Through a play-based curriculum and targeted teacher training, the O-Class program in Ethiopia, which is part of the General Education Quality Improvement Program for Equity (GEQIP-E), aims to improve early education. O-Class, which began in 2010 and has grown significantly, provides a solid pre-primary foundation to help students prepare for primary school and lower dropout rates. By 2023, the program has benefited over 2.3 million children and contributed to an 88% transition rate to Grade 2.
GEQIP-E, launched in 2017, further supports this initiative by enhancing teacher training, supporting students with special needs, and addressing educational challenges in conflict-affected areas and refugee communities.
Eldana is a 6-year-old student in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. She enjoys learning and wants to become a teacher. She is part of the O-Class, a pre-primary educational program in Ethiopia.
O-Class aims to ensure that more students are better prepared for primary school by enhancing their learning outcomes. As a result, their chances of failing Grade 1 or dropping out are reduced. O-Class employs a preschool-appropriate play-based curriculum. Additionally, it provides learning resources and teacher training. Before O-Class was introduced, primary education completion rates in Ethiopia registered at 50%.
This low efficiency was in part due to the fact that many students did not start their education at the official enrollment age and attended school infrequently. In point of fact, grade repetition is probably the reason why many over-age children enter Grade 1. The Government of Ethiopia has made significant progress in enhancing internal efficiency, equitable access, and the overall quality of education through the General Education Quality Improvement Program for Equity (GEQIP-E). Launched in 2017, GEQIP-E has implemented a range of targeted interventions across all of Ethiopia’s primary and secondary public schools.
It is a government-led and multi-donor initiative to ensure that students and teachers receive the necessary support and to strengthen the education sector from the bottom up. First introduced in 2010, the O-class provides pre-primary children with a strong foundation for handling primary school challenges and navigating their transition from first to second grade.
Improving internal efficiency
As of 2023, the O-class program has benefited over 2.3 million children, and the government extended it to a two-year pre-primary program alongside its other interventions.
“This is certainly a move in the right direction,” said Kirill Vasiliev, previous GEQIP-E Task Team Leader. “O-Class has a lot of potential for large-scale impact. It will be wonderful to carefully evaluate the findings, discuss them with policymakers, and investigate the options for expanding the O-Class approach. Indeed, despite challenges such as the impact of COVID-19 and recent conflicts on school attendance, as of 2022/23 Ethiopia has achieved an 88% transition rate to grade two.
Improving quality
The O-Class is a new approach for Ethiopia, necessitating the modification of previous methods of instructing young children.
To deliver O-Class objectives, GEQIP-E provides O-Class training programs for O-Class teachers and their school administrators on how to teach preprimary children.
The prospects for pre-primary education are promising, but reforming Ethiopia’s education system will be difficult. The number and quality of teachers available to Ethiopia’s 27 million students will have a significant impact on their academic performance.
