The Literacy Programme for the Rural Development of Kayes

Background

FANDEEMA, which means "Self-help" in English, was formed into an NGO by former staff thirteen of then of Kornerston NGO with a formal Agreement signed with the Government of Mali on October 23, 2000. The NGO implements two programs with the "The Literacy Program for the Rural Development of Kayes" (PDRK) as the major one funded by Strømme Foundation. The Mission of the NGO is to promote, through functional literacy, the integrated development of newly decentralized communities in Kayes and Kenieba Districts, in Kayes Region with the goal of poverty alleviation through the fight against illiteracy and marginalization of women, as well as contribute to the growth of formal and non-formal education in the project area, and promotion of social well-being through increased community income.

Purpose/objective

1) Determine impact of the program, including on incomes, management of daily life and schooling.
2) Determine the relevance of NGO's interventions and the process of planning and identification of activities.
3) Determine the efficiency of NGO's activities including the use of human and financial resources available to the programme.
4) Assess the sustainability of interventions, including the level of participation of the population and the degree of ownership.
The components considered in the course of the evaluation were literacy, libraries (post literacy training), support to community schools and the speed school.
The evaluation was to take into account the following criteria: effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, impact and sustainability, and particularly:
- The effectiveness of technical advice from the regional office,
- The documentary and budgetary monitoring,
- The management of Fandeema in the Strømme Foundation's portfolio, and the effectiveness of its activities against alternatives,
- The nature of the partnership between Strømme Foundation and Fandeema.

Methodology

Twelve questionnaires were designed for use with different groups for interviews and the following individuals and groups were the focus in the evaluation were,
?? The management committees,
?? The animators of Functional Literacy Centres (CAF) and speed school centres,
?? The neo literates
?? The staff involved in the NGO support arrangement: supervisors, managing team.
The evaluation covered 25 out of the 85 villages where Fandeema has been working since the beginning of the activity.

Key findings

i. Literacy
The literacy centres conduct their activities over an average period of 1 to 5 years. From 2001 to 2006, has provided literacy training to 4,404 adults, with 1,956 women (44%) and 2,448 men (56%). The programme, which was covering 23 villages in January 2001, covers 61 villages in 2006 in the 3 districts of Kayes, Kéniéba, and Yélimané; conducting in 4 national languages of Mali: Bambara, Khassonké, Soninké and Fulfulde.
ii. The neo-literates
The general assessment is that there is a multitude of neo-literates in these villages who have received program support; some have had this status prior to the program; however neo-literates as a result of the program remain the majority. There is real satisfaction with individuals who know how to read, write, and compute; the majority of neo-literates use their skills in management of their daily individual and family activities. Many women use writing and arithmetic in selling fruits, vegetables, condiments, and others. Parents who receive medical products get to read the mode of use of products and administer according to medical prescriptions, which was not the case in the past. Many neo-literates testified that they learn to do their daily prayers by re-reading them at home after the literacy course, which was not the case in the past.
iii. The management committees of the literacy and the speed school centers
The management committees are not operational. They hold meetings very rarely, to the point that a few members of these committees do not even know their role or their tasks in the committee.
iv. The animators
The animators of literacy centres do their best to keep their literacy centres operating. Their level of education is relatively acceptable to handle CAF (7th-8th grade level); though this remains a relatively low level to handle speed schools centres; their level of education and pedagogic level remains inadequate, in spite of all the training they have received. Monitoring of these instructors by supervisors remains inadequate both in pedagogic terms and time spent; in general, the supervisors do not cover full subject matter, so their pedagogic input remains low.
v. Speed schools
The experience with speed schools started only at the beginning of the program in 2001. However, children who have successfully completed literacy courses and who have been tested by the schools could receive a transfer. Thus, 82 children were transferred from the CAFs during the 2003-4 academic year. During the start-up of the speed school, a total of 1,168 children were transferred to schools between 2001 and 2005: 535 girls (46 %) and 633 boys (54%). The schools receiving speed school students are quite satisfied with the children's level of education.

Recommendations

i. Literacy
The villages have to decide on whether or not they want to pursue literacy training; those villages which wish to continue must organize themselves to sponsor it; Strømme Foundation will not continue investing funds in continued operation of centers
ii. Speed schools
The major difficulty in the speed school approach at Fandeema is that the centres remain over an academic year, a situation that distorts the strategy.
iii. Supervisors
Only one supervisor out of three for the speed school is a professional trained teacher. Two possible solutions are, either to hire new competent individuals or to provide them with continuing education with special monitoring.
iv. CAF and Speed School Animators
CAF animators do not succeed in managing both CAF and speed school centres at the same time: a solution must necessarily be found to this situation.
v. CAF Management Committees
In the medium term, the management committees need to be structured
vi. Child transfers
The child transfer channel is poorly organized and poorly managed; the management committee is little involved if at all, and the transfer often takes place late. The transfer is an activity that must
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start at the beginning of the year and all actors involved must be identified and prepared for this transfer.
vii. Institutional and organizational level
The major difficulty which cannot remain without consequences is that Fandeema cannot claim to teach and transfer values and capacities of organizational management, transparency, and participation that Fandeema itself does not have in its internal structure; Strømme Foundation should require in its next partnership agreement with Fandeema, results including the setting up and effective operation of decision making bodies, strategic plan, management and control and accounts commissioners.

Comments from the organisation

Strømme Foundation's regional office in West Africa has followed up on the findings and recommendations e.g. partner should move from one village to another after one year and not remain longer in the same village, if number of children are too many for one speed school it should open a second center in the village, cost sharing on salaries for literacy animator: 1/3 by SF and 2/3 by the communities, new professional teachers are being used as supervisors, training of Management committees. The other recommendations too have been followed up, management committees, child transfers and the institutional and organizational level.