ZAF continued to strengthen its partnership with the respective Ministries of Education (MoEs), their agencies, and other education authorities across the region, ensuring that evidence-based practices and research agendas are integrated to drive systematic change through co-creation.
Co-creating the Junior School (JS) career guidance framework with the Government of Kenya
ZAF’s research on career guidance and knowledge of pathways in Junior Secondary schools played a key role in finalising the career guidance framework for junior and pre-vocational schools. This initiative provided evidence to strengthen career readiness for JS learners transitioning to senior schools in the Kenyan Education system.
Advancing foundational numeracy through strategic collaboration in Kenya
In Q1, a key milestone was achieved through a collaboration with the Centre for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Africa (CEMASTEA). Insights from ZAF’s error analysis research have informed CEMASTEA’s emerging strategy on foundational numeracy. For the first time, CEMASTEA is extending its Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) teacher development programs to primary school educators.
Notably, progress has been made in establishing an innovation hub for foundational numeracy within CEMASTEA, inspired in part by learnings from a recent South Africa visit. The quarter also saw the birth of a government-led, multi-sectoral numeracy initiative, endorsed by the then Principal Secretary for Basic Education, marking strong government commitment to scaling foundational learning interventions.
Below is a testimonial from one of the CEMASTEA trainers:
“The collaboration with ZAF has been a revelation for CEMASTEA regarding foundational numeracy. In the past, our focus has been on secondary school levels. We have picked this as an area of work and are working to set up an innovation center on foundational numeracy.” Trainer, CEMASTEA
Charting a bold path for life skills and values education across four jurisdictions
ZAF, in collaboration with its ALiVE partners, convened the ALiVE Summit 2025 with a shared vision: Transforming education systems to fully embrace values and life skills. Held against a backdrop of growing momentum across East Africa, the summit brought together policymakers, educators, and partners from Kenya, Uganda, and the United Republic of Tanzania (Mainland and Zanzibar) for an energising exchange of ideas and commitments.
Throughout the summit, participants reflected on the progress made in embedding life skills into national education frameworks—celebrating achievements, identifying gaps, and learning from each other’s experiences.
Key outcomes of the summit included a unified commitment to Phase III of the ALiVE initiative, with a sharpened focus on transforming education systems to ensure life skills and values are not just taught but lived across schools in the region. With stronger collaboration and a clear roadmap ahead, the stage is now set for the next leap forward in preparing young people for life, work, and citizenship.
In addition, ZAF, in collaboration with the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), successfully finalized the Values-Based Education materials to be used in a pilot starting in May 2025.
Lastly, the ALiVE open-source platform continues to attract significant interest with over 17 organizations across the continent utilising the open resources to support their work in nurturing and assessing values and life skills.
