ASSOCIATION FOR SCHOOL BASED EDUCATION (ASBE)

ASBE works to mitigate the educational disparity between urban and rural school children through community-based pre-school programs.

ASBE's strategy blends a pre-school program with a community mobilization campaign. At present, urban students have access to 12 years of schooling. Due to lack of the nursery and kindergarten classes available outside the city, rural schools only offer 10 years of schooling. ASBE seeks to begin pre-school programs in rural areas. The schools will be supported and managed by village committees. By intervening in these early years, ASBE hopes to strengthen the intellectual development of children which in turn will make it easier for them to continue their studies in higher grades. Each of the teachers and the supervisor at the pre-school centers will be given training on the educational methodology as well as for mobilizing community members. The social mobilization campaign will address the issues of the importance of pre-primary education, the contrasts between urban and rural educational situations, and the benefits of investment in child's education for families and communities.

ASBE will operate 20 pre-schools each consisting of 30 students between the ages of 5 and 7. For each school, there will be a managing committee comprised of eight mothers. In addition, there will be quarterly community-based meetings for overseeing the progress and drawing continued support for the program.