Mothers and Daughters Learning Together: An integrated approach to address low levels of female literacy in Southern Nepal

• In Event: Holistic approaches to educating girls and women: lessons from world education programming in Mozambique, Tanzania, and Nepal

Proposal

This paper will present results and lessons learned from two programs that targeted marginalized out-of-school girls in Nepal with non-formal education and support for transition to school.

The programs targeted marginalized Dalit and Muslims girls in Nepal’s central Terai area, which has by far the highest proportion of OOSC at 27.3%. Of the estimated roughly one million out of school children in Nepal, more than half live in this geographic region. Many Dalit groups have out-of-school rates much higher than the national average, and even though Muslims make up just 4.4% of Nepal’s population, UNICEF reports that this group has the highest number of out-of-school children, accounting for 14.3% of total out-of-school children in the country” (UNICEF, 2016)

From 2015 to 2018, the Sang Sangai-Learning Together Project educated more than 21,000 girls through non-formal education, while the Equity in Education in Disadvantaged Districts project provided technical assistance to the Government of Nepal to replicate the model to reach an addition 25,000 out-of-school girls.

The projects used two approaches to non-formal education—a nine-month course for girls with no or minimal prior schooling and a three-month bridging course for school drop-outs in need of catching up before re-enrollment. Both courses integrate foundational literacy and numeracy with core life skills and social topics, such as nutrition, sanitation and hygiene, child marriage, etc. The Sang Sangai-Learning Together Project employed a holistic approach that included an intergenerational component with 7,000 mothers also participating in non-formal learning programs; engagement with traditional local culture through trainings on traditional Mithila art and advocacy through art; strengthening of school management to better facilitate (re)enrollment in formal school following non-formal education; and support for self-employment and financial literacy for older girls unlikely to transition to school.

This paper will describe the results of the programs, including learning outcomes in mathematics, literacy, and life skills; transition to school; and retention in school following transition. In addition, the paper will present findings from formative research conducted throughout the Learning Together Project to identify and address barriers to school enrollment (prior to the project), completion of non-formal education, and (re)enrollment in school following non-formal education. For example, data on differences between Dalit and Muslim out-of-school girls from neighboring communities and never-schooled girls vs. school dropouts led to more a more nuanced approach to programming. Finally, the paper will offer unique insights on how an intergenerational approach that engages mothers alongside daughters in non-formal education can challenge entrenched barriers to female education.

Comparing the holistic approach employed by the Sang Sangai-Learning Together Program and the leaner nonformal-only approach used by the Government of Nepal will allow for discussion of the added value gained through multidimensional programming that tackles barriers beyond just literacy and numeracy. The paper will also discuss remaining challenges that should inform future programming, such as engaging males in environments where many are absent (due to labor migration), lack of quality in local schools, and recognition of madrassas.

Authors

• Catharine Morgan, World Education, Inc.

• Roopshree Joshi, World Education

• Helen Bernadette Sherpa, World Education, Inc.