Titus Syengo. Photo: Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa is a joint venture by Pratham and J-PAL established in January 2019. The TaRL Africa team supports partners working to address the learning crisis in primary schools in Africa through the evidence-based TaRL approach. In TaRL Africa’s first year and a half, Laura Poswell (Executive Director, J-PAL Africa) led the team as Acting Managing Director. In May 2020, the team welcomes Managing Director—Titus Syengo.
Titus Syengo is a strategic leader and thinker with over 20 years’ experience in nonprofit leadership. Previously, he worked at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation for eight years, starting as a Deputy Country Director and rising to become a Regional Director and overseeing nine country programmes in Africa. He was responsible for managing and leading a large and complex service delivery program in HIV/AIDS and Public Health. His work has taken him across Africa, managing programmes in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Malawi, the DRC, Cameroon, and Rwanda. He also worked for over 10 years at Pact in where he served in progressive leadership positions and led localization of Pact in Kenya, becoming the first Executive Director of the local affiliate.
“From my own personal experience where I started off as a herdsboy in the boondocks and ended up where I am because of schooling, I know that quality education is an equalizer that can lead to improved life outcomes including income, health, and opportunity. Although Africa has reached nearly the same level of primary school enrolment as that of high income countries, widespread access to quality education has been elusive with the current system largely focused on grade progression without sufficient attention paid to the quality of education learners receive. Evidence shows that the TaRL approach significantly improves learning outcomes in basic reading and maths. This inspires me. Access to quality education has the potential to transform lives and societies/communities, addresses equity and social issues, and promotes innovation, reduces socio-economic inequalities, and strengthens institutions. This is also my vision and dream for Africa as a development professional.”
incoming Managing Director, Titus Syengo
“We are thrilled to welcome Titus Syengo as the inaugural Managing Director for TaRL Africa. Titus’s passion for working with children, his hands-on, values-centred approach to development and his wealth of experience in the sector, spanning building community-focused organisations from the ground up to directing large regional programmes across the African continent, makes him the ideal candidate to lead and grow the vibrant TaRL Africa team.”
Laura Poswell (Executive Director, J-PAL Africa and outgoing Acting Managing Director, TaRL Africa)
