An evaluation of an out of school program to increase access to education for children in the rural areas of Zimbabwe
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Date
17-Feb
Authors
Tokotore, Rujeko
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
After independence, Zimbabwe made significant progress in providing access to education for almost
all children. The policy environment for supporting education for all is positive as the country is party
to the all the major international agreements that promote education for all and the right to
education, and has domesticated these in the Constitution and other legislation. However, with the
introduction of the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme in the early 1990s, followed by the
economic crisis of 2000 to 2008, this momentum was not maintained. Many children dropped out of
school before completion, and others did not to go to school. The Fit for Life Programme was
implemented to offer second chance non-formal education to children aged between 15 to 18 years
who did not complete formal primary education or never went to school. This research evaluated
effectiveness of the Fit for Life Programme in increasing access to education for children in the rural
areas of Zimbabwe. A process evaluation approach was applied and questionnaires were used for
data collection. The results revealed that the Fit for Life Programme was effective in increasing access
for Out of School children in the rural areas of Zimbabwe. The livelihoods and quality of life of the
beneficiaries who graduated from the programme differ from those children within the communities
who did not enrol in the programme as they are in engaged in ill social behaviours. However, the
research also revealed that the programme had some shortcomings which were not anticipated and
this was a setback in achieving some of the objectives in some of the programme areas. The
shortcomings included a relatively high dropout rate and high levels of absenteeism by the
beneficiaries and lack of a MoU. Absenteeism was a major challenge in the programme resulting in
a longer training period. The study concluded that the Theory of Change was effective in analysing
the implementation of the Fit for Life Programme. Recommendations were made on the improvement
of the Fit for Life Programme and these included enhancement of the non-formal vocational and
technical training by providing more opportunities for the children; strengthening the implementation
of education policies on the ground by availing the necessary resources to monitor and evaluate
progress; making education affordable and accessible to all children and conducting more research
on areas that need further attention on the problem of out of school children.
Description
Dissertation (MDS (Development Studies))--University of the Free State, 2017
Keywords
Zimbabwe, Education, Fit for Life Programme, Absenteeism, Theory of Change