Background and objectives

Based on the successful completion of a previous project, Phase 2 is designed to implement a National Literacy Programme. The programme aims at delivering a learning package focussed on the needs of Afghanistan’s youth and adults: one that conveys practical livelihood and life skills while building critical reading, writing and computational skills. The programme also integrates subject matter and methods to offer skills intended to equip participants to manage the evolving global environment, and to offer tools to acquire and process information in important areas such as:

• How to get a job;
• How to increase production;
• How to understand markets;
• How to manage their communities;
• How to participate in new local governance structures;
• How to access materials written on these subjects;
• How to report income;
• How to access government development programmes.

Activities:
The main activities include:

• Promoting a sustainable nationwide training system through establishment of National Literacy Centre (NLC) to deliver and support community-based and managed, integrated lifelong learning, literacy and productive skills training.
• Developing National Literacy Programme (NLP) Institutional Framework, and developing the NLP Community Based Materials Pedagogy and a National Literacy and Productive Skills Programme.
• Developing materials responding to needs identified by rural communities (e.g. finance; business; production; communal management and administration).
• Building and consolidating community capacity through CDC, Community Learning Committees, Youth Committees and Community Banks for management of the learning environment.
• Establishing, training and consolidating government support structures at the district, provincial and national level for the support, management and oversight of the National Literacy Plan implementation.

Results:
The results achieved so far include:

• Memorandum of Understanding signed.
• National Literacy Centre (NLC) and Technical Support Unit for Literacy (TSUL) established.
• Appointed 12 focal persons from the NLC to coordinate activities with MoE.
• Established five coordination committees (weekly meetings).
• Prepared learning materials approved by the NLC.
• Established 1,177 Learning Centres in nine provinces (673 for women).
• Registered 37,824 learners in six provinces (22,555 women).
• Interviewed 2,055 candidates (1,092 women) and recruited 955 teachers (535 women).
• Recruited LCEP coordinators in nine provinces.
• Prepared the demo version of web-based monitoring system (CEMS: Community Empowerment Monitoring System) and finalized all monitoring and evaluation forms.