Abstract:
This study examines the SENSE-TRI program’s effectiveness in improving the fundamental
literacy skills of grade 3 learners in insurgency-challenged Gombe and Adamawa states of
Nigeria during the COVID-19 lockdown. A quasi-experimental design was employed, with
400 participants equally divided between randomly selected schools and pupils from SENSE
intervention schools (the treatment group) and a counterfactual group from schools and
pupils not participating in the SENSE-TRI program (the comparison group). The learners’
performance in both groups was assessed by the abbreviated Early Grade Reading Assess ment (EGRA), focusing on tasks such as letter-sound identification, syllable sound identifi cation, familiar word reading, invented word reading, and reading comprehension. The TRI
program compared learners’ scores in the treatment group with those of learners in the
comparison group using Tobit regression models. The results revealed that socio demographic variables had no significant independent influence on the observed outcomes.
However, the scores showed a statistically significant improvement in the literacy abilities of
the treatment group on all parameters and tasks compared to the control group. This
improvement exceeded the initial SENSE baseline reading proficiency aggregate values,
indicating the program’s effectiveness in both challenging and normal circumstances as a
possible way out when no schools exist
Description:
L
iteracy, numeracy, and life skills are basic skills needed to
engage individuals and harness their inputs towards national
development, hence the varied responses from global and
national actors, especially in insurgency-ravaged areas such as
north-east Nigeria. The Nigerian northeast region has been
embroiled in the insurgency since 2002 when the Boko Haram
sect, which literarily translates that Western education is for bidden, took up arms against the state and education. The modus
operandi of driving their ideology has left in its wake massive
destructions of infrastructure and human displacements. Among
areas closed are learning spaces, which have been argued to
threaten the progress of children, youth, and adults, particularly
those from more disadvantaged families (Agarwala et al. 2022).
These identified actors are deeply committed to rebuilding the
northeast region plagued by insurgency and counter-insurgency
activities, which have led to school closures, destruction of social
infrastructure, massive displacements and disruptions, and the
like (Jacob and Ensign 2020).
