STS provided technical assistance and services to the Malawi Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) to implement the country’s five-year National Reading Strategy (NRS). STS engaged reading and pedagogical experts to assist the Government of Malawi (GOM) to implement the principles outlined in the NRS for the teaching of reading in Chichewa and English in Standards 1-4 across the country. At the start of the contract, STS helped convene key MOEST stakeholders and literacy and language experts to discuss and develop recommendations for the Minister of Education on three main policy issues:
- Time allocation for English and Chichewa instruction in Standards 1-4
- Scope and sequence of curricula materials in Standards 1-4
- Medium of instruction in Standards 1-4, including the process of transitioning from Chichewa to English
In addition to advising on early grade reading policy, STS reviewed instructional materials as they were being developed to ensure high quality and the integration of proven approaches; assisted with the assessment of and development of improvement approaches for teachers’ mastery of English; and assisted with the design of materials for the training of the Master Trainers who would begin the cascade that trained Standard 1 teachers across Malawi.
