For Immediate Release
Monrovia, March 7, 2016
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announces the award of a $33.9M contract to Education for Development Center for the implementation of USAID’s new Accelerated Quality Education for Liberia (AQE) activity, which focuses on over-age and out-of-school learners whose education was disrupted by the prolonged civil crisis.
In particular, AQE will use various interventions through an Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) to increase access to education for approximately 48,000 out-of-school children ages 8 to 15 in six targeted countries. ALP condenses six years of the primary education cycle into three years. It is based on the national curriculum and covers four core subjects: Math, Science, English and Social Studies. The ALP curriculum is delivered in three levels, each equivalent to two years of primary schooling. Courses are delivered on an alternative afternoon schedule.
The AQE activity will provide technical assistance and build partnerships with key Ministry of Education (MoE) counterparts and host country systems, particularly to institutionalize a nation-wide legitimate and credible accelerated education program, strengthen the policies, systems, and resources that are available to the MoE, especially in the area of accelerated education, and foster positive gender norms, including a heightened attention on women and girls, who are the least likely to have access to education in Liberia. It is expected that the implementation of the AQE activity will lead to the development of an ALP regulatory framework and increased eligibility of learners to transition to formal education.
An estimated 260 ALP sites will be established in the six targeted counties – Bong, Nimba, Lofa, Grand Bassa, Margibi and Montserrado over a four-year performance period beginning 2017.
Education for Development Center, USAID’s implementing partner for the AQE activity, has significant experience implementing programs focused on using the accelerated learning approach to provide out-of-school youth with literacy and numeracy skills.
