Over two hundred young adults from seven different countries, including the host country Kenya, are currently enrolled on our Accelerated Education Program. This program operates across three Community Learning Hubs in Nairobi run by Xavier Project. These youth, aged between fourteen and twenty-five years, have usually missed out on substantial amounts of schooling due to displacement from their home countries.
Since one of Xavier Project’s goals is to increase access for refugee children to relevant, quality formal education, delivered in a safe environment, the Accelerated Education was introduced in January 2018. It’s a flexible, age-appropriate programme, run in an accelerated time frame, with the aim of providing access to education for disadvantaged, over-age, out-of-school youth. After an initial literacy and academic assessment, students are placed in three different levels according to their competencies. Using a curriculum developed by Kenya Institute for Curriculum Development (KICD), older students are given the opportunity to cover the same ground as standard-age learners but at a much faster pace. The curriculum is condensed, so they can complete it in half the number of years normally required for that level, or less. By catching up in this way, learners can then either integrate into mainstream education (in the right class for their age), transfer to the next educational level (normally secondary) or to skills-based technical and vocational education.
Each AEP Hub has a qualified teacher and some volunteers who support both academic, co-curricular and life-skills training
There are about ninety students enrolled in Level 1, which introduces them to basic English and Kiswahili. One hundred students are at level 2 (equivalent of middle school) where the other curriculum subjects such as Science, Social Studies and Mathematics are also taught. Thirteen students have registered to sit for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) later in the year.
Each AEP Hub has a qualified teacher and some volunteers who support both academic, co-curricular and life-skills training, including self-awareness, goal setting, personal and environmental care, and critical thinking skills. Considering the dynamism and energy of teenagers who form majority of the student population, a variety of learning approaches are used to engage students, including debates, videos, art, music and sports.
If you don’t want to miss out on our work, subscribe to our newsletter
