EdData II: Data for Education Research and Programming (derp) in Africa

3.8 
Monitor and evaluate outcomes
Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of policies and plans for language use in education 
is critical to continued success. The results, especially at the pilot stage, can be used for 
advocacy purposes to generate support for effective language use in education. For example, 
efforts to pilot mother tongue-based bilingual education in Mozambique recently resulted in a 
decision by the country’s Ministry of Education and Human Development to use 16 national 
languages, in addition to Portuguese, starting in 2017 (Intituto Internacional da Língua 
Portuguesa, 2015). In Kenya, PRIMR’s recent pilot of reading instruction in two mother tongues 
demonstrated significant gains in reading outcomes compared to a control group taught only in 
Kiswahili (Piper, 2015). 
As part of the monitoring and evaluation process, analyzing the cost-effectiveness of L1-based 
instruction is also important to produce country-specific data to inform the scale-up of initiatives 
for offering L1-based instruction (see text box below). Results can also be used to inform scale-
up. Information obtained during the M&E process helps identify what is working well and what 
is not, guiding necessary changes (to curriculum, teacher training, teacher placement, etc.), as 
well as supporting additional research, particularly as it relates to African languages and context. 
 
PRIMR Initiative in Kenya:
Cost monitoring and analyses 
The PRIMR Initiative pilot program in Kenya was designed to allow measurement of the costs and the cost-
effectiveness of several program scenarios at boosting student achievement (RTI International, 2014b). Of interest 
were the costs of development, publication, and dissemination of classroom materials in Kiswahili and English; 
coaching and instructional support; and information technology. The scenarios that proved most effective for the 
first two cohorts of program (treatment) schools were singled out and applied at the end of the program to the 
schools in the control cohort. In addition, based on the tracked costs of PRIMR-developed teaching and learning 
materials in Kiswahili and English, the PRIMR technical team compared the costs with what the government was 
currently spending on textbooks and found that the government’s current allocation would be sufficient for a 1:1 
ratio of books for all pupils in Kenya at low cost, if the cost of the books were more competitive (RTI International, 
2014b). Similar cost tracking continues under the British Department for International Development (DFID)-funded 
portion of the program, which is supporting instruction and classroom materials in the Gikuyu and Lubukusu 
languages.

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