Retaining girls in lower secondary schools and increasing their learning outcomes in Somali and Gambella Regional States of Ethiopia. Project brief

The project "Retaining Girls in Lower Secondary Schools and Increasing their Learning Outcomes in Ethiopia”, funded by the Japanese Government, was launched on 1 October 2013. The project was implemented in six pilot schools in Somali and Gambella Regional States, namely Metar, Pginido, Tinishu Mite, Ahmed Gurye, Degehabur and Seyid Mohamed Secondary and Preparatory Schools. Somali and Gambella Regional States are two of the four emerging regions where the Ethiopian government gives priority to education since they are at a relatively lower stage of development compared to the others. Access to education in the regions is comparative lower for both sexes, with girls even more disadvantaged than boys, especially when transitioning from primary to secondary. The project aimed to reduce the dropout rate of girls in the pilot schools by 20% by the end of the project period. It was also expected that the girls in the pilot schools would show an improvement in their learning achievement by 15% as attested by the Ethiopian General Secondary Education Certificate Examination (EGSECE).