Second Chance Model in Ethiopia

The Second Chance initiative is an innovative model developed in Africa and based on
accelerated learning techniques which compress three years of curriculum into ten
months enabling students to acquire the numeracy and literacy skills needed to re-enter
formal education and complete the full cycle of their formal schooling.

In Ethiopia, the model rapidly returns children to school with great effect, while the
activity-based learning style introduces ‘student focused’ teaching methods. Class sizes
are strictly limited to 25 children to enable students to gain personal attention from their
teachers and more easily engage with peers in the group-based learning activities.

Self-help Savings Groups address the poverty barriers to attendance thereby improving
a family’s economic capacity and helping spark attitudinal changes towards children’s
education. Preschool-age children are prepared for timely enrollment into first grade
through a child-to-child program and education quality is improved in formal primary
schools through local link school development and teacher training.

Many Second Chance Facilitators trained in active learning methods go on to obtain

formal teaching qualifications and to teaching positions in mainstream schools after
formal teacher training and certification by Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education. Second
Chance facilitators and implementing partners are from the local communities which
they serve which means they know the families of children they teach and can be
responsive to the particular needs of each community they serve. This ensures the
introduction of content in the community’s language(s) before the introduction of other
languages.

Students learn five subjects—Mathematics, Environmental Science, English, Amharic

and their local language—based on the region’s primary school curriculum for grades
one through three. The facilitator prepares the quizzes on a weekly basis. Continuous
assessments, at the completion of each grade’s curriculum, are administered
throughout the semester and three grade level exams are prepared and administered
by the district (Woreda) education officials in collaboration with the implementing
organization. An ad hoc committee at the district level selects teachers specialized in
the subjects to participate in creating the exams. The third-grade level exam is designed
to prepare students for the placement exam which is administered by the district
education office.

Implementation in Ethiopia is informed by consultations with regional education offices,

local primary schools, and other stakeholders, and by the willingness of regional
governments to accept Second Chance as a viable program for ensuring primary
education access to all Ethiopians.

Luminos Fund’s team in Addis Ababa provides training to the implementing partners
and ensures that implementation complies with standards set for each intervention. In

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addition, Luminos Fund ensures financial and program data reporting is compiled on
time and transmitted to the Luminos Fund - HQ for donors’ reporting.

Second Chance Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is Second Chance?

 Second Chance is an accelerate learning program aims at bringing out of

school children (age 9 to 14) back to school and offering a ten-month
accelerated learning course of instructions that enables students to join grade
4 of the conventional schools based on their academic performances.
 Second Chance system is a new partnership with parents, school and
community to join forces on behalf of out-of-school children empowering each
child with skills, knowledge and character for lifelong learning and specifically
enabling them to join formal school to become a responsible member of their
society.
 Second Chance is an alternative path for enhancing the interest and
competency of out-of-school children to continue learning at the mainstream
education system.

2. What is Accelerated Learning Program /ALP/?

Many people interpreted ALP in different ways for different purposes. We can
summarize those definitions and explanations as follows:
 ALP is an effective learning process using active learning strategies which makes
learning natural, easier and faster.
 Accelerated Learning is in many ways simply a road map for those who facilitate
learning. It guides you in making the best choices in how to set-up the learning
environment, in the design of learning programs to meet the needs of all
learners, and in facilitating so that the learning process is both deepened and
accelerated
 Accelerated Learning (AL) is a comprehensive, innovative, proven methodology
that greatly increases our capacity to learn, problem-solve and create (The
Learning Doorway)

3. What are the principles behind Second Chance program?

 Any prescribed curriculum can be learnt within a short span of time by older
students
 Mastering Literacy at an early age is the key for the success of academic
progress
 Children who missed schooling can be given second chance and they learn with
more enthusiasm. (More motivated)

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  Older children can learn at a faster pace than younger children
 Individual attention in teaching-learning process provides a great result

4. If you don’t build schools, where do the children learn?

 As a ten-month program, spending resources on building schools is

unreasonable. Hence, Second Chance takes place in the already existing
facilities suitable for learning such as rooms in government schools, Churches /
Mosques, Farmers Training Centers, private residences, Local administration
offices etc.
 If we aim to sustain and replicate the program widely and reach millions of out-of-
school children, we have to make sure that the implementation cost of Second
Chance is bearable by local governments.

5. How often do the children meet?

 Children meet six days a week for at least 7 hours each of the weekdays and 4
hours on Saturdays. The total number of school days per year should not be less
than 220 days.

6. Who teaches the children in Second Chance classes?

 Teaching certificate or diploma holder are given priority. In places where we can’t
find qualified teachers, high school graduates who are willing to teach Second
Chance students will be recruited by implementing partners in
collaboration/consultation with District Education Offices and provided with a
three-week pre-service training prior to the start of classes. During their day-to-
day teaching/facilitation works, they will get professional support from a Program
Coordinator and Supervisor (who possessed the relevant academic and
experience in the field of Education) in their day-to-day activities.

7. How do you select the children who benefit?

 An ad hoc team, called Community Management Committee (CMC), comprising

Chairperson of Local Administrator, a School Director, Implementing Partners
and SC teachers would be formed in the respective site. It is the responsibility of
this committee to fairly select the appropriate children for Second Chance. The
most common criteria include, but not limited to the following: Age between 9 and
14, priority to older children, girls, low economic status of parents, never went to
school than dropouts, etc.

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  International and national education access surveys are the basic source for the
identification of sites.
 Every year prospective IPs conduct need assessment to know the number of
children who are deprived of educational opportunities.

8. What curriculum do you use in preparing the Second Chance children?

 Second Chance curriculum is the national primary school curriculum in the

countries it is operating focusing mainly on Literacy and Numeracy skills of
primary school 1st level and deliver the curriculum in innovative ways.
 The curriculum depends on the country’s curriculum where SC is implemented.
The logic behind choosing the national curriculum:
 SC is a temporary catch-up program that leads to the National
curriculum of a country and therefore children should be proficient
in the national curriculum.
 Secondly preparing a separate curriculum and imposing unto a
country will be unfair and it needs the approval of the MOE of the
country.
 It takes considerable resources to prepare a new curriculum
completely.
 Above all it is not just preparing a new set of objectives but
textbooks that go with these objectives should also be prepared.
 Usually, countries have prepared their national curriculum with
careful thought and with the help of many experts.

9. Are there any modifications done to the national curriculum?

 If the question means whether we are doing any changes to the MLC (minimum
learning competencies), then the answer is no.
 If this question means whether we have changed the contents of the textbooks,
then again, the answer is no.
 But as mentioned above Languages and Math are given higher emphasis in
Second Chance classes. (at least 14 hours per week for literacy).

10. What is the logic in focusing on Literacy and Numeracy

 Research and experience in West Africa ‘Second Chance’ show that if a child
becomes proficient in 3Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic) they will do well in the
school academics.

11. How is it possible to cover three years curriculum into one year?

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  Size: It is easier and faster to teach the small number of students ‐25 per
class unlike many public schools where we find more children in a single
classroom.
 Targeted group: older students (older children can learn at a faster pace
than younger and they are more enthusiasm as they missed schooling)
 Timing: the number of school hours is more in the SC classes. (Learn 7
hours per day but only 4 hours/day in the govt. schools).
 Methodology: Many enrichment strategies such as reading supplementary
books, group learning, peer teaching, experiential learning, and activities-
based learning are the highlights of SC.

12. Will Second Chance curriculum be different in each country?

 Yes, it depends on the country’s curriculum where Second Chance is

implemented.

13. How do you know the children are ready to enter primary school? {How do
you ensure all the prescribed skills are learnt?}

 MLC Text books Annual Plans Daily Lesson Plans

 Daily lesson plans are prepared based on Annual Plans and Annual Plans are
based on the prescribed govt. textbooks. In both plans, annual and daily, it is
ensured all the topics that have to be covered in 3 years are contained.
 Second Chance classes conduct baseline and endline EGRA/EGMA tests as
assessment of learning as well as every month as assessment for learning so
that the results inform the teaching/learning approaches of the facilitator.
 At the end of the 10-month SC program the District Education Office would
provide a Placement Exam. Consequently, the child would go to where he/she
fits - mostly grade four.

14. How long do you stay in a community before leaving?

 An IP will continue the program until bringing back the reported OOSC to
school. Hence, they could stay one to three years depending on the size of
out-of-school children in the particular area.

15. What is the role of the Implementing Partner in the program?

 The following roles are expected (SC Quality Standard)

 Understanding of Program, follow up evidence
 Positive involvement of IP top management

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  IPs must have accurate data of out of school children in the targeted
villages and districts
 IPs mobilize the communities to form a Community Management
Committee.
 Deliver the program
 Documentation of SC Designs, developments (Box files)
 IPs will be evaluated both on formative and summative evaluations.
 Innovation of new practices

16. What is the role of the community in this program?

 The main roles of the community is mobilizing out-of-school children,

participating in the selection of Second Chance classes, and overall
management and leadership of the Second Chance program;
 Community Leadership
 SC is managed by Community Management Committee.
 Community (CMC) owns the classrooms, and its materials from the
very beginning and after the phasing out also they will continue to
own them,
 The school parents democratically elect the CMC members at least
three months earlier to school reopening (July).
 CMC assists Second Chance facilitators to enroll the children
according to the set criteria. CMC members furnish information about
the status of the children as per the admission criteria.
 CMC is responsible for the day-today operation of the Second
Chance, checking the attendance of the teachers and students and
reporting to the supervisor of the implementing partner.
 CMC assists also in following up the progress of the children, such as
home study and any other problems faced by the children.
 CMC is responsible for maintaining a staff attendance register which
should be forwarded to the Finance monthly.
 CMC assists Second Chance facilitators to enroll the children
according to the set criteria. CMC members furnish information about
the status of the children as per the admission criteria.

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