, efficient and high quality, despite a context of

growing environmental challenges including flooding and drought. Integration of Camfed’s

programme database and financial systems during 2015 has enabled greater efficiencies in delivery

and tracking, and regular training and support has helped to quickly embed this. The average unit

cost of the bursary package was £123 in 2015, reduced from £152 in 2013. Key cost drivers continue

to be school fees, examination fees and material items: however Camfed has continued to achieve

value for money through bulk procurement, including through strong supplier relationships for

shoes and sanitary wear. The national moratorium on school fees continues to hold, contributing to

Camfed’s ability to maintain a lower unit cost.

Strong programme ownership among the community stakeholder networks at the frontline of the

delivery continues to ensure effective delivery as well as capacity building in district structures,

which are integrated into these networks. Mother Support Groups working with School Based

Committees and Teacher Mentors have continued to play a critical role in retaining girls in school.

During 2015 members of the CAMA, alumnae network of young women who have graduated school

with Camfed’s support have stepped up their role in helping girls stay in school. CAMA members

volunteering in schools as Learner Guides, delivering the My Better World life skills and wellbeing

curriculum, are well-placed given their deep personal understanding of the challenges supported

girls face identify and follow up on those with lower attendance or who are at risk of drop-out. The

influence of CAMA members’ positive role modelling in schools is reflected in the girls the

programme supports forming their own peer groups to advocate against child marriages. Reports

from community stakeholders regularly highlight instances of success in returning dropped-out girls

to school. In Mt Darwin, for example, the CDC reported that it had been able to support the return

of students, including a girl whose early arranged marriage it intervened to stop and a second girl

who was counselled and persuaded against eloping.

Early marriage and pregnancy is the single biggest cause of drop-out among bursary students, and

nationally. During the course of the 2015 academic year, 11% (1,854 out of 17,000) of students

supported by DFID Zimbabwe dropped out of school, with the most common reason being marriage

and pregnancy.

Indicator(s) Milestone 2015 Achieved 2015

1.1 Number of girls supported 24,000 26,973 (cumulative) 17,000 supported in 2015

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National level statistics show that high rates of teenage marriage among girls is a significant

phenomenon in rural areas, where 27.4% of girls aged 15-19 are married, compared with 16.9% in

urban areas. The current dire climactic conditions exacerbate the issue: in January the Zimbabwe

Vulnerability Assessment Committee’s (ZimVAC) reported a rise in parents marrying off their

children as a ‘coping strategy’ against the increasingly dire climatic conditions facing the majority of

the country.

Monitoring of dropout rates

CDC members make significant efforts to meet with parents or guardians of children receiving

support from Camfed during each of their monitoring visits, to ensure that parents/guardians are

fully aware of the nature of support to which their child is entitled, and to encourage a supportive

home environment. CDCs are also working with other stakeholder groups to find solutions to

identified issues of drop-out: Lupane CDC, for example, reported that schools working together with

MSGs at two secondary schools had established low cost boarding facilities to address the drop-out

rates attributed to long distances travelled by its students.

CDC members in Binga, Chikomba West, Gokwe North, Gokwe South, Guruve, Hurungwe, Kwekwe,

Mbire, Mt Darwin, Muzarabani, Mwenezi, Nyaminyami, Nyanga, Umguza and Wedza conducted

intensive monitoring visits to schools in November 2015 to achieve a deeper understanding of the

Unclear/unverifiable, 503, 27%

Pregnancy, 154, 8%Marriage, 967,

52%

Maternity leave, 3, 0%

Illness, 16, 1%

Passed Away, 22, 1%

Working, 35, 2%

Other known reason, 71, 4% Not enjoying

school, 83, 5%

Students supported by DFID Zimbabwe who dropped out in 2015, by drop out reason

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dynamics behind students dropping out of school, interviewing a wide range of stakeholders

including students, Teacher Mentors, PSG members, and CAMA. In Binga the CDC visited five

secondary schools. The team discovered that 74 male and 80 female students had dropped out of

the five schools during the academic year. At two of the schools, drop-out numbers were slightly

higher among boys, and the reverse was the case in the remaining three. Long distances children

have to travel to school was identified as a major cause, as well as economic pressures, materialising

in pressure for boys to join the local fishing industry, one of the major sources of income in Binga,

and for girls to enter early marriages with fishermen, to lessen the economic challenges facing their

families. In response, the CDC recommended that schools work with PSGs and others to increase

awareness programmes on child marriage and the provision of school meals programmes so families

are reassured that their children will be fed at school. They also suggested conducting

induction or refresher training for new staff members and Head Teachers to help them understand

their roles and responsibilities around the implementation of child protection policies in particular.

In Chikomba West, the issues faced were similar, although drop-out rates were consistently higher

for boys than for girls; the pull of the tobacco industry and its increasing use of child labour were

cited as reasons. These findings by CDCs reinforce the case for piloting a targeted package of support

for highly vulnerable boys, as planned for the extension year of this programme.

Impact weighting: 30%

Revised since proposal submitted: No; will increase to 40% in costed extension period

Output 2

Output 2: Disadvantaged girls complete four years of secondary schooling (Forms 1-4)

Output 2 score: A

Indicator(s) Milestone 2015 Achieved 2015

2.1 Progression of girls supported 85% 88%

2.2 Attendance rate of girls supported 91%

92% (based on 76%

of all attendance

data possible)

2.3 Number of girls supported

completing Form 4 14,386 14,173

Progress against expected results: Progress against two of the three indicators exceeded targets,

with 88% of girls progressing to the next grade, against a target of 85%, and attendance rates of 92%

recorded against a target of 91%, despite programme districts being among those worst affected by

recent EL- Nino induced drought. The total number of girls completing Form 4 was slightly lower

than expected at 14,173, reflecting an increase in pull factors including responsibilities to support

family against the increasingly difficult economic and climatic conditions over the past year.

Performance description:

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Camfed has continued to support girls through their O and A Levels this year. Nationally, 310,917 candidates sat for the O-Level examinations in November 2015. 156,418 wrote five or more subjects while 43,581 obtained five or more subjects yielding a 27.86% pass rate which is an increase of 5.48% from the 2014 pass rate. Camfed supported 8,662 bursary clients to sit for their O-Level in 2015.

Progression and attendance rates have remained high throughout the programme, as demonstrated

by the following charts.

As previously noted, progression measured in year one was very high at 99% and as predicted it reduced and stabilised at 93% in the following year. Adverse – and worsening – economic and environmental conditions combine to make this a particularly challenging time for girls to stay in school, reflected in the drop to 88% during 2015, although progression rates continue to outperform expectations.

80% 81% 83% 85% 87%

99%93% 93%

88%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Progression of girls supported 2012 - 2015

Planned progression Achieved progression

85%

87%

89%

91%

93%

91%

89%

92% 92%

80%

82%

84%

86%

88%

90%

92%

94%

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Attendance rate of girls supported 2012 - 2015

Planned attendance Achieved Attendance

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The attendance rates for girls supported under this grant have also continued to exceed the

target milestones, in defiance of the increasing challenges they face. Overall attendance

rates dropped by a single percentage point, from 93% in 2014, despite the districts where

the programme is active being among the worst affected by drought. This reflects the

effectiveness of the support system built around girls, and the resilience and commitment of

PSGs and CAMA in particular. At the school level, Mother Support Groups (MSGs) have made

significant contributions to keeping girls in school and increasing the resilience of the

delivery structure against environmental and economic shocks. Home-grown school feeding

programmes led by MSGs have been credited with positively improving retention and

attendance among students. The recent midline study conducted under Girls’ Education

Challenge funding looked at these programmes and found that many more Camfed partner

schools in partner districts provide school lunches for their students than schools in non-

partner districts. As many as 49% of intervention schools provide lunch to students at least

some of the time, while none of the comparison schools reported ever providing lunch to

students.

As a result of the effectiveness of the home-grown school feeding initiative, Camfed has been invited

by MoPSE to join a focus group exploring how it could introduce and sustain similar school feeding

schemes across the country.

13,342 Camfed-supported students took their O-Level exams in 2015, and Camfed Zimbabwe is

currently completing analysis of the results, including a comparison of students supported with full

bursaries and those supported with the responsive Step Up Fund under the Girls’ Education

Challenge. This analysis will be shared with DFID Zimbabwe as soon as it is available. At national

level, 310,917 candidates sat for O-Level exams, of whom 156,418 wrote five or more subjects.

43,581 candidates passed five or more subjects, meaning the overall pass rate was 27.56%, an

increase of 5.4% on 2014.

4% 7%

39%51%

0% 0% 0%

100%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Yes, all of the time * Yes, most of thetime

Yes, some of thetime *

No *

Intervention Comparison

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The highest performer identified among Camfed beneficiaries during analysis to date, a student from

Hurungwe District, maintained a daily commute of 16 kilometres to and from school and achieved

10 As, including in Mathematics, Integrated Science, Biology, and Physics, and one B, in English. She

has ambitions to continue to pursue sciences and become a medical doctor: the costed extension to

this grant agreed with DFID Zimbabwe will support a minimum of 600 girls to transition from Form 4

to further education, in response to the need identified to support students and their families and

communities to realise the full value of the investment in their secondary education. This student’s

greatest challenge, however, is that none of the neighbouring secondary schools are offering

sciences at A-Level: this reflects an ongoing issue with poor provision and take-up of these subjects

by continuing students. An initiative announced by the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education,

Science and Technology Development (MHTESTD) in early 2016 aimed to address this by offering to

cover tuition and boarding costs for students taking STEM subjects at A-Level: there is ongoing

dialogue between the MHTESTD and MoPSE on the eventual implementation of this scheme.

At A-level, 124 Camfed clients sat their exams in 2015, and 88% passed, matching the overall

national pass rate for all girls. Nearly half (56) of the Camfed students achieved 8 points or better,

and the highest achiever was a student from Nyanga who scored a total of 13 points (an A in History,

and Bs in Shona and Divinity). When national A Level results in November 2015, national newspapers

and the Zimsec1 analysis highlighted that girls outperformed boys overall in all 10 provinces. The

Herald reported that in Masvingo (which came 3rd highest in the ratings) 93.1% of female candidates

passed, against 90.4% of male candidates. Mashonaland Central came fourth in the ratings with

female pass rates at 92.7% and 87.1% for male candidates. Overall national pass rates among female

students were 90.5%, while male pass rates were 85.4%.

Impact weighting: 30%

Revised since proposal submitted: No

Output 3

Output 3: Strengthened capacity to manage bursary schemes at school level and at district level

Output 3 score: A+

1 November 2015 Examination: Advance Level Results Analysis, Zimbabwe School Examinations Council, January 2016

Indicator(s) Milestones 2015 Achieved 2015

3.1 Number of School Development Committees (SDCs) adhering to guidelines for managing bursaries efficiently and transparently

899 923

3.2 Number of district-level structures with broad representation of government ministries overseeing resources for vulnerable children

28 28

3.3 Additional vulnerable children supported with locally generated resources.

79,934 155,224

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Progress against expected results: All 2015 milestones have been met, with two significantly

exceeded. At the baseline there were 479 SDCs that were adhering to guidelines for managing

bursaries. At the end of 2015, there were 923 recorded, which exceeds the target of 899.

Partnerships with district and national level government structures have continued to ensure a

broad range of representation overseeing resources for vulnerable children. There are 28 CDCs at

district level adhering to this criterion, against the target of 28, representing full coverage of the

programme districts. By the end of 2015, 155,224 additional vulnerable children had been supported

with locally generated resources, far exceeding the 2015 target, as well as the final programme

target of 122,934 children.

Performance description:

The achievements under this output have been secured by the strength and commitment of the

networks of community stakeholders Camfed works with in Zimbabwe. These are critical in the

current context of severe drought and a struggling economy, when formal social safety nets

(including BEAM2) have been largely been eroded, increasing the number of children needing

support and compounding the challenges they face.

CDCs and SDCs are working together closely to ensure bursary support under this grant is directed

towards the most vulnerable children. With limited resources available compared with increasing

levels of demand from children, SDCs and CDCs’ in-depth knowledge of local context and the

systems and processes they have been trained on by Camfed to ensure accountability in their

decision-making, are pivotal. School Based Selection Committees (SBSCs) have undertaken rigorous

selection procedures, overseen by CDCs, who verify their transparency and ensure multi-stakeholder

involvement. These processes include visiting children’s homes to speak with their

parents/guardians and get a clear picture of their circumstances. The interconnected challenges

which girls have to face to continue in their education often emerge through these conversations.

For example, the SBSC for Kwekwe District described in their report the situation of one of the girls

considered for support as follows:

“She is a single orphan who stays with her old grandmother and her mother who is seriously ill. Two

of her siblings did not finish school due to financial constraints…She has not paid anything as school

fees. She does not have books or a uniform.”

Understanding these problems in detail is essential so the SBCs and CDCs can direct children to

appropriate support from Teacher Mentors, MSGs and CAMA members when they come to school.

The broad representation of stakeholders on CDCs, who have strong links to several relevant

ministries, social services, and local authorities, means individual children can be put in touch with

them to receive further support as necessary. It also allows for wider structures and services for

children experiencing abuse, for example, across schools and the district as a whole, to be improved

and overall levels of local philanthropy to be increased.

Exemplifying this diverse representation is the Mount Darwin District CDC, whose membership

includes officials from: the Department of Social Services; the Ministry of Primary and Secondary

2 The Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) programme continues to be underfunded, resulting in more children seeking Camfed’s support. Latest estimates suggest just $10 million has been allocated to BEAM for 2016, and $64 million is currently owed to schools in arrears for school fees for children on the BEAM programme.

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Education; the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development; the Ministry of

Home Affairs; Victim Friendly Units of police departments; the Registrar General’s Department; the

Rural District Council; the Ministry of Health and Child Care; the Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation

and Empowerment; MSGs; CAMA; the Office of the President & Cabinet and the District AIDS Action

Programme under the National AIDS Council.

Monitoring visits, led by CDCs, remain a key opportunity for the myriad ways in which community

members are stepping up to support children to be recognised. The reports on visits conducted

across districts in February and March 2016 highlighted particular achievements of communities in

this regard, such as:

Returning children who had dropped out to school (e.g. in Kwekwe, 14 girls were returned to

school through the joint efforts of Teacher Mentors, Head Teachers, CAMA members trained as

Learner Guides and Ward Development Officers, who provided counselling, food, stationery or

uniforms as required).

Collective efforts by Mother Support Groups (MSGs) to support school meal schemes despite the

national food shortages

Increased pass rates in some schools (e.g. Gohole High School in Matobo District recorded an

8.5% increase in pass rates at O Level, where no pupils had passed in the previous year)

The leadership of MSGs in generating high levels of community philanthropy, even during this

difficult period, has been particularly impressive; they have worked across districts and stakeholder

groups (including CDCs, CAMA, Teacher Mentors and Child Protection Committees) to widen out

support for vulnerable children beyond what any one of these groups, or indeed Camfed, could

achieve alone. After witnessing the impact of MSGs, more fathers have become involved, with Mudzi

District, for instance, now having men as active members in 37.5% of the groups visited on a recent

monitoring trip; significant progress in a context where the care of children is traditionally left to

mothers. MSGs from districts less severely affected by the drought have generously donated to their

peers through exchange visits to help them continue feeding and clothing vulnerable children. For

example, MSGs from Chikomba East donated 900kgs of maize, one bucket of groundnuts, three

buckets of dried vegetables and 400kgs of clothes to their peers in Umzingwane, and mothers from

Mbire donated 500kgs of maize, 400kgs of sorghum and 100kgs of cow-peas to MSGs at five schools

in Matobo.

Mothers from Guruve District have perhaps been the most successful in bringing together

stakeholder groups in order to benefit children, and have showcased the power of MSGs working

together and parents’ role within the broader education system. In February, mothers from Guruve

presented a collective donation of two tonnes of maize to the Camfed National Office with a note

which read:

“Guruve was also affected by the drought but, however we are better than other districts which are

completely dry. Please take the little that we have put together for our children in those worse of

districts and convey our love and solidarity to the children and the mothers.”

This maize has since been delivered to Umzingwane District where it is expected to have a

considerable impact on children’s lives. Such a significant donation was the culmination of a district

event themed ‘MSG Guruve – Safety Net Fund support to orphans and vulnerable children’ jointly

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organised by 27 MSGs with over 120 members and attended by over 1,423 parents, schoolchildren,

teachers, traditional and Government leaders. Meals for the event were prepared and donated by

the MSGs to the value of US $1,500. At the event, MSGs spoke of the need for communities to own

both the problems facing local children and the solutions to these, and the District MSG Chairperson

organised and distributed community contributions from which 271 school children benefited. These

donations included money to buy shoes, soap, clothes, sanitary pads, pens, rulers, pencils and

exercise books, worth a total value of US $709. The MP for Mashonaland Central, who attended the

event, remarked that:

“What the mothers have done is not ‘costly’ to an ordinary leader, businessman or politician but we

do not do it. These poor struggling mothers are doing what we are supposed to do as leaders and

Government. I have been schooled. I am touched. I am embarrassed. I lack words but all I can say is

that our nation and future is safe in the hands of women.”

It is this enthusiasm and these strong structures which the MoPSE will seek to harness during the

roll-out of the National School Feeding Scheme from May 2016.

Finally, CAMA members are working closely with MSGs and schools to support children emotionally,

with material items (often purchased through the profits of their own businesses) and with their

studies through the Learner Guide programme funded by DFID under the Girls’ Education Challenge.

On average, Learner Guides in Zimbabwe have volunteered 282 hours of their time to supporting

children since the GEC began, far surpassing expectations and reflecting these young women’s

strong sense of commitment to paying the value of their own education forward. CAMA members’

involvement will increase this year as they participate with other community stakeholders in new

initiatives to help tackle early marriage and child pregnancy.

Impact weighting: 20%

Revised since proposal submitted: No; will be reduced to 15% in the costed extension period.

Output 4

Output 4: Adoption of best practice in the Ministry at district and national level

Output 4 score: A

Progress against expected results:

The 2015 milestone for output indicator 4.1 has been well exceeded, with 104 meetings held

cumulatively since the project began against a target of 30. This year, Camfed will focus on inputting

Indicator(s) Milestone 2015 Achieved 2015

4.1 Number of meeting held between MoPSE and CAMFED to coordinate information-sharing at district and national level

30 104

4.2 Number of new policies and procedures related to entitlement accountability adopted at the national level and implemented at district and school level

3 1

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into the process of the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) development. The MoPSE is focusing

on developing from the ESSP operational plans at all levels (National, Provincial and District), in

which Camfed will fully participate in to ensure marginalised girls` support is prioritised as well as

addressing inequities in rural secondary schools. A key priority will be to influence the design and

implementation of the national school feeding programme being spearheaded by MoPSE starting in

Term 2 2016. Camfed management representatives are participating in meetings on an ongoing

basis, including joint monitoring visits to programme districts with MoPSE in order to encourage

adoption of Camfed best practice into MoPSE’s national approach.

Performance description:

Camfed has continued to engage with key stakeholders in the education sector at national level over

the last year. This has included strengthening its relationship with the MoPSE through regular

feedback meetings and as well as meetings around emerging national priorities and policies (e.g. the

Education Sector Strategic Planning meetings and the National School Feeding Scheme meetings).

Highlights from recent meetings and joint activities are shared below:

National School Feeding Scheme planning meetings: The MoPSE has recognised the value and

potential replicability of the school meals schemes Camfed has supported MSGs to run in rural

schools through recent monitoring visits and as such has incorporated elements of this into the

proposed National School Feeding Scheme to be rolled out from May 2016, in response to the El

Niño induced drought. The scheme will initially focus on infant level with government expecting

to reach secondary schools later.3 In the meantime, Camfed has participated in two meetings

hosted by the MoPSE and attended by representatives from UNICEF, the World Food

Programme, J.F. Kapnek Trust, World Vision, ECOZI, Plan International, the Ministry of Public

Service and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation

Development, to discuss the framework for a standardised and sustainable school feeding

programme and map the resources available to support this from partners. Camfed welcomes

this action to tackle children’s declining school attendance and learning due to hunger caused by

the drought, and as soon as National School Feeding Scheme resources are extended to

secondary level, MSGs familiar with how to run school meal sessions and with the infrastructure

already in place to do so will be ready to take advantage of these.

Meeting to discuss implications of the Constitutional Court ruling on child marriages: On 20th

January 2016, the Zimbabwe Constitutional Court outlawed child marriage and struck off

Statutes Section 22(1) of the Marriage Act, which for decades had allowed girls under the age of

18 years to get married.4 Camfed has joined other child rights organisations including UNICEF,

Childline, Zimbabwe National Council for the Welfare of the Child, Katswe Sisterhood, Plan

International and Citizen Child, to call for the rapid enactment of laws that will enforce the

constitutional ruling.

This group met twice at UNICEF offices in the last quarter to understand the implications of the

ruling and plan coordinated awareness raising amongst remote communities. Camfed Zimbabwe

has since raised awareness of the legal changes within rural communities where girls are most

affected by this issue and equipped them to take action against child marriage locally. CAMA

3 http://www.herald.co.zw/40-000t-grain-for-schools-feeding-scheme/ 4 http://www.reuters.com/article/us-zimbabwe-childmarriage-idUSKCN0UY27H

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members and MSGs are best placed to do this, and to support children who experience early

marriage, given their familiar or even personal experience of its effects, particular on girls’

access to education.

Education Sector Strategic Plan meetings: Camfed has had the opportunity to participate in the

development of the Education Sector Strategic Plan for 2016-2020 with the MoPSE throughout

the past year. This has been an important means through which Camfed and its stakeholders at

district level can directly feed into core education policy in Zimbabwe over the next five years,

drawing on their wealth of experience in supporting some of the most marginalised children in

the country to stay in school, and reflects the high regard in which the Camfed model is held by

the MoPSE. Stakeholders reflected on the successes and shortcomings of the last Education

Medium Term Plan, before supporting the drafting of the new Strategic Plan. Camfed attended

the most recent meeting on 17th February to give final input into the draft and allocation of

budget. Camfed will continue to support the MoPSE as it implements the central strategies laid

out in the plan to improve the Zimbabwean education system; these include increasing access

for all children, improving the quality of teaching and learning through a more relevant

curriculum, and enhancing the management and monitoring of education service delivery.

Meeting with the Department of Social Services: Camfed also attended a meeting hosted by the

Ministry of Labour and Social Services to form a strategy for coordinated efforts between the

government and NGOs to assist orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) access education, in the

absence of sufficient BEAM support. Other organisations that attended the meeting included

representatives from Plan International, World Vision, Department of Child Welfare (BEAM

Fund), J.F Kapnek Trust, Matthew Rusike, Chiedza Childcare, Higher Life Foundation, SOS

Children’s Villages and CDAS Trust. Improving accuracy of data on OVC was noted as a priority,

so the most at-risk children could be identified and supported. The organisations present formed

a steering committee and agreed to meet bi-monthly to devise a framework around this issue.

Regular meetings with MoPSE: Camfed has continued to attend the quarterly Education

Coordination Group meetings at the MoPSE offices alongside representatives from UNICEF,

DFID, and the Education Coalition Zimbabwe. Key Education Sector priorities have continued to

be deliberated on under the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and the Education

Development Fund (EDF). A major focus has been on Performance Lag Address Programme

(PLAP) activities, Early Reading Initiative (ERI), the ESSP, School Improvement Grants and the

response to the El Niño induced drought.

Camfed also attended a meeting on 26th January with the MoPSE Permanent Secretary and her

team of Primary Directors and Directors from various departments. Camfed shared its

organisational priorities for 2016 and agreed on ways to coordinate with MoPSE activities. As

part of these discussions, Camfed was invited to:

• Join the Secretary’s Merit Award Task Force to advise on various elements of the award

(designed to award schools nationally for progressive polices to improve education) in line

with the Director of Primary Education. As a result, Camfed attended a meeting on the

Secretary’s Merit Award on 28th January 2016 with other CSOs to plan how partner

organisations can help take this forward based on funding available.

• Support the planning for training of the remaining inspectors on Teacher Professional

Standards.

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• Share timelines for Camfed’s activities being implemented throughout the year with the

Permanent Secretary.

These meetings further strengthened Camfed’s organisational relationship with MoPSE and laid the

groundwork for the joint monitoring visit to Matabeleland held in March. The Director of Secondary

Education and the Deputy Director of Learner Welfare accompanied the Camfed National Director,

on a monitoring visit to Matebeleland North and South Provinces. The monitoring team met the

Provincial Education Directors, District Education Officers and visited schools in Umguza and Matobo

Districts as preparation for the roll out of enhanced support for boys in the two provinces starting

term 2 2016. The team also sought to observe how communities have managed to keep children in

school despite the challenges they are facing, particularly through the school meals programmes

they are running. The school meals programme run by PSGs with Camfed’s support was thought to

be a successful model which is highly relevant to ongoing discussions around the National School

Feeding Scheme. Another area of interest was to understand the barriers boys face in enrolling and

remaining in school. The Provincial Education Directors of MoPSE, for both provinces, emphasised

the importance of Camfed extending a bursary package tailored to the need of boys in the most

affected districts and inputted in the strategy. Camfed will be taking forward the enhanced support

of boys in Umguza, Lupane and Matobo beginning in May 2016 and input from stakeholders will be

reflected in the programming for boys.

Impact weighting: 20%

Revised since proposal submitted: No; will be reduced to 15% during costed extension period.

5. Progress and Results

Overall output score

The overall output score is A: eight out of nine output milestone targets have been met or exceeded,

and efforts under the ninth over the course of the last year are achieving positive progress and

should lead to the target being met in the short term.

Summary of overall progress

High rates of progression, attendance and completion have been maintained across the bursary

programme, despite a worsening national environmental and economic context. A cumulative total

of 26,973 girls have been supported, significantly exceeding the target of 24,000. Camfed’s

community partners and stakeholders have demonstrated strong ownership of the programme, and

added to the value of DFID’s investment through their own philanthropy, and support to vulnerable

children through feeding programmes and income generation activities.

The one-year costed extension agreed by DFID in December 2015 demonstrates continued

confidence in the programme, and will support Camfed in extending its model of support for

vulnerable girls to reach other excluded groups, including disabled children and marginalised boys.

Together with work under the Girls’ Education Challenge project, the programme is building a

significant evidence base for what works in securing quality education for marginalised girls, and

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Camfed Zimbabwe is positioned to use this evidence base to advocate effectively, inform the

potential expansion of Camfed’s regional programming, and secure new resources to extend its

impact. The programme has contributed to the significant increase in CAMA membership as a result

of supporting large cohorts of girls to complete secondary school: during 2015, the membership of

CAMA Zimbabwe grew from 13,906 to 25,014. The growing network of educated, empowered young

women represents a powerful force for change: young women are stepping up as leaders and

philanthropists in their communities, multiplying the value of the investment in their education by

supporting the next generation at school. Camfed’s challenge and opportunity over the next period

is to ensure that CAMA is fully and effectively supported to develop as a framework for young

women’s successful transition to secure adulthood, and a platform for their advocacy.

Direct feedback from beneficiaries

Belinda

Belinda is a Form 4 bursary student. She is an only child, and has lived with her grandmother since

she was five years old, when her mother passed away. Her grandmother struggled to support her

and she was often sent away from primary school because her fees were not paid. For a period, she

was supported by a female teacher, who had identified her promise and paid her fees so she could

continue to attend. This arrangement ended when the teacher was transferred to a different school,

leaving her once again at risk of being sent away from school, and often hungry. This affected her

performance and she did not do well in her Grade 7 examinations. She was identified for support by

Camfed stakeholders in 2013, and despite travelling a distance of 20 kilometres to and from school

every day is doing well. The support of Camfed and the community has enabled her to focus on

learning at school, and she now has ambitions for tertiary education, saying, “I want to thank

Camfed most for the help and support, which includes uniforms, sanitary items and schools fees since

2013 and the examination fees to be paid for this year. I hope I will pass all the 10 subjects with 6As

and 4Bs. I wish to do Mathematics, Accounts and Computers at A level and take a BCom degree in

Accounting at Chinhoyi University of Technology. I want to become an Auditor or Accountant.”

Winnet

Winnet is a Form 4 bursary student. Her primary school years were seriously disrupted by very

difficult family circumstances: her parents divorced when she was very young, and her father

subsequently remarried and died very shortly afterwards. Her mother was hospitalised for a

considerable time and so Winnet and her brother lived with their grandmother, who struggled to

support Winnet’s education. On regaining her health, Winnet’s mother started a gardening project

to try and support her children, but was unable to raise the funds to pay for Winnet to go to primary

school. Ultimately Winnet’s mother went to work for the primary school to enable her to attend.

Winnet’s application for BEAM funding was unsuccessful.

In 2013, on completing Grade 7, Winnet was identified by community stakeholders who recognised

that without additional support she would be unable to progress to secondary school, and she was

selected for bursary support.

Winnet writes, “[Camfed’s support] enabled me to proceed to secondary level. I am working extra

hard to pass with better grades of As and Bs in all the eleven subjects at O-Level. I would like to

proceed with my education to university so that I would be able to acquire a job and help other

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vulnerable students and my family. I would like to be a lawyer after studying for a Bachelor of Arts in

Law with the University of Zimbabwe.”

Key Challenges

Hunger and drought

Communities in the rural districts where Camfed works continue to experience the serious food

insecurity highlighted in the last biannual report. Conditions have worsened as Zimbabwe is among

the countries worst-affected by the El Niño cycle in recent months, and is now experiencing its most

intense drought in decades. Rainfall totals for the year are less than 60% of the long term average,5

food production has halved compared to last year, and maize is 53% more expensive.6 The

malnutrition rate amongst the youngest children is higher than it has been for 15 years.7 The

President of Zimbabwe declared a national state of disaster in February 2016.8 This situation is likely

to continue until at least September 2016.

In this situation, keeping girls in school becomes more challenging, as many families are currently

prioritising finding food and so are not able to channel as much money towards education costs as

anticipated. Children also feel pressure to attend school less regularly or drop out altogether so they

can spend time working to contribute to household incomes or finding food. An estimated 6,000

children in Matabeleland North are skipping classes, citing hunger and the need to help out with

house or farm work, and9 teenage pregnancies have been reported to be on the increase in most

districts as some households resorting to marrying off their children as a coping strategy.10

Camfed continues to work closely with communities in programme districts to understand the

challenges they are facing as a result of the drought and to support community structures including

PSGs and other stakeholders to continue or launch initiatives to mitigate the impact of the drought

on girls’ right to education. Despite the challenges members of PSGs running school meals schemes,

or agricultural income-generating activities, are facing in common with the rest of the community,

they are providing an important level of resilience for schools and vulnerable children, demonstrated

through some of the examples given under Output 3.

Marginalisation of boys

Camfed seeks to support the most marginalised children to continue their education, and whilst

these are usually girls in the rural communities where Camfed works, boys can also be very

5 Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee Lean Season Monitoring Report – January 2016 6 http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/feb/17/el-nino-leaves-100-million-people-hungry-short-of-water-droughts-floods-worldwide 7 Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee Lean Season Monitoring Report – January 2016 8 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/05/zimbabwe-declares-state-of-disaster-drought-robert-mugabe 9 ACAPS briefing note, 18 February 2016 10 Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee Lean Season Monitoring Report – January 2016

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vulnerable in certain socio-economic contexts. In rural districts with economies based on

seasonal/informal employment such as fishing or mining, or where there are high rates of migration

to neighbouring countries, many young men feel pressure to get jobs in these industries to support

their families; jobs that are often high risk. During a visit conducted by Camfed Zimbabwe’s National

Director alongside representatives from the MoPSE to Matabeleland North and South, it was also

highlighted that the transition rate for boys from primary to secondary school is very low, leaving

boys at risk of dropping out between primary and secondary school. In response to these issues, and

under the extension funding agreed by DFID, Camfed will develop and pilot a package of support

that responds to boys’ specific needs in districts where more boys do not complete school, in

consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, and drawing on the capacity of its established

community-led infrastructure. Initially this package will be trialled in Matabeleland North (Umguza

and Lupane) and Matabeleland South (Matobo), where EMIS data shows boys’ enrolment, transition

and completion to be particularly low. According to 2014 EMIS figures, in Umguza 1,946 boys are

enrolled in Forms 1-4 compared with 2,769 girls, resulting in a Gender Parity Index of 1.42; in

Matobo 3,821 boys are enrolled in Forms 1-4 compared with 4,810 girls, resulting in a Gender Parity

Index of 1.26.

6. Cost and Timescale

The project is on track against original timescale and financial forecasts, and is progressing well

towards Year 4 milestones. Activities have been carried out as planned with few or no delays,

despite the challenges described above.

Details of the expenditure to date against the forecast budget are provided below.

Statement of Expenditure

Details Amount

Year 4 Forecast £3,005,493

Funds received (01/04/2015-30/03/2016) £3,005,493

Spend by 30/03/2016 £3,005,493

Summary of Expenditure 1st April 2015 – 30th March 2016

Details Amount

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Secondary school bursaries £2,478,179

National level meetings £3,952

District launches £0

District Operations Secretariats £44,691

Training of Teacher Mentors £45,959

Training of School Development Committees & Whole School

Approach £103,730

Training of district level committees £9,234

Monitoring £23,405

Training Resource Teams in data collection £23,471

Database development £12,086

Staff costs £194,498

Overhead costs £66,288

TOTAL EXPENDITURE £3,005,493

Key Cost Drivers

During the reporting period, the bursary package accounted for £2,478,179 of expenditure and is

equivalent to 82% of project expenditure for the period. Monitoring costs in this reporting period

represent 2% of funds spent and staff costs represent 6% of costs during the year.

7. Evidence and Evaluation

Key results from the Girls Education Challenge “A New Equilibrium for Girls”

With its ambitious aim to increase retention of marginalised girls in early secondary education and

improve their learning opportunities, the GEC SCW project is working across 991 secondary schools

in 24 districts in Zimbabwe and 11 districts in Tanzania. The schools are located in rural areas

characterised by poor infrastructure and low quality service provision. To date, a total of 67,912

marginalised girls in Zimbabwe have directly benefitted from interventions. In the last quarter of

2015, two years after the project launched, a significant midline study was conducted. A

comprehensive set of Camfed interventions have targeted a range of barriers to girls’ educational

outcomes. Tailored financial assistance has been provided to the most marginalised girls identified

by their communities to address the direct and indirect costs of attending school.

Community initiatives such as school feeding organised by PSGs, have helped to overcome particular

challenges facing marginalised students. This has been especially crucial in the context of

Zimbabwe’s decline in economic growth which has been exacerbated by widespread drought.

Trained Teacher Mentors and SBCs have also contributed to girls’ welfare and participation in

school.

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As a key innovation to bolster learning and retention for girls in rural secondary schools where the

majority of teachers are male, Camfed introduced female Learner Guides to expand the presence of

female role models at intervention schools. The Learner Guides are recent secondary school

graduates from marginalised backgrounds, who had previously been supported through school by

Camfed. They led both female and male students through a curriculum aimed at developing broad

life skills and competencies to better prepare them for the critical transition from school to a secure

and productive young adulthood. Learner Guides also organised academic study groups, assisted

class teachers, provided counselling and followed up on students in danger of dropping out.

Learning interventions were targeted at all students, girls and boys. Despite improved learning

outcomes for marginalised girls, attainment gaps persisted between more and less marginalised girls

between the baseline and midline (although in Zimbabwe, the intervention was effective in slowing

the growth between more marginalised and less marginalised girls when benchmarked against the

comparison cohort). This result suggests that less marginalised girls were better able to capitalise on

the opportunities for learning gains than their more marginalised peers, and that marginalised girls

require further support to mitigate the longer term effects of marginalisation on their ability to

learn.

The midline assessment provides statistically significant evidence that Camfed’s direct support for

marginalised girls is associated with improved retention in both Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The

likelihood of a marginalised girl dropping out of school between the baseline and the midline was

more than one third greater (38%) for those in the comparison schools in Tanzania and nearly three

times as high in Zimbabwe (275%). No difference in school attendance rates were detected for

marginalised girls between baseline and midline, however, which suggests that retention may be a

more meaningful indicator than attendance in tracking the outcomes of the target group of

marginalised girls. Further investigation is needed as to whether and under what circumstances

levels of attendance provide an effective reference point; erratic patterns in attendance, rather than

overall attendance rates, may be more important as an indicator of girls’ vulnerability to school

drop-out.

At this stage of the intervention, the drivers of success appear to include: the relevance of the

financial support for marginalised girls at risk of drop out; the relevance of the study guides which

have been used extensively by students and teachers; active and effective teacher mentors and

Learner Guides; raised academic confidence among intervention school students; the motivation

and empathy of the Learner Guides who themselves previously experienced marginalisation; strong

community engagement and parental participation; and good partnerships with the Ministries of

Education at all levels. The additional positive impact of the programme upon the recent school

graduates who are operating as Learner Guides, including their gain in status and access to new

opportunities, bears further investigation as an effective post-secondary transition intervention.

8. Risk

At this point, the overall risk rating for the project remains at ‘low’. It was recognised that in early

2016, with the announcement of the state of emergency by the President, that the drought has

started to affect how parents spend their money (diverting it from spend on school fees to

purchasing food). The schools have also raised the alarm around the number of children coming to

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school hungry and the effect that this is having on children’s ability to concentrate within classes.

Despite this, there are currently no changes to the wider risk ratings described in the project

proposal relating to Zimbabwe’s political stability (risk 1, medium), economic stability (risk 3,

medium), functionality of schools (risk 2, low), and HIV epidemic (risk 4, low). Camfed is managing

the impact of the drought and knock-on effects of the economic instability (in terms of the fiduciary

risk that potentially affects Camfed Zimbabwe’s programme) and is working with its partners and

stakeholders to curb the resulting increase in hunger by supporting the provision of school meals.

9. Value for Money

Camfed continues exceed its targets within budget, and continues to achieve value for money

through bulk procurement of items including sanitary wear and shoes from large manufacturers and

creating the incentive for economies of scale which has ensured we are able to get very competitive

prices. Generous savings have also been realised in the purchase stationery and uniforms when

compared to prevailing market rates.

Economy

Securing savings on bursary items through careful procurement processes and bulk buying from

suppliers with which Camfed has strong relationships remains a priority. In the last twelve months

savings of $71,903 have been achieved on sanitary wear purchased. Sanitary supplies, which are

distributed to girls three times a year, have been one of the entitlements which have seen the most

significant unit cost decreases over the project period. The savings made on sanitary supplies and

stationery have allowed Camfed to better cope with other costs which are rising, such as exam fees,

meaning Camfed has been able to continue supporting girls on the bursary programme to sit as

many O-Levels as they choose. An extensive summary of savings made in each district on the various

products is highlighted at the bottom of this section.

Summary of savings

ITEM Budgeted cost Actual cost Savings

Savings on purchase of shoes $68,364 $56,948 $11,416

Savings on purchase of stationery $87,093 $44,871 $42,222

Savings on purchase of sanitary $256,442 $184,539 $71,903

Savings on purchase of uniforms $89,341 $74,663 $14,678

Total $501,240 $361,021 $140,219

Efficiency

Camfed continues to meet or exceed its output milestones under this grant, and regularly reviews

project inputs. The innovative integration of Camfed Zimbabwe’s financial, programme and impact

systems, in SalesForce and FinancialForce, was completed and fully rolled out during 2015. This has

largely removed labour-intensive manual data entry processes from the day-to-day administration of

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the bursary programme. This will result in significant efficiencies in staff and resource time and cost,

and will further increase accuracy, responsiveness and accountability in delivery, through automatic

alignment of bursary payments with student records in the programme database.

Recent innovations in Camfed’s mobile phone monitoring system have has led to improved

efficiency. Camfed is now using an Open Data Kit Collect application to host questionnaires

administered by stakeholders. Qualitative fieldwork indicated that stakeholders involved in data

collection considered this a positive change. The efficiency of the data transfer process has also been

increased through Camfed’s investment in Jitterbit, a cloud integration platform that reduces the

work involved in moving data from ODK into Camfed’s Salesforce database. The previous system

used to rely on a member of the Camfed IT Team linking data manually, whereas the Jitterbit

platform allows for intelligent mapping of data from ODK into Salesforce on a more efficient basis.

Effectiveness

It has been highlighted that Camfed’s model of undertaking Teacher Training and mentorship is

crucial to the sustainability of the Camfed initiative. This has been carried out through Learner

Guides, Teacher Mentors and Camfed staff, many of whom are Camfed alumnae and members of

CAMA. Not only are they able to provide strong supportive technical and leadership structures but

also financial support to the most vulnerable children within their communities. The activism of

communities and CAMA members is reflected in a high rate of local philanthropy that persists

despite the challenges of the current drought: in 2015, CAMA collectively supported an additional

58,380 vulnerable children to go to school, including 40,866 girls at secondary school. Community

stakeholders supported a further 155,244 children.

Equity

The design of a bursary to support boys has been based on informed discussions and in-depth

research with a variety of partners including education and child protection organisations, and

MoPSE. Similarly, with the support of the extension funding, Camfed is able to respond to a gap in

provision consistently identified during the course of this programme around provision of support to

disabled girls: a very small proportion of clients (1%) are recorded as disabled, but survey data

including that gathered under DFID Girls’ Education Challenge funding suggests that the true

proportion of girls experiencing disability or difficulty is much higher. Camfed has carried out

exploratory visits in Hurungwe District, where the support package will be trialled, and liaised with

stakeholders including District Education Officers and School Psychological Services to develop the

model for support.

10. Conditionality

This grant has no specific conditions.