Learners practice a literacy activity in small groups during a TaRL session. Photo: TaRL Africa

Learning outcomes for children in early grades are poor despite ambitious education reforms in the country, such as the free primary education act and the introduction of the competency-based curriculum (CBC). Reports show that while the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to huge learning losses, over the years the salient issue has been that children were in school but not learning. This is the case, especially for foundational literacy and numeracy.

A learning assessment by a non-governmental organization called Uwezo in 2021 showed that 60 percent of grade four learners could not read a grade three appropriate text. In 2014 one out of every 10 Kenyan children completed primary school without having fully mastered class two skills, the report showed. These basic skills are necessary for children to understand and engage with the material they are taught in school and to acquire technical and higher-order skills as they progress in their studies. Lost learning that takes root in the earliest years of children’s lives fails to narrow in the following years.

This year marks the mid-point between the adoption and finish line of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To meet the target for inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, the spotlight must be turned to ensure that children are learning.

Foremost, it is essential to assess every child to measure their learning level and design interventions to help the children who fall behind to catch up. The curriculum cannot be a one-size-fits-all because children are not homogenous in how they learn and understand concepts. There are various reasons why children in early grades may struggle to learn basic literacy skills such as reading, writing, and arithmetic. One factor is the language of instruction. Young children, especially from rural areas with only their home language, may struggle to understand curriculum content due to their limited English proficiency. Other factors include a lack of support from parents and caregivers who may have limited education and a lack of resources in the classroom.

Supporting vigorous innovative programs that promote tailored instruction and remedial education could help the country achieve equitable foundational skills among its young learners. One such accelerated learning program is Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL), pioneered by Pratham, an Indian NGO, and has been piloted successfully in several African countries. TaRL evaluates children using a simple assessment tool and then groups them according to learning level rather than age or grade. Each group is taught using appropriate fun/play activities and materials, starting from what the child already knows.

Also, research shows that learners benefit from using their home language in education in the early grades (ahead of a late primary transition stage) and that this leads to a more positive attitude towards school, gives learners confidence, and helps to affirm their cultural identity. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology recommend that the predominant language spoken in a school’s catchment area should be used as the language of instruction for the first three years of primary education and that English should be taught as a subject from Primary one, this, however, has not been properly implemented.

Additionally, Kenya needs to empower its teachers and ensure they are trained and supported to lead learning, and produce and harness relevant research and innovations. Teachers are the engines at the heart of our education systems.  Teachers are ready to transform education, to transform learners by equipping them with foundational skills, and to stimulate their curiosity and ability to continue learning throughout their lives.

Finally, learning spaces must be re-imagined beyond physical classrooms to accommodate digital and remote learning technologies so that education is resilient and continues during a crisis or disruption.

Experts say that lifelong education starting in the earliest years can break the cycle of poverty, improve health outcomes, and prepare people to become productive members of society. The spotlight must be turned on children’s learning to achieve this.

Learners practice reading in small groups during a TaRL classroom session.  Photo: TaRL Africa

Even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, children globally reported poor foundational reading and maths skills. Most children in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, also experienced this learning crisis that worsened due to prolonged school closures and other disruptions to the education system during the pandemic.

By reading this article, you are demonstrating your ability to read. By calculating how much change you need when purchasing something at the shop, you draw on your ability to do maths. Text and numbers are everywhere: on newspapers, road signs, advertisements and subtitles in movies, in contractual agreements, bank statements,, and emails from coworkers. Beyond foundational skills’ ability to revolutionalise how you navigate the world, these skills will also allow children to absorb more advanced content within the curriculum. Without this base, they fall behind and never catch up. Despite how integral reading and arithmetic is to experiencing and navigating the world, many children in Nigeria are not acquiring these skills in school.

According to The State of Global Learning Poverty 2022 update, 70 percent of 10-year-old children in low and middle-income countries cannot read a simple text with comprehension. The situation is similarly dire in Nigeria, with many young learners unable to read, write and perform basic numeracy activities. A survey conducted in 2020 by the Nigeria Education Data Survey (NEDS) reported that only 66.8 percent of children aged 12 to 14 could read at least one of three words, and only 67.3 percent of children of the same age group could add single-digit- sums.

The Ministry of Education recently reiterated that it is committed to continually adopting existing and emerging innovations that advance learning. Evidence-based approaches that will accelerate learning of foundational skills, such as Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL), are more critical now than ever. The TaRL approach, pioneered by Pratham and evaluated and refined for over 15 years in India in collaboration with Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL),  is an accelerated learning approach that ensures that children catch up on foundational literacy and numeracy before they complete primary school.  Since 2016, TaRL Africa, has been supporting TaRL pilots and scale-ups across over ten countries in Africa. In Nigeria, TaRL Africa has partnered with various governmental and non-governmental actors to support TaRL programmes in seven states, namely Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, and Yobe.

TaRL zeroes in on classroom practices, enabling and motivating teachers to ensure all learners attain basic literacy and numeracy skills. Children are assessed using a simple testing tool at the classroom level and then grouped according to their learning level rather than their age or grade, creating an environment where level-appropriate content is quickly learned. For a period of the day, children in middle-upper primary focus on foundational skills using a specific accelerated learning methodology, providing children with an opportunity to catch up.

TaRL programmes in Nigeria are embedded within the government system and leverage its human and material resources to foster sustainability and to scale. In collaboration with the government and partners, programmes are designed to ensure cost-effectiveness and strengthen the capacity of government personnel from school to the state level on foundational learning. In Kebbi state, for example, the state government has also committed its financial resources to pilot, sustain and scale up the programmes. TaRL is now being implemented in approximately 2000 schools across the seven states in Nigeria.

Personally, it is very inspiring to see the excitement on children’s faces as they learn using fun and interactive activities and as they make leaps of progress from being able to identify letters only to reading words and short stories within a short period in a TaRL classroom.

To improve learning outcomes in Nigeria and ensure children gain foundational skills, we need collective leadership working together at all levels—in schools, government, and communities to drive foundational learning. Firstly, this commitment needs to be augmented with practical and concrete action and evidence-based plans that advance accelerated learning and recovery of the lost learning time due to COVID-19 school closures.

Secondly, the government must recruit, train and motivate teachers to ensure that all children, including the most marginalized, can access quality learning. The government must support teachers with adequate tools, professional development opportunities, and ongoing mentoring support to deliver targeted instruction so that no child is left behind.

Thirdly, the language of instruction must be brought to the forefront of education policy discussions, as evidence demonstrates that teaching children in a language they use and understand at home has the potential to support the development of foundational skills.

Additionally, the government must increase access to accelerated learning interventions that have been proven to support children in catching up. The TaRL approach has been identified by the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel approach as a “good buy” on cost-effective approaches that are improving global learning. The government must  assess learning levels regularly and prioritize teaching the fundamentals to enable all children to reach their full potential and participate in society.

To recover from dramatic learning losses, and to ensure quality education throughout life, there is a need for foundational learning.

Currently, in low- and middle-income countries, an estimated seven out of every ten children suffer from learning poverty: they cannot read and understand a simple text by the age of ten. According to a 2021 learning assessment by Uwezo dubbed ‘Are all our Children Learning?’, only two in five grade four learners are at least meeting the expectations in reading a grade three appropriate English text in Kenya. Simply put, many 10-year-olds would not be able to read this article.

Evidence suggests that if a child does not learn basic literacy and numeracy skills in the early grades of primary school, they get left behind in the higher grades—no matter how many years they spend in school. Yet, in middle to upper primary school, most curricula move away from building foundational skills, so children who have not grasped these skills do not have the opportunity to catch up. But all is not lost for these children, as there exist simple and cost-effective solutions that would bring them up to speed with their peers. Foundational learning is reading with comprehension and doing basic math calculations like solving addition and subtraction problems. Foundational learning provides the building blocks for all other learning and is critical to enabling all children to reach their full potential and participate in society.

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, learning inequalities existed, especially among marginalized and poor children, girls, children with disabilities, and children in conflict and crises. The pandemic heightened this crisis with the extended school closures, only increasing an already dire situation.

Kenya has been a champion for global efforts toward attaining the 2030 target for the fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. In addition to increasing school enrolment to 92.4 percent as of the 2019 economic survey, the country has endorsed the 2021 Call to Action on Domestic financing and actioned its recommendations by dedicating 26 percent of its national budget to the education sector.

This commitment, however, needs to be augmented with practical and concrete action and evidence-based plans that advance accelerated learning and recovery of the lost learning time as a result of Covid-19 school closures. The Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach has been implemented and scaled up in several African countries, including some parts of Kenya, and has proved to help learners to catch up on foundational learning. Pioneered by Pratham, one of India’s largest education NGOs, and now being implemented by various actors in Africa, the approach is known to transform learning outcomes within a short period of time.

TaRL zeroes in on classroom practices, enabling and motivating teachers to ensure all students attain basic literacy and numeracy skills. TaRL assesses children using a simple testing tool at the classroom level and then groups them according to their learning level rather than their age or grade, creating an environment where level-appropriate content is quickly learned. For a period of the day, children in middle-upper primary focus on foundational skills using a specific accelerated learning methodology, providing children with an opportunity to catch up. Recently the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel identified the TaRL approach as a “good buy” in their advice on cost-effective approaches to improving global learning.

To transform foundational learning, the Ministry of Education will need to take urgent and decisive action to ensure all children, including the most vulnerable and marginalized, develop basic reading, writing, and numeracy skills. This will involve buy-in, increasing access to remedial and catch-up learning initiatives such as TaRL, and supporting teachers with the necessary training to deliver targeted instruction.

Since the government has made great progress on universal enrolment, it now needs to focus on the quality of education by assessing learning levels regularly and prioritizing teaching the fundamentals.

A TaRL classroom in Kenya. Credit TaRL Africa

Many children in sub-Saharan Africa who are enrolled in primary school do not learn the most basic literacy and numeracy skills. These skills include reading, writing, and performing simple mathematics like additions and subtraction. Emerging data shows that this inequality in learning has been further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic deepening concern about an already worsening learning crisis. The World Bank and UNESCO’s Institute of Statistics determined that 53 percent of children in low- and middle-income countries cannot read and understand a simple story by the end of primary school. For example, in its 2018  report, ‘Learning to Realize Education’s Promise,’ the World Bank noted that in Ghana and Malawi 80 percent of students in grade two could not read a simple word.

Additionally, over 50 percent of grade two children in Kenya could not perform a two-digit subtraction.  In most contexts, children in grade two should be able to read short sentences or phrases and add numbers up to 20. Lost learning that takes root in the earliest years of children’s lives fails to narrow in the following years. Children who start behind stay behind—they can rarely catch up.

The high inequality in learning levels in the classroom is due to many reasons. For one, a one-size-fits-all curriculum prevalent in many education systems in Africa and elsewhere fails to address individual learner needs, such as learners who fail to master basic concepts. These learners are usually labeled as ‘slow’ or ‘poor’ performers, while we now know from research that a different teaching approach can often help them catch up quickly and progress further.

Secondly, due to a very high student-to-teacher ratio, many teachers cannot address the demands of all the children in the classroom and often focus on top performers. Teachers often lack the training or permission to veer from the curriculum, which in most instances is also overstuffed. All the while, as most schools grapple with a lack of essential resources such as textbooks or classrooms.

Other reasons for inequality in learning levels include teaching in a language unfamiliar to the learner. The first language for most young learners is their mother tongue which is the language spoken by a child at home. Children in most African schools are taught new, unfamiliar concepts in a foreign language such as English or French. Research has shown that teaching in a language the child speaks and understands is effective. Data from the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring and Educational Quality showed that local language instruction leads to strong learning outcomes, especially in reading. But this again is not the reality in many classrooms as mother tongue is frowned upon and discouraged.

Also, a classroom is usually heterogeneous even to begin with. Some children may have been exposed to some form of education in their early years, making it easier for them to learn than for those without access. Pre-primary education, as we know, sets a strong foundation for learning. But access to early childhood education has been slow and inequitable across and within countries. Worldwide, vulnerable children are disproportionately excluded from quality pre-primary education – even though it can significantly impact them. A report by Uwezo Kenya, a non-profit organization that focuses on basic education and learning outcomes, showed that learners from P3-P7 who attended preschool for two years or more have a higher competency in reading and mathematics than those who did not. Likewise, some children are from homes where their parents are involved in their education, and this supports impacts on learning outcomes. All these factors considered create an unequal learning environment in the classroom.

More significant investments in accelerated learning programs can narrow the gap for children who fall behind. These programs must prioritize teaching to the child’s current learning level instead of grade or age. This investment is critical because all children have different learning needs. Interventions focused on foundational learning—implemented by the government —can lead to improved learning for all children. One such intervention is the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach. TaRL is a unique intervention for accelerated learning that supports children who would have otherwise been left behind to learn and thrive. Pioneered by Pratham, an Indian NGO, the approach that has now been piloted in several African countries, including Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and Zambia, has revealed that learning outcomes improved with three months of accelerated learning focused on foundational skills through the support of TaRL Africa. TaRL evaluates children using a simple assessment tool and then groups them according to learning level rather than age or grade. Each group is taught using appropriate fun/play activities and materials, starting from what the child already knows. In Nigeria, for instance, the percentage of children who could read a simple English word increased by 30 percentage points after only 114 hours (on average) of participating in a TaRL pilot.

Schools can ensure that children are never too far behind by targeting teaching to what learners already know. TaRL has provided evidence that by relieving the constraint of poorly targeted instruction, children’s learning can improve significantly. Furthermore, this type of teaching can reduce classroom inequality, enabling teachers to better cater to more homogenous classes. The Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel calls for governments to adjust how children are taught by assessing students’ learning, focusing on the foundational skills, and implementing catch-up programs. Without foundational learning, students often fail to thrive later in school and subsequently when they join the workforce.