Safe and Learning- Equitable access to education for 7200 OOS children in Afghanistan The proposed project enables essential access to education for a critically underserved group of 7200 out of school children [3600  boys and 3600 girls aged 6 to 10] in Baghlan and Bamyan which are among top 5 provinces hosting conflict induced displaced families in 2021.  As per our rapid assessments at Bamyan and Baghlan conducted in August, 49% of Households reported that their children do not go to school. The absence of schools in close proximity, cultural practices which deprioritize education and lack of security are some of the primary reasons cited by respondents during the rapid assessment survey.
Under these conditions, 240 CBEs, each for 30 children, will be established and equipped with as many trained teachers, teaching and learning materials and safety, security and hygiene supplies. CiC has recent experience in implementing AHF and GPE funded Education and Child protection projects in Bamyan and Baghlan. Currently CiC has the mandate to provide education services for 15,000 children in 6 Hard to Reach districts of Baghlan namely Pul-e-Khumri, Baghlan-e-Jadid,Dahana-e-Ghori, Burqa, Nahreen, Doshee. In Bamyan, Children in Crisis ensured provision of case management and MHPSS services to 1043 children and women during the last winter season and were able to establish, train and facilitate the running of 14 community child protection shuras in the districts of Bamyan, Shibar, Panjab, Yakawlang districts under the AHF funded Winterization Assistance Project [244k USD/6m/AHF]. 
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 240 community Shuras in both provinces. 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-centered 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 existing capabilities in Uruzgan, Baghlan and Zabul and enhancing our operational effectiveness and efficiencies in Afghanistan. A recent external study conducted by Accelerated Education Working Group (AEWG) of Community Based Education Centers of CiC demonstrates that this CiC model is strongly linked to the globally accepted principles of effective practice . An internal study of recent cohorts of CiC’s accelerated education program also show 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) (CIC 2017).
The project seeks to ensure that the vulnerable conflict and crisis-affected children enrolled in the project are safe and learning through Interventions around Access ,Gender Equality, Equity and Inclusion, Continuity of Learning, Quality Learning ,Child Protection and Safeguarding. Among the proposed interventions, the project has a strong focus on Quality Learning. With prior experience of implementing Afghan Children Read (ACR) courseware, the proposed project, through the social workers, is well placed to train, monitor and coach teachers on a monthly basis so that the teaching practices improve over time and are based on pedagogical practices which have been proven to be impactful.