N’DJAMENA, CHAD – Media OutReach Newswire – December 13, 2023 –
Faced with the escalating refugee crisis and the strains it places on the Chadian education system, the War Child-led and GPE KIX research initiative explores the expansion of technology for education, including the Can’t Wait to Learn program. THE initiatives The aim is to improve and ensure continuity of learning for displaced children in conflict-affected regions through engaging technology.
Sumaya Abdel Rahman Mahmoud Mohamad, center, a 14-year-old student, raises her hand during a lesson, part of an EdTech program developed by War Child called “I can’t wait to learn,” at a school in the camp refugees from Djabel, in eastern Chad. . (Michael Knief/Global Partnership for Education)
The challenge
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Despite its own social and economic challenges, including poverty, malnutrition and food insecurity, the government of Chad provides shelter and asylum to 1.3 million forcibly displaced people, including 1,025,640 refugees from Sudan, the Central African Republic, Cameroon and Nigeria.
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The UN predicts that due to the conflict that broke out in Sudan on April 15, 2023, there will be an influx of 600,000 new Sudanese refugees into Chad by the end of 2023.
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This growing refugee crisis is adding to the pressure on Chad’s already underfunded education system.
Children represent 54% of the forcibly displaced population in Chad, placing significant pressure on the country’s education system. With limited funding in the education sector, overcrowded classrooms and a shortage of qualified teachers, hundreds of thousands of children, including refugees, have limited access to education.
“When you have a large refugee population, with around 750,000 children knocking on the doors of your country, [you can] understand the concern that is shared today. –
Said Farah, Secretary General of the Chadian Ministry of Education and Civic Promotion
To address these challenges, War Child, funded by GPE KIX (a collaborative initiative between GPE and the International Development Research Center of Canada), conducted research on scaling technology for education in Chad, Sudan and Uganda.
The GPE KIX initiative aims to explore how technology programs such as Can’t Wait to Learn can be scaled up, with the overall goal of improving the quality of education for refugee and displaced children.
I can’t wait to learn
In 2019, War Child launched Can’t Wait to Learn in Chad and introduced an engaging educational platform delivered via tablets and mobile devices. This technology follows the national curriculum and is designed to cover levels 1 to 3 (students aged 5 to 14).
It offers refugee and displaced children the opportunity to continue their learning journey, progressing at their own pace at school and at home, while earning credits within the host education system that enable a smoother transition. fluid towards formal schooling.
“The Can’t Wait to Learn program was designed to help children in conflict situations. This program is first designed by the children themselves, drawing on their daily lives.” –
Emmanuel Uwamungu, project manager, I can’t wait to learn, Jesuit Refugee Service
What sets the program apart is the involvement of local learners in its creation: War Child held workshops in local communities where they hosted art sessions allowing children to share their stories and ideas with local artists. These stories and designs were then integrated into the Can’t Wait to Learn program, enriching it with children’s perspectives and creativity.
The program plays a vital role in building foundational math and literacy skills and knowledge, and as learners master new numeracy and literacy skills and concepts, they unlock more challenging levels. The success is largely due to the fact that recognizing their own community and context in the learning content is very meaningful and motivating for children.
Chad’s Refugee Education Strategy for 2018-2019 highlighted the Can’t Wait to Learn program as a notable achievement in the education sector.
“You can see the impact this program has on students… They never miss a class, especially on the day of the device learning program.”
Nour Haroun Babakar, Parent
In 2003, Nour fled Sudan due to an attack on the region in which she lived. Currently residing in Djabel camp in Chad with her husband and children, she has observed a positive change since the introduction of Can’t Wait to Learn. Her son, who aspires to become an accountant or a pilot, has a new enthusiasm for learning and runs enthusiastically to be first in class every day. Nour has noticed a significant change: not only are the children learning more, but they are also significantly happier and more engaged outside of class. (Michael Knief/Global Partnership for Education)
The research
GPE KIX-supported research aims to explore, expand and integrate the roles of multiple stakeholders – including caregivers, community, teachers and educators, academic institutions, implementing organizations and policy makers – to delivering sustainable education and the delivery of evidence-based educational technology programs. .
In Chad, research produced analyzes and tools to support partner adoption of Can’t Wait to Learn and guide its sustainable impact at scale. It combined interviews with key members of government and private companies, analysis of organizational documents, and analysis of social networks among technology players.
Using the International Numeracy Skills Assessment, War Child and GPE KIX also analyzed the learning of more than 800 students in 20 schools across three refugee camps in Chad: Djabal, Gos Amir and Goz Beida. In 11 of the schools, Can’t Wait to Learn accounted for more than half of the calculus lessons each week. In the remaining 9 schools, teaching continued as before.
The results
The results suggest that between November 2021 and March 2022, children participating in the Can’t Wait to Learn program showed significantly better learning than those in the comparison group.
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Children using Can’t Wait to Learn learned 50% more than children who did not use the program.
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Girls learned four times more than boys.
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Girls started out with lower numeracy skills than boys, but caught up in just 4 to 4.5 months.
These results are significant given the situation in Chad.
learning poverty rate (being unable to read and understand a simple text at age 10) which rises to 98% for children who finish primary school. The findings suggest that with the right support, technology initiatives such as Can’t Wait to Learn can help close the gender gap in academic achievement and improve the learning of refugee children in Chad.
Looking at the broader research, War Child’s Jasmine Turner highlighted a crucial point regarding scaling strategies, emphasizing that a ‘one size fits all’ approach does not apply universally. In some contexts, governments readily embrace technology programs, while in others, NGOs and private companies are better equipped to facilitate scaling up efforts. Chad’s Ministry of Education endorsed War Child’s research and called on NGOs to support scaling up Can’t Wait to Learn in the country.
Hashtag: #I can’t wait to learn
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