PEAS (Promoting Equality in African Schools)

My mission is to expand educational opportunity. Covid-19 has caused unprecedented disruption to schools with millions of children suffering extreme learning loss and permanently dropping-out. I’m applying for The Elevate Prize to accelerate PEAS’ work getting more children into quality secondary education at a time when the mission has never been more urgent.  

Prior to the pandemic only 1 in 3 children in Africa accessed secondary school. After decades of investment, primary education is almost universal, but secondary is still inaccessible to the majority. It’s the poorest, children in rural areas, and girls who are being left behind. 

PEAS has a strong track record of expanding access to quality education across its growing network of 32 secondary schools which are in some of Uganda and Zambia’s poorest communities. We have compelling external evidence: PEAS students are poorer than students in other schools; our schools are more inclusive of girls and students with disabilities; and, despite their disadvantages, PEAS students make faster learning progress.  

I have a clear vision for scaling PEAS’ impact from 10,000s students to millions of students. The Elevate Prize funding would help me and PEAS get there faster.

My passion comes from the transformational effect education can have on an individual person. Aside from the macro-economic and societal benefits, I believe in education for the sake of education. By 2050 there will be 1 billion young people in Africa. That’s 1 billion individual reasons to get out of bed in the morning.  

My passion for education stemmed from childhood, my grandmother taught me the power of education, not having been given the opportunity herself, she knew how it could change lives. In a career spanning 3 continents and ranging from classroom teaching to leading a non-profit, I have fully committed my efforts to expanding educational opportunity. And as I progress in my career I am increasingly focused on girls’ education where additional gendered barrier to education exist. 

When I took over the top job at PEAS 3 years ago, we were educating 15,000 students in our network of secondary schools. This year, despite Covid, we’ve reached 90,000 children and have a clear pathway to national level scale in Uganda and Zambia. My goal as CEO over the next few years is to reach every secondary school in Uganda and Zambia and launch PEAS in a 3rd country.

72 million children in Africa are not accessing quality secondary education. The challenge is two-fold: Access and Quality.  

 Across most of the continent there simply aren’t enough secondary schools and no free public education. What’s more, government spending on education is reducing, as a result, the poorest families are left behind. The situation is worse for girls. Child marriage, poverty, son preference and in-school violence all contribute to dropout.  

Where children do manage to enrol in secondary, education quality is poor. Learning outcomes are low and don't prepare students with the relevant skills to enter the workforce. Again, the situation is worse for girls due to biased teaching methodologies and higher absenteeism given household responsibilities and challenges managing menstruation in ill-equipped schools.  

However, with the secondary aged population growing at an astonishing rate, we see solving this problem as the single biggest opportunity to harness the economic, political and socio-cultural potential of Africa’s bulging youth population. 

PEAS has a simple 2-part approach to expanding access to quality secondary education. First, we build and run exemplary secondary schools. Second, we replicate PEAS’ best practices to have a wider impact on the education systems where we work.

The traditional view is that the private education sector cannot reach the most marginalised students. At PEAS we are disrupting this view. Through our embedded not-for-profit values and commitment to government collaboration we are changing this narrative. Currently there is disastrous lack of access to secondary education in the countries where we work, with economic and political factors consistently impeding governments developing strong public education systems. We believe that the private education sector has a vital role in helping government fill the gap. 

By moving away from the traditional charity model which often relies heavily on foreign aid, towards a fee paying and innovative finance model, we are changing a dangerous narrative in which students/parents are seen as beneficiaries rather than agency holders capable of seizing opportunities for education as a way out of poverty. With this model our schools are educating a completely new student demographic, with nearly 70% coming from households living under the $1.90 per day international poverty line, demonstrating the private sector's role in reaching the most vulnerable.

We are passionate believers that Education drives productive economies, healthier, wealthier and more peaceful populations and, of course, gender equality.  Female education can raise up communities by inculcating key life skills; and challenging gendered stereotypes and perceptions giving women the opportunity to pursue STEM and associated careers. 

At PEAS, on top of this, we have our own specific Education Philosophy which centres on preparing students for “a fulfilling and socially responsible lives”. We believe that a quality education is much broader than academic attainment. ‘Livelihood Clubs’ are run at each school. These groups host productive discussions on tackling barriers such as child marriage, early pregnancy menstrual health and climate change. They also run activities to help build students’ confidence and develop skills which can be used to improve their lives within and beyond the school gates. 

 We also believe that it’s not just what we do but how we do it. We are committed to diversity and inclusion and we support teachers and school leaders to be the drivers of school improvement. We believe that our uniqueness is result of the dedication and motivation of everyone in our organisation and have created over 1000 jobs in Uganda and Zambia.