The Ministry of National Education launches the Real-Time Scaling Lab to successfully scale up initiatives for improving literacy and numeracy learning in Côte d’Ivoire

This Wednesday, October 2, 2019, the Ministry of National Education, Technical Teaching and Vocational Training (MENETFP) will launch the Real-Time Scaling Lab, a process of documentation, research, and adaptation of ongoing pilot initiatives to influence scale-ups. The Real Time Scaling Lab is not a physical space, but rather a process, established by the Brookings Institution since 2018, that focuses on quality education programs.
In this effort, the MENETFP will benefit from the technical support of Brookings’ Center for Universal Education, as mandated the TRECC programme. The launching event will see the presence of development partners, cocoa and chocolate industry partners involved in the TRECC program, and civil society organizations.
From research to action
As part of TRECC, several projects are being tested in Côte d’Ivoire with the aim of improving children’s reading and numeracy skills in primary school. In fact, national and international evaluations have highlighted the low level of assimilation of these fundamental skills by most young children. Despite the successful results of pilot projects, governments are often struggling to implement promising models at the national level. Experience shows that, despite their relevance, only 5% of the pilot projects initiated in the social sectors are delivered nationwide. According to the Millions Learning Study: Scaling Up Quality Education in Developing Countries by the CUE, the factors that make scaling difficult are, among others, poor quality indicators and data, the lack of coordination between stakeholders and insufficient funding after the pilot phase. Following this study, CUE proposed to document and support ongoing efforts around the world to scale up effective educational interventions. TRECC therefore commissioned the CUE to document and support the efforts of the MENETFP in Côte d’Ivoire in establishing the Real Time Scaling Lab.
Mobilized around a common goal
Based on the evidence and the results of the pilot projects conducted in Côte d’Ivoire, the ambition of the Real Time Scaling Lab is to bring the decision makers of the Ministry to gather all the necessary ingredients to successfully achieve the scaling up of educational interventions improving the quality of education in Côte d’Ivoire. This process, which brings together technicians and decision-makers from the Ministry, traditional donors, the private sector, social actors and researchers around education issues, is the first of its kind in Côte d’Ivoire.
To know more about the process of the Scaling Lab and our approach:
- Listen Sabina Vigani, TRECC Coordinator’s, on scaling up principles to transform education
- Read Jenny Perlman’s article about designing an adaptive learning process to support large-scale change in education.
- Download Jenny Perlman Robinson and Molly Curtiss’s study on designing an adaptive learning process to support large-scale change in education