Room to Learn (RTL) South Sudan is a five-year USAID-funded project designed to expand inclusive education opportunities and promote social cohesion in South Sudan.
Montrose was contracted by USAID to adapt an English Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) into Toposa and Bari languages, as well as develop teaching and learning materials.
This will enable South Sudan to have access to uniform tools for use in measuring literacy competencies among students in lower primary classes.
Solution
Montrose was responsible for the following:
Conducting a workshop during which local experts adapted English language EGRA tools into Toposa and Bari, and developed implementation protocols.
Training EGRA assessors to administer the Toposa and Bari EGRA tools.
Leading the pilot and review of the adapted EGRA tools.
Formulating literacy standards and benchmarks for Toposa and Bari languages.
Leading an EGRA exercise in primary class 3 in Room to Learn’s Toposa and Bari target regions.
Producing a report including recommendations on how to improve literacy outcomes.
Impact
The project supported widened inclusivity of methods for teaching and measurement of learning outcomes to increase access to education.
The project aimed to provide equitable access to education for 600,000 children in South Sudan and an improved quality of education for over 1.2m children.
EGRAs in Dinka and Nuer were subsequently also developed to promote a national literacy baseline and improve literacy across ethnic groups, especially among pastoralist children and youth.