The Motivation and Commitment of School Leaders Increased as a result of Annual based High Performance Award.

Zebiba Mohamed Kassa a 28 years of age school principal for Eyelide Primary School in Dewe Woreda/District says. “Eyelide School was one of the 5 target schools in the Dewe Woreda/District. When the project started in 2020, there were only46% female students who were in grades 1-4 and now a day 51% female children enrolled from the total number of students in the school as a result of attitudinal change of the community towards the importance of education particularly girls education awareness enhanced

Eyelide School is the best school in the Dewe Woreda/District and it has ranked 1st out of the 5 targeted schools by the district education office and direct intervention of ACISDA TARGET/ESIP. As a result of this completed project the community engagement increased in school teaching and learning program due to provided various awareness raising trainings and workshops for PTSAs and girls club members. In addition, the science subject teachers’ pedagogy capacity improved through the conducted teachers’ capacity building programs mainly continuous professional development program (CPD) focusing on classroom in-service trainings. As for that reason, the teachers’ instructional pedagogical teaching capacity increased towards inclusive education. Moreover, the PTSAs members and girls club members engagement improved in the school day-to-day operations. Both PTSAs and girls club members have been conducted pre-scheduled quarterly based meeting. Their meetings minutes are properly documented in the fill-box as document testimonies. Eyelide School has its separate fill-box for TARGET/ESIP implementation. The PTSAs and girls club meetings minute, cluster supervisors School inspection reports, the conducted training participant’s lists, and other relevant documents are included and properly seated in the fill-box for any visitors. However, before the TARGET/ESIP implementation the PTSAs and girls’ club commitment were less in the school activities.

Afar Community Initiative Sustainable Development Association (ACISDA) TARGET/ESIP project played a key role in changing our teaching methods and improving the community engagement in the school interaction.

The Eyelide School has received a recognition certificate from Dewe Woreda education office for annual based high performance award. Our students are the best and our teachers are model teachers in the Dewe Woreda/District. Currently, the students’ literacy and numeracy skills improved in our school. Reading has become a culture in my school. Because, the science subject teachers provided a tutorial service for the school students with a joint collaboration of ACISDA TARGET/ESIP.

In other hand, the Eyelide School is the first to developed and endorsed school safeguarding policy among those targeted 5 schools. As school principal, I have assigned one focal person for safeguarding issues and the assigned focal person received orientation from ACISDA TARGET/ESIP project staffs. The female students begin to share their reproductive health problems just like menstruation problems as a cause of FGM/C and also pre-arranged marriage which is local known as ‘’Absuma’’. In line with, the assigned safeguarding focal person of the school starting counseling services for those in needs female students in our School. Likewise, the dropout rate of girls’ students decreased due to well-organized collaboration of PTSAs, Kebele Chair-mans, and clan & religious leaders as a result of attitudinal change towards on their negative social norms. Those conducted awareness raising training s and workshops of the community helps to achieved significant behavioral change on their deep-rooted social norms mainly focused on the importance of girls’ education and children with disability.

In addition, Zebiba Mohamed who is Eyelide school principal said, I was struggled to improve the school environment with limited community support and low family contribution before one year ago. However, this TARGET/ESIP project has brought a dramatic change in a sustainable way. Afar Community Initiative Sustainable Development Association (ACISDA) has intensively worked on community awareness about importance of education, particularly, importance of education for children’s with disability (CWD) and girls education. Due to the PTSAs & girls club member continuous involvement and commitment and also the contribution of the community for school activities, the Eyelide School has improved and became one of model school in this school improvement program.

Before, the TARGET/ESIP implementation the number of girls enrollment rate (GER) was very lower than boys. But after project intervention in this school, there is definitely an increase in girls’ enrollment.

Zebiba Mohamed Kassa– Eyeledi School principal