Geneva Global Uganda will implement the Accelerated Education for Out-of-School Adolescents program in Adjumani, Amudat, Lamwo, Napak, and Yumbe. These districts are home to large numbers of children and adolescents who have been excluded from formal education due to poverty, early marriage, displacement, caregiving responsibilities, and other social or structural barriers.
Geneva Global is implementing the AEP as a part of the broader programmes to improve girls’ education under the Gender for Development Uganda (G4DU) Initiative, funded by the European Union, and the initiative to improve quality of teaching and learning in Karamoja funded by the Government of Ireland.
In Adjumani, Lamwo, and Yumbe, the program will operate in both host and refugee communities. In Amudat and Napak—located in the Karamoja sub-region—it will engage with pastoralist communities who face distinct challenges related to mobility and access to formal schooling.
The initiative is centered on the “Speed School” program, an accelerated education model that Geneva Global has operated in Uganda since 2016 to bring over 50,000 out-of-school children and adolescents into formal schooling quickly and successfully. Over the next year, we will establish 55 Speed School classes reaching 2,640 learners, using Uganda’s official condensed accelerated education curriculum while tailoring lessons to learners’ particular contexts and needs.
Each class of 48 learners will be led by a facilitator who will receive training and regular supervision and support to deliver inclusive, learner-centered instruction focused on foundational literacy and numeracy alongside and a wide range of competencies promoted by Uganda’s new curriculum. To accomplish this, Geneva Global Uganda train, support, and accompany district inspectors, teacher college outreach agents, and school leaders to, in turn, train and support Speed School facilitators to achieve optimal student learning and successful transition the next year to mainstream classes.
Community-led Center Management Committees will oversee classroom operations and help ensure a safe, supportive learning environment. With school and other local leaders, these will organize regular meetings with parents to promote child protection, psychosocial support, and sustained engagement in their children’s education.
This project marks a significant moment in Geneva Global’s work. It is our first formal partnership with UNICEF in Uganda, though it builds on five years of collaboration with UNICEF in Ethiopia. It also represents an important expansion in two regards. It is our first time working in refugee-hosting districts as well as in the Karamoja region, where conflict, displacement, and poverty have kept many children out of school. These are not easy places to work, but they are precisely where this work is most needed.
More than a single project, this is the start of what we hope will become a long-term partnership rooted in mutual trust, a shared goal, and tangible, significant progress in ensuring that every child has the opportunity to return to school, continue learning, and build a better future. Together, we aim not only to support children’s return to the classroom, but to strengthen the systems that make lasting learning possible. From classroom delivery to community engagement and teacher support, every aspect of the program is built to take root and grow.
