Monitoring Learning Achievement exercise in Kwara

The Monitoring of Learning Achievement in Kwara State started on 31 May 2010 and has been a hitch free event with immense cooperation from the enumerators, the schools and the Local Government Education Authority (LGEA) officials who have the jurisdiction over the selected schools. Thirty public and private schools are participating in the exercise with enumerators who are teachers drawn from the three senatorial districts of Kwara State: Kwara North (3), Kwara Central (4) and Kwara South (3) and two others cutting across all the 15 LGAs.

The MLA is an assessment instrument based on an approach that uses one-to-one interaction between the enumerator and the student. It monitor whether learners are successfully reaching expected levels (minimum standards). The exercise is being implemented in the six ESSPIN focal states.

Preparation for the exercise in Kwara state started with the constitution of an MLA Steering Committee saddled with the responsibility of ensuring a smooth and seamless exercise. At the committee’s formation stage, it was agreed that the best set of people to select as enumerators were teachers. This was more or less because the exercise was going to take place with children and it would be more pragmatic that experienced teachers were used. It was assumed that they would be better handlers of kids and could elicit from them the best responses regarding the tests.

To support the exercise, the communications strategy designed for the process include the productions of banners which were meant to create awareness for the exercise and also helped the monitors locate the venues of the exercise during monitoring. Vests were also produced to create visibility for the enumerators and monitors.

It is anticipated that at the end of the exercise another baseline of learning achievements can be recorded for Kwara which would further evidence the impact of ESSPIN in the state.