PRESS RELEASE
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
432 COBET Facilitators Graduate in the Mara Out-of-School Children Project
Musoma, Tanzania – March, 30th 2017
The Mara Out-of-School Children Project, a partnership of the Graça Machel Trust, the Mara Alliance non-governmental organizations and the Regional Government of Mara, celebrated the graduation of 432 Complementary Basic Education in Tanzania (COBET) facilitators in Musoma, the regional capital of the Mara Region in Tanzania.
The graduates completed a month-long residential training programme, which ran from 1 to 30 March at the St Antony Vocational Training Centre and Buhare Community Development Training Institute in Musoma Town. The trainers comprised 16 highly experienced COBET trainers drawn from Tanzania’s education sector under the leadership and guidance of Dr. Naomi Katunzi, an Education Specialist who was instrumental in the initial development of COBET in 1999.
247 new COBET centers to benefit 11,666 out-of-school children
The 432 trainee COBET facilitators were drawn from the five Local Government Authorities of Musoma Municipal Council, Bunda Town Council, Bunda District Council, Butiama District Council and the Tarime District Council respectively, where the Mara Out-of-school Project is being implemented in the first year of the project. Of these facilitators, half are trained primary school teachers who were seconded to the COBET initiative, while the other half comprises school-leavers, who will become para-professional COBET facilitators.
The deployment of the trainee COBET facilitators by the Local Government Authorities to 247 primary schools will see each new center being run by two COBET facilitators, one being a trained teacher and the other a para-professional. The graduates will spend the month of April preparing for the arrival on 1 May of the 11,666 out of school children recently identified by the Mara Out-of-school Children project survey study.
Strengthening COBET
The Mara Out-of-school Children project seeks to revive COBET, which experienced a gradual decline since its inception in 1999. COBET is a “fast-track” special curriculum that delivers the existing primary education curriculum to children in flexible schooling times, child-centered approaches and participatory methodologies. This allows children who are behind in their schooling to catch up with others while they maintain their other livelihood activities. Learners who are engaged in various income generating activities, or are young married mothers or fathers, or have other household responsibilities can study without disrupting their existing lives or livelihood.
The project will reintegrate out-of-school children into basic education by placing them into two age-range classes. Cohort 1 targets younger children, aged 7-13 years and Cohort 2, targets older children aged 14-17 years old. The Cohort 1 classes will be offered for 3 and a half hours during the morning, while the Cohort 2 classes will be conducted in the afternoons.
Development of life skills and economic and social competencies a core benefit
After the successful completion of the three-year “fast-track” COBET course, Cohort 1 pupils will be expected to join Grade 4, while Cohort 2 students will need take the primary school-leaving exam, after which they can continue with their secondary education or branch off into various vocational training programmes. An important aspect of the 3-year course for older Cohort 2 students, is the incorporation of a number of critical life skills and the development of economic, personal and social competencies, that will enable students to make the right personal choices, work on income generating projects, set up self-help groups and meaningfully participate in livelihood initiatives.
/END
More about the Project
The Mara Out-of-school Project aims to reintegrate 20,000 out-of-school children back into Tanzania’s basic education system by removing barriers that keep them out of school in the school environment, in the community and in their families. The project is funded by the Tanzanian Government, the Graça Machel Trust and Educate A Child, with the former two partners contributing $2 million United States dollars in kind and the latter contributing $2 million United States dollars in cash. The project is part of Educate A Child’s global initiative to ensure that children aged 7-17 years old who have never been to primary school or those who dropped out of basic education can access basic education and build a strong foundation for their future development. The project is currently in its first of multi-year phases. The current two-year funding phase started in July 2016 and is expected to end in July 2018.
————————————————————————————————————————–
ABOUT:
The Graça Machel Trust
The Graça Machel Trust is an advocacy and action organisation that works across the African continent to drive positive change in women’s economic advancement, children’s rights, and governance and leadership. Through our support of local initiatives and by connecting multi-sectoral key stakeholders at the regional, national and sub-national level, we help to catalyse action where it is needed. By using its convening power the Trust seeks to amplify the voices of women and children in Africa; influence governance; and promote women’s contributions and leadership in the economic social and political development of Africa. Learn more at: www.gracamacheltrust.org/new
For technical / project information contact:
Fortune Thembo
Graça Machel Trust – Children’s Rights Programme Manager / Overall oversight on the Mara Out-of-school Children Programme
Email: fortunet@gracamacheltrust.org
Tel: +255 68 978 8377 (on 30 March to 1 April 2017)
Tel: +27 60 986 7253 (after 1 April 2017)
Godfrey Wawa
Project Manager, Mara OOSC Project Manager
Mara Alliance
Email: godfreywawa777@yahoo.com
Tel: +255 752 420 116/ +255 784 265 785
Issued by:
Graça Machel Trust
Communications Department
Email: info@gracamacheltrust.org
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting children’s rights, to carry out advocacy and action across Africa. Special focus is placed on Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia where child marriage continues to be a problem largely driven by poverty, gender inequality, harmful traditional practices, conflict, low levels of literacy, limited opportunities for girls and weak or non-existent protective and preventive legal frameworks.
Education is a fundamental right for all children, which is also a vehicle for social, economic and political transformation in communities, countries and the African continent at large. Recent studies indicate a lack of progress in some of the critical commitments aimed at improving education quality, access, retention and achievement, particularly for girls. In most African countries, girls may face barriers to learning, especially when they reach post-primary levels of education. By implementing multi-dimensional approaches to education which includes core education, personal development, life skills and economic competencies, the Trust partners with funding partners, governments, civil societies and the private sector to improve education access.
The Nutrition and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition, (RMNCAH+N) of the Children’s Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescents’ health within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. The strategy emphasises on the importance of effective country leadership as a common factor across countries making progress in improving the health of women, children and adolescents.
Through its Early Childhood Development (ECD) plan, The Trust will seek to put into action the new science and evidence Report that was presented by Lancet Series on Good and early development – the right of every child. This will be achieved by mobilising like-minded partners to contribute in the new science and evidence to reach all young children with ECD. The Trust’s goal is to be a catalyst for doing things differently, in particular, to rid fragmentation and lack of coordination across ECD sectors. In response to evidence showing the importance of political will in turning the tide against the current poor access and quality of ECD. Even before conception, starting with a mother’s health and social economic conditions, the early years of a child’s life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.