Senegal has made considerable efforts to improve its education system, which have led to some increases in primary school enrollment and strategies to improve quality. However, it still faces challenges in improving student performance. In response, the Ministère de l’Education nationale (MEN), or the Ministry of National Education, has made reading one of its priorities for boosting learning outcomes.

The Lecture Pour Tous (Early Reading) program, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), supports the MEN’s initiatives to improve the quality of classroom instruction and to inspire families and communities to become more involved in helping children learn. The program, which began in October 2016 and runs through July 2021, aims to boost early grade reading. Lecture Pour Tous is working to build first, second, and third grade students’ reading skills in national languages (Pulaar, Seereer, and Wolof) so that they may transfer the relevant skills to reading in French, the official language.

Lecture Pour Tous is introducing evidence-based practices, such as direct phonics-based instruction; comprehensive teacher training and coaching; regular checks on student progress; social behavior change communications to mobilize parents and communities around reading; and research- based standards and policy development to strengthen the ministry’s efforts to sustain these reforms.

Drawing from action research conducted by the project, Lecture Pour Tous is developing a policy framework to increase and sustain long- term student reading outcomes. The program has yielded positive results in the first three years of implementation.