USAID Mali Doniya Taabolo

Challenge

Mali faces ongoing challenges to provide consistent, systematic quality education. Conflict, internal disruptions to learning (including teacher strikes), and constraints of poverty are just some of the large-scale factors threatening teaching and learning. The education system lacks flexibility and is not able to easily adapt and respond to political strife, extreme weather, or health crises. Each of these components has the potential to bring a system to its knees. When they coincide, it can threaten maintaining past gains, let alone advancing new gains.

EDC is leading the implementation of the USAID Doniya Taabolo Activity, a five-year project (2023–2028) that covers the regions of Bougouni, Koutiala, Sikasso, San, Ségou, Dioïla, Koulikoro, and the district of Bamako. Its main aim is to improve foundational skills for Grade 1 to 4 students from 1,000 schools in Bamanankan-speaking regions by improving reading and math teaching quality, increasing community engagement, and reinforcing service delivery systems.

Key Activities

USAID Doniya Taabolo is carrying out the following activities:

• Improving reading, writing, and mathematics instruction by developing materials in Mali’s national language, Bamanakan
• Providing initial and in-service teacher training and supporting teachers through practice, content, and materials
• Strengthening the education system’s ability to deliver quality education
• Establishing a policy framework to institutionalize proven approaches and build a strong interconnected set of materials and strategies
• Increasing community support for children’s learning by building parents’ ability to support their children
• Increasing the capacity of school management committees to improve school operations
• Organizing extracurricular reading activities so that parents, community members, and local governments can become partners in education

Impact

USAID Doniya Taabolo aims to:

• Support 350,000 students in 1,000 public and community schools
• Train 4,000 teachers from grades 1 to 4
• Train ministry of education staff (central and concentrated levels), mayoral education commissions, school management committees, principals, teachers, and community volunteers