The Mali USAID/PHARE Program (Programme Harmonisé d’Appui au Renforcement de l’Education)

The Mali USAID/ PHARE program (Programme Harmonisé d’Appui au Renforcement de l’Education) supports the Malian Ministry of Education’s efforts to improve the quality of elementary education, with an emphasis on literacy. This five-year program works nationally, reaching over 40,000 classrooms and 500,000 students. Known as “Road to Reading” in English, the program will produce and broadcast Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) programs for grades 1–6 with dual instructional objectives for teachers and students. The program also strives to improve the Ministry’s evaluation systems, particularly around reading and writing. Further efforts will improve pre-service and in-service teacher training and supervisory practices. Pilot programs will help develop a model for reaching nomadic populations and children with mild to moderate special needs. New technologies, such as smart phones and mini-computers, will be adapted to the Malian context and those that prove most effective scaled up through public-private partnerships.

Visit EDC’s International Development Division website for additional project information and resources.