Safe, Sustained Access to Education for 3500 OOS Children in Uruzgan For the first time since 2001, the number of out-of-school (OOS) children has risen from 3.5M to 3.7M, a staggering 44% of all school age children (UNOCHA 2018). Though the state system has achieved impressive educational gains in the last decade, an intensification of armed conflict and increase in disasters, displacement and return has led to a deterioration in access to education that the state system currently lack the capacity to adequately address. Scarce resources are stretched to their limits through overcrowding and congestion in informal and sub-standard settlements, leading to increased health, hygiene and sanitation risks increased incidence of disease or disability and intensified psychological distress or depression (NRC 2015).

The proposed project enables essential access to education for a critically underserved group of 3 500 out of school children [1 400 boys and 2 100 girls aged 6 to 10] in Dehrawood and Trinkot districts of Uruzgan, where an estimated 40 000 children (gt20% of the school-aged population) are out-of-school (EiEWG 2019). 40 CBEs and 10 temporary classrooms (TCs) will be established and equipped with 90 trained teachers [2 per CBE and 1 per TC], teaching and learning materials and safety, security and sanitation structures and supplies. These spaces will operate in two shifts to enable access to education for a total of 80 children each (40 in each classroom), over the project period of one year.  Children in Crisis will further conduct community outreach to include child rights training for community representatives and community advocacy to encourage demand for education, in particular, for girls. In addition, CiC project coordinators will establish community Shuras in Trinkot and Dehrawood. Community members will receive key messages on education of children, particularly girls, child protection, and child health through Shura members.

The proposed project leverages significant experience and expertise in education and protection programmes that Children in Crisis has established over its 25 years in Afghanistan. In particular, it seeks to streamline and scale the successful Children in Crisis community-centred education model from 2011 to 2018, multiple iterations of this model have demonstrated excellent potential for replication and significant scaling. An AHF funded programme offers an excellent opportunity to adopt and adapt our proven approach to an area of high need, whilst complementing our capabilities in Kabul and Nangarhar and enhancing our operational effectiveness and efficiencies in Afghanistan. A recent external evaluation demonstrates that this model suggests a higher return on investment compared to state sponsored models and models delivered by development partners (including GEC-STAGES and PACE-A), as evidenced through better learning outcomes (95% of students completed and certified) and higher rates of transition and retention into the state secondary system (90% of students transferred 86% retained after a year and 68% retained after two years) as compared to both (CIC 2017). 

The project will be implemented in collaboration with the Empowerment Centre for Women, a local level organisation, to leverage existing infrastructure and services as well as to realise a Children in Crisis commitment to localizing and strengthening and scaling local responses to Education in Emergencies. An AHF funded programme would also allow our implementing partner to leverage previous programmes implemented in Uruzgan, using existing infrastructure and established relationships and networks to ensure a rapid set-up and start to a successful prog