Improving Student Learning and Equity

Across the emerging regions of Afar, Somali, Gambella and Benishangul-Gumuz.

The objective of the World Bank’s General Education Quality Improvement Program for Equity (GEQIP-E) is to assist the government of Ethiopia in improving internal efficiency, equitable access and quality in general education.

The overall mission of the three year TARGET programme is to reach 9,000 schools and provide support to GEQIP-E and the general education sector more broadly, with the aim of improving student learning together with enhancing equity and efficiency. 

Link is supporting the development of continuous professional development modules for school leaders and model interventions for scale-up with a focus on inclusion, teachers’ professional development and community engagement.

Key facts

4.5
is the number of years’ learning a child in Ethiopia can expect to complete
29-49%
of enrolled students in Afar and Gambella regions reach Grade 5, compared to 80% of enrolled students in Addis Ababa as of 2016-2017
67%
is the enrolment ratio for refugee primary education, far below the national average. Over 90% of refugees in Ethiopia are hosted in the country’s emerging regions
<8.1%
girls for every 10 boys are enrolled in primary education in these four emerging regions, significantly lower than the national average of 8.9 to 10

How we are making a difference

TARGET will support GEQIP-E to refocus the Ethiopian education system to improve learning outcomes through four integrated activities:

  • Performance-based delivery
  • School leadership training and capacity development
  • Enhanced school leadership to improve school performance
  • Research, monitoring and evaluation

Link is working on activity three of TARGET which is focused on supporting school leaders through professional development to strengthen instructional leadership, accountability and grant use. This is in addition to developing model interventions to identify what works in addressing the barriers faced by the most marginalised groups in the four emerging regions. These interventions include:

  • Capacity building on school improvement planning for all schools
  • A pilot on inclusion in each region
  • A pilot on teacher performance in each region
  • A pilot on engagement with communities in each region