Second Chance Education

In Binga district, up to 20% of children and youth are not attending school. The Second Chance Education Program is to improve enrolment, attendance and attainment in basic literacy and numeracy for out-of-school girls and boys.  It is an accelerated learning model that helps out-of-school children catch up in school with an integrated package of academic skills, life skills, and case management support.

In partnership with Open Schools World Wide, the Social Welfare, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education and community volunteers we established second chance tutorial centres which include a three-level literacy and numeracy curriculum, preparing out-of-school children to integrate back into the formal school system.  

Second chance education targets children who are orphaned, affected by HIV, or disabled, as well as those who come from poor families and child-headed households who cannot afford to go to school. Particular emphasis is on girls and prioritizes child protection, gender, HIV & AIDS, and disability issues.  Children who need additional services are referred to Case Care Workers.

While tangible educational outcomes were delivered, it was the associated social and personal development that made this program especially successful.  To this day, change among the community volunteers is noticeable by their continued support in teaching children at the tutorial centres, plus second chance learners attend regularly tutorial centres which allows many in the transition to formal education.