Looking back at the Rapid Education Risk Assessment after two years of implementation in Mali

• In Event: Reacting to the RERA: How Rapid Education Risk Analyses Informed Practical Implementation in Literacy Projects in Mali, Liberia, and Afghanistan

Proposal

The Education Recovery and Support Activity (ERSA) in Mali aims to provide education and training opportunities for children and young people in the Gao Region, an area that has been affected by violence since 2012. ERSA runs a 1- to 2-year-long accelerated learning program adapted for resilience and school integration for out-of-school-children ages 9-14, along with a livelihoods preparation program, and an alternative basic education program with a work-readiness component for youth ages 15-24. To achieve its objective, ERSA is building 150 classrooms and rehabilitating 15 functional literacy centers.

In late 2015, six months after the activity commenced, ERSA conducted a Rapid Education and Risk Analysis (RERA) to analyze the effects of the crisis on the lives of the population, the school system, and the security situation in order to define the project’s implementation strategies for the region. The RERA identified recommendations for implementation around social negotiations, student enrollment and retention, vocational training, curriculum development, peace building, sustainability, and site selection.

Now, project leadership will reflect on the benefits and limitations of how the RERA can impact project activities, sharing some preliminary findings from studies that have built on the RERA experience.

Authors

• Aude Vescovo, Education Development Center (EDC)

• Boubacar Bocoum, EDC