The TaRL Africa board convened for its annual in-person meeting from May 27th to 31st, 2024 in Zambia this year. This gathering allowed the board to observe the progress of Zambia’s TaRL intervention, the Catch Up program, which has evolved from an 80-school pilot to a government-led initiative reaching near national scale. In 2016, development partners including J-PAL, Pratham, VVOB, and UNICEF, in collaboration with the Zambian Ministry of Education, launched the Catch Up Program in Eastern and Southern Provinces. The success of this pilot paved the way for expansion. Today, Catch Up is implemented across 9 out of 10 provinces in the country.
During the visit to Zambia, board members not only had an opportunity to visit TaRL classrooms but engaged in fruitful interactions with diverse stakeholders, The TaRL Africa board met with the Permanent Secretary for Education, and visited schools in Eastern and Southern Provinces. These visits were strategic, focusing on reviewing progress and sustainability in Eastern Province and assessing implementation fidelity and ongoing innovation in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in Central Province. The board was particularly impressed by the work of newly deployed government teachers who had undergone orientation on the TaRL approach through CPD activities at school and zonal levels.
The board provided feedback to individual schools and later held comprehensive feedback sessions with Ministry of Education officials from the province and target districts. The board also identified opportunities for further enhancement, including the need to strengthen shared leadership and set SMART goals at all levels to optimize achieving greater learning outcomes. Furthermore, there was an emphasis on enhancing CPD activities to improve lesson activity selection and overall delivery of the intervention in schools.
These interactions were crucial in identifying strengths and areas for improvement within the program. “It is truly a privilege to return to Zambia at this time and witness the remarkable progress made since the pilot,” said Rachel Glennerster, Chair of the TaRL Africa Board. Commending the results from Catch Up, she recognized the continued commitment of all teams involved in the program. In particular, the board found the Ministry of Education’s support for Catch Up implementation to be impressive.
As the Catch Up Program continues to expand, the Ministry of Education, VVOB Zambia, TaRL Africa, UNICEF, and other partners remain dedicated to sustaining and scaling efforts to improve foundational literacy and numeracy skills for children across Zambia. The program’s journey from a pilot in Eastern and Southern provinces to a nationwide program highlights the power of collaboration and innovation in education.
