Leveraging Public-Private Partnerships to Deliver Foundation Phase Learning Outcomes at Scale

By Joy Olivier, Programme Director at the Binding Constraints Lab

“Before jumping into a particular geographical area or aspect, donors should ask provincial education departments what their biggest needs are, and the areas in which they need intervention” – Technical advisor working in the Eastern Cape

Almost every article, proposal and report about foundation phase literacy in South Africa begins with a reference to the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2021 finding that 81% of 10-year-olds in South Africa cannot read. Yet while the continued banging of the same drum may sound monotonous, it is perhaps partly owing to the consistent emphasis of this ever-shocking statistic that ecosystemic shifts towards positive change seem to be slowly, yet steadily, occurring.

The Binding Constraints Lab (BCL) is a dynamic “think-and-do tank” that was established last year as a programme of Allan and Gill Gray Philanthropies Africa (AGGP-A) to foster cross-sector collaboration to achieve improved learning outcomes at scale. We synthesise existing research, facilitate knowledge exchange and foster trusting cross-sector relationships between influential stakeholders and social innovators. We develop and test viable strategies for dismantling binding constraints and amplify the impact of existing organisations and social innovators, or initiate new research, innovations, coalitions, relationships or policies that can unlock high-impact opportunities. While our work spans the full gambit from Grade R to transitions into work, most of our efforts are focused on foundation phase literacy and numeracy.

South Africa’s provincial education departments are where the rubber hits the road when it comes to implementation at scale, and we are particularly excited about the work we are doing to support the Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE) in implementing their Reading Strategy.

Responsive, needs-based assistance to provincial governments

The Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDOE) developed an eight-year Reading Strategy in the second half of 2022 which aligns with the four pillars of the DBE’s National Reading Strategy: creating an enabling literacy policy environment; provision of age-appropriate learner and teacher support materials (LTSM); development of skilled and agile teachers; and involving and engaging parents and communities.

There are three main activities included in these pillars: development of district and school reading plans; procurement and delivery of additional LTSM; and teacher training focused on how to teach reading in home languages.

The BCL, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is providing technical and advisory support to the ECDoE over the next three years. Specifically, the Lab has seconded seasoned professionals  to provide technical advisory services to the ECDoE, to support the implementation of the strategy and the development of innovations to further support its outcomes e.g., leveraging teaching assistants to build foundation phase literacy skills.

While provincial education departments have the reach, systems and processes for implementation at scale, significant challenges present, such as insufficient time for research and planning and the complexities of procurement processes, compounded by the realities of budget cuts and austerity measures. Technical assistants, especially those with a depth of experience in public service, are key resources in unblocking and addressing these challenges. They bring the necessary expertise and capacity to navigate complex bureaucratic systems, provide focused support, and drive innovative solutions. For the BCL and its partners to be well-positioned to provide effective support, we need to have strong, trusted relationships with government officials, and be able to respond quickly.

“Before jumping into a particular geographical area or aspect, donors should ask provincial education departments what their biggest needs are, and the areas in which they need intervention. Get the department’s annual performance plan and understand what they are doing. My advice is not to do teacher training unless you have a strong track record of impactful provision, and to rather focus on books, LTSM and infrastructure. Advocacy and assessments are also key areas needing support” – Technical advisor working in the Eastern Cape

Ecosystem capacity building

BCL is working to connect government officials, civil society leaders and researchers in order to strengthen the ecosystem’s capacity to deliver improved learning outcomes at scale. An example of this work is the series of workshops we have run on the Basic Education Employment Initiative (the BEEI), where we brought together government officials (from both national and provincial departments, as well as the presidency), non-profit implementers and some funders to co-create a framework and hypothetical plan to leverage teaching assistants to deliver improved learning outcomes at scale. Besides the many great connections forged between workshop participants, the series has sparked a number of great developments, including Zazi iZandi, a very successful pilot developed and implemented by a coalition of organisations to leverage teaching assistants to improve learners’ letter-sound knowledge.

We are finding it fascinating to be at the coal face as these various interventions unfold and are very excited about new opportunities on the horizon. For example, the BEEI is likely to be going ahead next year, with the allocation of training funding to be shifted from DBE to the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), which should allow for easier procurement processes that will hopefully mean that more civil society organisations can provide training and mentoring support. Another opportunity is the Foundational Learning Outcomes at Scale in South Africa (FLOAT) initiative, a collaborative fund from the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) Donor Group which aims to support the implementation of evidence-based foundation phase literacy and/or numeracy interventions at scale.

We need government to implement interventions at the scale required to shift the devastatingly high numbers of children who are unable to read, and it is the provincial education departments who have the mandate and budget to do so. However, big public systems are notoriously slow to change the world over, and ours are particularly beset with capacity and funding shortages. Smart, strategic use of philanthropic funding and technical assistance are needed to unblock the binding constraints to effective implementation at scale – we will have an indication as to whether or not these efforts are beginning to pay off with the next PIRLS in 2026.