Strengthening School Leadership and Accountability for Sustainable, Competency-Based Education in East Africa

• In Event: Envisioning Education in a Digital Society: Effective school leadership and accountability strengthening to ensure value for money in education systems

Proposal

Educate! works to prepare youth with the skills necessary to succeed in today’s economy by integrating competency-based learning into national education systems. Our evidence-based approach focuses on three key stages: policy reform, in-service government teacher training, and the integration of sustainability structures. This ensures that education systems are reoriented toward the long-term delivery of education, emphasizing competencies and essential skills for employment, without the need for ongoing external support.
In Rwanda, Educate! has significantly contributed to strengthening school leadership and accountability through its partnership with the Rwanda Education Board (REB) and other national entities. By advising on curriculum reform and implementing the Educate! Exchange, a two-year teacher training program, Educate! has empowered teachers to adopt active learning pedagogies that have led to improved student outcomes. A rigorous randomized evaluation revealed that teachers who participated in Educate! Exchange were 19 percent more likely to use effective instructional techniques, resulting in higher rates of business ownership and university enrolment among students. To date, Educate! has trained over 1,880 teachers across all secondary schools in Rwanda.
The next phase of our work focuses on ensuring that these impacts are sustained through the system. Educate! is collaborating with the National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA) to overhaul national assessments, thereby promoting accountability through continuous assessments and the Comprehensive Assessment Management Information System (CA-MIS). CA-MIS, which was launched during the 2022-2023 academic year, allows teachers to upload student data to a national platform. Educate! and its government partners continue to refine this system, ensuring it interfaces seamlessly with other data systems and meets stakeholders' needs. These system-level reforms not only enhance accountability but also ensure value for money by maximizing the impact of educational investments on youth outcomes.
In this session, Educate! will share how evidence-based strategies are strengthening school leadership and accountability, lessons learned in scaling sustainable, competency-based education programs, and the challenges and opportunities for advancing these efforts to ensure long-term value for money in education systems.

Authors

• Tobias tobias.Mulupi, Educate!

• Meghan C Mahoney, Educate!