It’s 7:21 a.m. Oubah Ahmed, the head teacher at Ali-Sabieh 2 School in the southern Djibouti town of Ali Sabieh, is greeting children as they pass through the school gates.

There is a ceremony to raise the flag and sing of the national anthem, then it’s off to the classrooms to start lessons.

This morning ritual is the same in the 252 schools supported by the Expanding Opportunities for Learning Project (PRODA, from the French acronym), funded $30.35 million ($11.55 million from GPE) and implemented in partnership with the World Bank and the Education Above All Foundation.

The project aims to increase equitable access to basic education, improve teaching practices and reinforce management in the ministry of national education and vocational training (MENFOP). All these activities will help transform Djibouti's education system.

Laying the foundations for quality preschool education

In the preschool B class at Ali-Sabieh 2 School, the children are singing a nursery rhyme. "The aim here is to teach them to count to 10," whispers their teacher, Souleika Aden.

In Djibouti, early childhood education is a priority for the government. "This is a very important year in a child's school journey. The country caught on to this very quickly," confirms Naglah Mohamed, National Preschool Education Inspector.

With this in mind, GPE and its partners have supported the ministry’s efforts to develop a new guide (skills framework), approved in 2022, detailing the skills expected of teachers after training, accompanied by modules and pedagogical guides that encourage learning through play, among other things.

Improving teaching practices

Classroom observation tools, which are adapted from the World Bank's TEACH/COACH tool, have also been designed using target competencies and pre-service and in-service teacher training programs.

These tools use a standardized approach and serve as a basis for the work of the national preschool inspector and pedagogical advisors, who regularly support and monitor teachers, observing their classroom practices.

"All teachers can benefit from this professional development through a new coaching program under development, along with educational advisors and inspectors who observe teachers in the classroom and support a transition to more interactive teaching practices," says Bridget Crumpton, Senior Education Specialist at the World Bank.

The project also supported training programs for these teachers.

Focus on basic skills

This reform focuses on a range of complementary programs to improve learning. "A major effort is also underway to perform learning assessments to measure progress and identify areas needing further attention," she adds.

Supporting vulnerable children and improving the learning environment

The project also supports a supplemental education program for children whose schooling has been interrupted.

“For this, we have 3 years to do what others have done in 5. The first and second grades of the regular system are completed in one school year here; the third and fourth grades in one year, then fifth grade, which is a little more difficult, is equivalent to the third and final year," explains Abdi Mahamoud Djigreh, head teacher of Barwaqo 2, one of the "second chance" schools implementing the program.

In order to improve the learning environment:

• 41 preschool classrooms have been built or rehabilitated since the start of the program;
• 71 rural schools have been equipped with water points, latrines and solar panels, and
• 34 school canteens have been built or rehabilitated and equipped.

Involving communities in school management

Parents play an important role in supporting their children's education, and so every school in Djibouti has a parents' association and a school management committee. These bodies involve local communities in school management.

“The parents' association is very active here and also plays a major role in the preschool enrollment process," confirms Naglah Mohamed, the national preschool education inspector.

Parental involvement is essential for achieving results from the program. In particular, the parents’ associations help to:

• Share information with parents about school activities and priorities.
• Encourage student enrollment and attendance (sometimes by following up when a student is absent and trying to resolve the problem).
• Select students for preschool enrollment in schools where demand exceeds supply, helping target students from vulnerable families.
• Share learning results during consultations with parents, support school activities and identify actions that can improve learning, among others.

Strengthen the ministry’s management capabilities

To reinforce data and monitoring, a new digital education management platform is gradually being developed, with the introduction of a unique identification number for each student, enabling progress to be tracked throughout the school career.

Five sub-regional education plans have been developed in collaboration with local communities in the 5 regions of Arta, Ali Sabieh, Dikhil, Obock and Tadjourah.

Overcoming challenges to program implementation

The project is well on the way to achieving its main objectives, and it has strong leadership and commitment from the government; however some challenges are affecting its implementation.

At the school level

"Demand [remains] very strong. Despite the efforts that the government and the ministry have made to increase capacity, we still can't meet the entirety of the demand," says Naglah Mohamed.

Fadoumo Ali, head teacher of the Balbala 3 School says: " [Our] school has 1,268 pupils. However, for preschool, we only have one classroom for 25 pupils... and demand is very high. We need more preschool classrooms.”

At institutional level

The COVID-19 pandemic slowed down the start of the project because the ministry needed to turn its focus urgently on managing school closures and ensuring learning continuity.

"By working in close collaboration with GPE and other partners, the ministry and the World Bank secured emergency funding from GPE to finance the unforeseen costs of encouraging learning when schools were closed, including the transition to distance learning, preparing schools for reopening safely and preparing emergency situations to strengthen the resilience of the system," recalls Bridget Crumpton.

UNICEF's expertise has also provided training in emergency planning and supplying drinking water and sanitation points to schools, for example.

Lessons and perspectives for the future

“This support for the leadership of national authorities, along with the mutual accountability between all players in the education system with regard to the impact of the program, and finally anchoring the implementation of interventions for the direct beneficiaries - the children of Djibouti - are key principles at the heart of the GPE model", continues Adrien Boucher.

PRODA is the largest program managed by MENFOP to date and is the first to adopt a funding approach based on the achievement of agreed results, and therefore it takes time to integrate and implement the reforms.

The lessons learned from this implementation will, among other things, strengthen the ministry's leadership and commitment and consolidate the collaboration, coordination, and complementarity of partners at a time when funding for education is limited and must be used as efficiently as possible.

This will also put a larger focus on measuring results, using data to improve learning, and communicating results to the general public.