In October and November we trained 400 early grade teachers from 200 schools in the Amhara region on phonics. We also trained teachers at 6 schools in the Oromia region. The phonics method and Jolly Futures teaching materials help teachers to improve English literacy for pupils.
The training was supported by the Regional Education Bureau who helped with the training arrangement and covered all costs for teachers to attend the training. As far as we're aware, this is the first time that the regional education office has funded an NGO to provide teacher training. It is a testament to the quality of the training and the effectiveness of this method to improve learning outcomes for pupils.
Following the training, our Country Director, Elsa, and Project Manager, Zemene, qualified as official Jolly Phonics trainers – the first in Ethiopia to do so.
In February we visited all the teachers again to do refresher training ahead of the second semester of school. We hope to repeat this scale of training in Amhara next year and continue to deliver training in the Oromia region, where we also hope to scale the project with regional support.
|