Assisting a low-fee independent school to articulate its impact

Molo Mhlaba Schools is a low-fee independent Pan-African primary school based in Khayelitsha, South Africa, with a vision of providing safe, affordable, quality education to girls in the community in which they live.

The school aims to support young girls through STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) education, early literacy development, physical health education and outreach programmes in Khayelitsha. Young South African girls in particular are often not afforded safe school environments that encourage learning STEAM topics. Molo Mhlaba aims to address this through its unique approach.

Molo Mhlaba is a recent education offering that is part of an emerging landscape within education – where the rise of low-fee independent schools fills current gaps in the South African education system.

In South Africa, independent schooling is often inaccessible to most children as school fees are significantly higher than those of public schools. There has, however, been an increase in enrolment in independent schools due to the growth of low- and middle-fee independent schools. Molo Mhlaba is one of several low-fee independent schools in South Africa. However, its focus is on establishing a Pan-African curriculum and providing this specifically for young girls, making it a unique offering in the low-fee independent school landscape.

The school’s Pan-African approach is seen in the way it teaches subjects such as literature and history through feminist and Pan-African lenses and ensures that classroom resources are either written by black women or are about black women leaders and pioneers. The hope is that the girls will ‘see themselves’ in these stories and books. The school also intends to offer a variety of languages including English, Xhosa, Swahili, Arabic, French and Sotho to the girls as part of its wide-ranging curriculum.

As part of Genesis’ corporate social investment arm, Genesis in Society engaged Molo Mhlaba to conduct a programmatic assessment of the school, update the school’s theory of change and establish an impact framework to help Molo Mhlaba build an investment case for the school’s future donors. The programmatic assessment included conducting an independent early-grade reading assessment to rigorously evaluate reading progress of Molo Mhlaba learners.

Additionally, the programmatic assessment included a detailed analysis of Molo Mhlaba’s pedagogical approach to schooling. Elements that contribute to the school’s distinct offering include:

• An extended school day
• Nutritious school meals
• Highly qualified teachers with a teacher to learner ratio of 1:25
• Location in the same communities as the girls
• Leadership training offered for children and teachers
• Outreach and after-school programmes that target learners in public schools, focusing on STEAM education.

The programmatic assessment will be used as a baseline for the school going forward and will also be provided to potential donors. More information on Molo Mhlaba Schools can be found here , and the work that Genesis in Society does can be found here.

Read the report: Programmatic Assessment of Molo Mhlaba: A low-fee independent school