Supporting Transition of Adolescent Girls through Enhanced Systems (STAGES)

The STAGES project supported 63,644 girls and was implemented by Link Education International and Link Education Ethiopia to in rural areas within the Wolaita Zone in Ethiopia. 

The project supported girls to transition through school or move on to technical and vocational education and training (TVET) or work and become confident citizens. The girls were marginalised economically, socially and culturally and many dropped out of school early for reasons such as poverty, school distance, exploitation and unsupportive cultural and societal norms. The project overcame these barriers, encouraging adolescent girls to remain in school through advocacy initiatives including improving access to safe, local and high-quality secondary education and increasing the girls’ literacy and numeracy skills. The project created lasting change by working closely with local officials and operating through government systems to ensure sustainability. The project also focused on challenging the harmful attitudes and behaviours that stand in the way of girls’ education.

Main activities

• Strengthening school leadership and supervision for girls’ education.
• Supporting the school improvement planning process for planning which responds to the needs of girls and other vulnerable children, and accountability.
• Developing the capacity of teachers on gender-sensitive pedagogy, with a social and emotional learning approach.
• Supporting the government Tutorial Programme in schools, which helps girls who are struggling in the classroom.
• Constructing four secondary schools in remote rural areas for better access and transition, and upgrading of school latrines.
• Providing direct support to particularly vulnerable girls, including bursaries, basic needs including uniform and scholastic materials, sanitary items, and social/emotional learning support.
• Strengthening community engagement in education working with PTAs, School Improvement Committees and Kebele (village) Education and Training Boards, as well as Mother and Father Groups
• Working directly with girls and boys through gender clubs which challenge traditional gender norms
• Supporting the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with much learning for possible future emergency and planning

The project in numbers

Link Education International: www.linkeducation.org.uk