EDUCATE GIRLS, END POVERTY - TRANSITION (EGEP-T) EGEP-T aims to increase girls’ learning in numeracy, literacy and life skills, whilst supporting them through key transition points in education and beyond to improved life opportunities. The project will also be developing community and institutional capacity to ensure support to girls’ education is sustained in the longer term. EGEP saw significant progress regarding community members’ expectations of girls about girls’ education between baseline and midline. General support for girls’ education increased by 27% across community members surveyed and the percentage of caregivers stating gender to be an important factor determining whether a child should go to school declined from 54% to 9%. Respondents frequently noted that community members themselves are engaging in awareness-raising activities. School enrolment increased by 20% and attendance increased by 5%, which suggests this positive shift in attitudes has led to positive results in school. Learning levels increased, however, they did not reach the intended targets. 37% of girls who enter secondary school have dropped out by Form 4. A contributing factor behind these less positive trends appears to be that the aspirations of caregivers and communities for girls’ education can be at odds with the considerable expectations placed on girls in terms of traditionally assigned gender roles. EGEP conducted 70 FGDs with girls, asking them what the most critical challenges were that lead to girls’ decreased participation in school in later grades: after economic factors, the most common response was early marriage, and the third most common response was household chores. Additionally, girls are often expected to prioritise care of siblings or contribution to household income over schooling and homework. These expectations intensify as the girl reaches adolescence. Furthermore, within the school, girls are not necessarily expected to achieve at the same level as boys, to hold leadership positions, and to complete the full education cycle. The table below provides examples of severely marginalised groups of girls the project will target, the current expectations for these groups and how they differ from what the project intends to achieve: 1. Early married/adolescent mothers/ adolescent girls who have dropped out: Low to no expectation that these girls will enroll or re-enroll in school. Girls themselves are reluctant to enroll/re-enroll they are embarrassed to enter school in a class with younger children. At mid line, 81% of caregivers stated age as an important deciding factor as to whether a child should attend school. Intensive accelerated learning classes will be key to enabling these girls to increase their learning level and to engage/re-engage with school amongst girls their own age. Nuanced messaging through BCC campaigns will raise the community support for girls of all ages to prioritize schooling. 2. Disabled girls: Low to no expectation that these girls will enrol in school. For those who are enrolled they are not expected to achieve at the same level as their peers. The teacher training module will be developed focusing on basic approaches to inclusive education, enabling teachers to better engage with disabled children in the classroom. Additionally, disabled girls will be targeted for bursary support. 3. IDPs, refugees, returnees Girls may have fled a conflict situation; violence and upheaval may have a negative impact on psychosocial wellbeing. Due to limited mobility, girls miss school and fall behind. These factors can lead to a general expectation, of the girl and her parents, that girls will not progress and succeed in school. Girls in these groups who are extremely poor will be identified for bursary support ensuring economic barriers do not prevent attendance. Additionally, psycho social support from trained teacher mentors will aid an increase in girls’ well being. 4. Orphans, minorities and other girls from poor households Girls are often expected to leave school early, if they enrol at all, to look after siblings and contribute to family income, with school-going costs understandably a lower priority. Bursary support will help enable girls from poor households to attend school, despite the economic challenges they face. 5.Children of lower learning ability/demonstrating low performance in the classroom The percentage of caregivers stating that a child’s ability should be an important factor determining whether a child should attend school reduced from 88% to 43%. Specifically designed messages promoted through BCC activities will increase community support for children of all abilities to attend school. Remedial classes will help those children keep up with the learning levels of their peers. The vision for the Educate Girls, End Poverty - Transition (EGEP-T) project is for Level 2 (hard to reach) and Level 3 (hardest to reach) marginalized girls, predominantly in urban areas of Somalia, to achieve improved knowledge and continuity of learning by mitigating obstacles at critical decision points and to transition through primary and secondary education, or alternative pathways. Ultimately, the girls will be supported to gain a better quality of life, with benefits for their family and community. EGEP-T will support a cohort of 66,449 girls aged 7 to 19, and tailor support to the specific needs of the most marginalized groups, including internally displace people (IDPs), orphans, girls with disabilities, ethnic and clan minorities, adolescent mothers, and girls in high conflict-affected and remote areas. In pursuit of this aim, the project will work with 185 primary and 76 secondary schools in Somaliland, Puntland, Galmudug and Benadir over a period of three academic years. The breakdown of beneficiaries includes: 45,703 of the existing cohort (Grade 2 primary to Form 3 secondary and out of school adolescent girls) + 14,746 new girls (Form 1 to Form 4 secondary and out-of-school girls including adolescent mothers being brought into school) In order to improve the education achievements and life chances of these girls, EGEP-T will apply evidence based lessons from what we know has and has not worked under the current EGEP. The project will replicate and scale up methods that have proven effective and will apply innovative approaches in areas where EGEP has fallen short. Underlying EGEP-T’s theory of change is that the factors affecting marginalized girls’ education are multi-faceted and interrelated, and that there is not one intervention alone – bursaries, teacher training, and community engagement – that is the “magic bullet.” What is needed is a package of services and policies that EGEP-T will provide whilst retaining a focus on measures for these services to be sustained beyond the life of the project. Core interventions will focus on achieving improvements in literacy and numeracy, teaching quality, school governance, and support to ministries of education.