Inclusive approaches to drop out and retention in low-resource settings

This guidance note shares lessons learned from DFID’s Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC)3 programme on retention systems that work to provide visibility and support to marginalised girls in challenging contexts who are at risk of drop out from education.

The key audience is education actors working in low-resource settings. These include ministries of education, schools and externally funded education actors such as non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The nature of partnerships with externally funded bodies is usually one of short-term investment to build capacity of the system to be sustainable in the long term. Lessons learned in this guidance note are drawn from the perspective of education-focused NGOs funded through the GEC. However, this guidance note is positioned to acknowledge that the responsibility for these systems is with local ministries, community committees and schools, with support from NGOs.