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Submitted by Web Master on 20 June 2022

Policy Forum (PF) has launched the Kuyenda Collective initiative in Tanzania to 'address the learning crisis through systems strengthening in the education sector', as part of the wider Education Out Loud Project also in three other African countries that are Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. PF launched the project in collaboration with its three member organisations that are the project partners namely, Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), Lindi Association of NGOs (LANGO), and Community Active in Development Association (CADA). Representatives from the President’s Office - Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG), Education Officers from the Local Government Authorities (LGAs), and other stakeholders working in the education sector such as Shule Direct, HakiElimu and Uwezo Tanzania also participated in the launch.

The launch provided space for stakeholders to better understand the project, its implementation areas, how it will be implemented, and who are the targeted beneficiaries. The launch functioned as the platform for stakeholders working in the education sector to discuss the challenges facing the rural youth collectives and propose the best modalities to address them through the project. The project targets the Rural Youth Collectives as primary beneficiaries given the fact that it is a group that is one of the most affected by the learning crisis within the education sector partly due to geographical exclusion of rural youth, ineffective educational systems, and under-resourced and under-informed systems actors.

The desired impact of this project is to strengthen the local systems whilst connecting civil society organizations (CSOs), Rural Youth Collectives (RYCs), and Non-Traditional Actors (NTAs) in the countries with transnational bodies and platforms that influence education policy on the continent, enabling multi-level advocacy to drive sustainable outcomes.

In Africa, the learning crisis has persisted in part due to the focus in national and transnational spaces on questions of access/entry into the education system, rather than the more important measure of learning outcomes for those exiting the education system. This has been further compounded by the geographical exclusion of Rural Youth, ineffective educational systems, and under-resourced and under-informed systems actors.

The Kuyenda Collective is working towards “shifting and improving dynamics of education-focused systems for accelerated progress towards improved and equitable learning outcomes" and is premised on Learning, Capacity Building, and Adaptive Management.

Working through CSOs and NTAs that support Rural Youth Collectives we will co-design and support the implementation of locally led collaborative and adaptive action plans to address priority challenges as regard to the learning crisis in each country. Ultimately we aim to set in motion a virtuous circle of effective advocacy and engagement by CSOs and Non-Traditional Actors (NTAs) in transnational spaces, which improves the enabling environment for; Implementation of national action plans, Generating resources that further strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of those actors in national and transnational spaces, and Contributing to the overall goal of having civil society play a more effective role in driving progress toward learning, equity and stronger education systems.

By the end of the project, the Kuyenda Collective aims to have amplified the voice and enabled greater visibility of education focused CSOs and NTAs that advocate for better learning outcomes for and support Rural Youth Collectives (RYC) in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. This agency is to be achieved in both national and transnational spaces - strengthening their advocacy efforts to better engage with decision-makers that affect their experience of the education system”.