Let Us Learn Overview
© UNICEF Liberia/ Let Us Learn
WHAT IS LET US LEARN?
NEARLY CHILDREN OF PRIMARY SCHOOL
AGE AND 63 MILLION CHILDREN OF
LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL AGE
ARE OUT OF SCHOOL.1
58
MILLION
Half of all out-of-school children live in countries that
have been affected by conflict. Girls are one of the
most marginalized groups, with more than half being
excluded from education.2 Most are children from
the poorest families, from rural areas or from ethnic
or linguistic minorities.3 Many are children with
disabilities or children who have to work to help their
families make ends meet. The greatest challenge is
faced by children with multiple disadvantages – girls
from poor rural areas, children of ethnic minorities who
also have a disability, and children displaced from
their homes.
Let Us Learn, a unique collaboration between UNICEF
and private donors that launched in 2011, addresses
the urgent need to provide learning opportunities for
the most marginalized children – children at risk of
being left behind. The initiative focuses especially on girls,
the largest group of children excluded from education.
Let Us Learn leverages flexible and innovative
approaches that support UNICEF’s commitment to
creating a world in which all children – regardless of
their gender, background or circumstances – have access
to free, compulsory and quality education. The initiative
is advancing equitable education through a focus on:
Reaching out-of-school children
Expanding girls’ education
Improving learning outcomes
1 UNCESCO Institute for Statistics and Education for All Global Monitoring Report, ‘Progress in getting
all children to school stalls but some countries show the way forward’, Policy Paper, no. 14, Fact Sheet
no. 28, UIS and EFA Global Monitoring Report, Montreal and Paris, June 2014.
2 Ibid.
3 Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and United Nations Children’s Fund,
‘The Rights of Indigenous Children’, Challenges newsletter, no. 14, September 2012.
WHERE DOES LET US LEARN OPERATE?
WHY IS LET US LEARN UNIQUE?
Let Us Learn currently supports vulnerable children in
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Liberia, Madagascar and
Nepal. These five countries were identified and
selected based on criteria that highlighted an urgent
need for more equitable access to education including:
Focus on equity: Let Us Learn targets regions and
demographics that experience extraordinary barriers to
education. It responds to the need for contextualized
interventions that provide access to quality learning
opportunities for the children most at risk of being left
behind.
Lowest achievement in delivering education
to all children
Lowest quartile on the Human Development Index
High numbers of out-of school children
Outstanding and severe issues of inequity
High susceptibility to natural disasters and conflict
Alignment of country education programmes with
the three pillars of Let Us Learn
Innovation: Let Us Learn supports interventions
tailored to each country context, providing learning
opportunities to children who are excluded or
marginalized from traditional educational opportunities.
New and creative approaches are used to include
the hardest to reach children.
Flexibility: Let Us Learn’s unique programming
employs a fit-for-purpose design. Because it is
relatively small-scale, Let Us Learn can quickly respond
to situations and adapt interventions to ensure they
are effective.
WHAT HAS LET US LEARN ACHIEVED?
Let Us Learn has reached over 895,000 children with a variety of innovative and adaptive programmes.
In Afghanistan, Let Us Learn has ensured access
to basic education for over 9,000 out-of-school
children, 80 per cent of whom are girls.
Nearly 80 per cent of students enrolled in
Liberia’s Let Us Learn programme increased
their core subject pass rates by 25 per cent.
Let Us Learn has provided support to 40,000
out-of-school children and adolescents from
Bangladesh beginning with pre-primary education
and continuing to workforce training programmes.
Let Us Learn awarded over 4,000 scholarships to
girls in Madagascar to help them enrol and stay
in school through the lower secondary level.
WHAT IS NEXT?
WHY UNICEF IS WELL PLACED TO HAVE
AN IMPACT
Let Us Learn will continue to address the initiative’s
three pillars in each of the five countries, using targeted
approaches adapted to the specific needs of each
context.
In the future, Let Us Learn will refine and scale up
innovative approaches that have proven successful
with a particular focus on adolescent girls’ education.
The programme will also support the integration of Let
Us Learn activities into national education planning to
ensure sustainability.
Over 8,000 out-of-school adolescent girls have
enrolled in non-formal classes that provide flexible
learning opportunities in Nepal.
Active in over 190 countries worldwide, UNICEF has a
strong country presence, close working relationships with
ministries of education and a history of direct outreach
and active engagement with communities. UNICEF has
also developed strong partnerships with key development
partners, especially the Global Partnership for Education
and the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative. As a
result, UNICEF has extensive experience and expertise
supporting a range of interventions aimed at improving
access to quality education. Let Us Learn is an important
component of UNICEF’s strategy to develop and pilot
scalable innovations to provide equitable, quality
education for the most marginalized children in the world.