Introduction
In 2021, the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP) and the Global Education Analytics Institute (GEAI) launched a collaborative program to address local research capacity gap and improve education decision-making across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Called the Africa Fellows in Education Program (AFEP), it supported talented young African researchers through in-country activities and training opportunities abroad. Building on the success of the first round of the fellowship, in its second year, PEP and GEAI increased the scope of the program to support ten Fellows from eight countries for the 2024-25 cohort.
The 10 new AFEP fellows were selected from a pool of over 110 applicants from across SSA. These Fellows started their two-year-long fellowships in June, 2024 and this blog delves into their journey so far.
Meet our 2024/2025 Fellows
- Michel Armel Ndayikeza (Burundi), Lecturer at the University of Burundi
- Manuella Ndjakwa (Cameroon), Applied Microeconomist
- Thelma Obiakor (Nigeria), Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA) and a final-year PhD candidate at the London School of Economics
- Nneka Esther Osadolor (Nigeria), PhD candidate in Economics at the University of Ibadan
- Zamangwe Zanele Zwane (South Africa), Research Associate in the Research Coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit at the Department of Basic Education
- Christina Thomas Fille (Tanzania), Lecturer of Economics affiliated with the Institute of Social Work
- Etayibtalnam Koudjom (Togo), Associate Researcher in Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Lomé
- Regean Mugume (Uganda), Research Analyst at the Economic Policy Research Centre
- Innocent Akampurira (Uganda), Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Manager at Building Tomorrow
- Paul Kakupa (Zambia), Lecturer and Researcher in the Department of Educational Administration and Policy Studies at the University of Zambia
What makes the Africa Fellows in Education Program unique
The opportunity to embed rigorous and contextually relevant findings in policy-making was a key motivation for the fellows. For instance, Michel said, ‘What resonated with me was the idea of encouraging researchers to remain in universities and actively engage with policymakers. Having some experience working with the Ministry of Education of Burundi, I know the need for individuals at the Ministry who can analyze education data and critically examine the wealth of rigorous research available to lead necessary and urgent reforms.’
Equally important for the cohort was AFEP’s focus on rigor in education research and the specific opportunities for networking with other Program fellows as well as local and international education policy experts. To this point, Paul said, “[AFEP’s] focus on capacity building through high-quality, research-based training aligns perfectly with my aspirations as an education researcher in Zambia. It also offers the opportunity to learn from global experts and engage with peers confronting similar educational challenges in their respective countries.” Zamangwe further added that, “[T]he program's focus on empowering leaders to create sustainable change in education systems deeply resonated with my passion for addressing educational inequalities and improving learning outcomes in my country.” Thelma echoed the same sentiment, when she said, “[T]he chance to collaboratively engage with like-minded professionals who share a passion for addressing key educational challenges in Africa was a strong motivator.”
A Glimpse of What the Fellows are Researching
Examining the long-term and spillover effects of ‘Teaching at the Right Level’ in Zambia—Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) is an innovative remedial education strategy that groups students by their learning levels rather than age or grade. It has been shown to improve foundational literacy and numeracy. While the program’s success is well-documented in the context of remedial education, little is known about the broader impact of TaRL-trained teachers on regular classroom practices. Therefore, Paul will examine whether TaRL practices spillover to regular classes and their effects on learning outcomes. The other question that remains is whether TaRL learning effects are long-lasting, a question which Christina will tackle.
Assessing linguistic diversity and informing language of instruction policy in Nigerian primary education – In multilingual countries such as Nigeria, the language of instruction (LOI) in the early years of schooling has been a significant area of focus in education policy. In Nigeria, interest in this policy area is spurred by two interconnected factors. First, despite achieving near-universal primary attendance, Nigeria still grapples with a learning crisis, as evidenced by significantly low learning outcomes. Second, globally, there is some evidence that claims that children learn more easily in their mother tongue, and the skills they acquire while learning in their mother tongue can be transferred to learning in a second language. The range of languages spoken among different ethnic groups in Nigeria makes it difficult for policymakers to design inclusive and effective policies, and there is a significant gap in data-driven insights into the distribution of languages spoken across Nigeria’s diverse regions. In addition, little is known about how this linguistic diversity impacts student outcomes, especially in relation to Nigeria’s ongoing learning crisis. These are the main questions that Thelma grapples with in her AFEP project.
Improving foundational skills – Like the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, Burundi, Nigeria, and South Africa are grappling with poor learning outcomes. Foundational Literacy and numeracy (FLN) skills are critical building blocks for higher-order cognitive abilities. Therefore, South Africa implemented the early-grade reading program to improve foundational reading skills and ultimately stimulate the development of new cognitive abilities and later-life outcomes. The initial evaluation of this program shows that it holds a huge promise in improving later life outcomes. However, it is not clear whether the initial benefits are long-lasting, which is a question that Zamangwe tries to answer.
In addition, Michel is interested in how low-cost technology interventions, such as using televisions to teach in classrooms, can potentially address the issue of teacher quality, particularly in remote areas, and increase learning outcomes. He studies the long-term effects of an old TV program in Cotê d’Ivoire.
On the other hand, Nneka examines whether the structured pedagogy program implemented in the Edo State of Nigeria has improved learning outcomes. Finally, early childhood education can improve cognitive and socio-emotional skills. Therefore, Etayibtalnam investigates whether attending pre-school increases learning outcomes.
Exploring the effect of corporal punishment on learning outcomes—Does corporal punishment (physical violence) affect the cognitive ability of learners and hinder their learning in Uganda? Regean tackles this very important yet overlooked question. This research also resonates with AFEP’s goal of providing local contextual evidence for policy uptake in the country.
The road traveled – Fellows speak
Within the first four months into the program, the Fellows began working on their research and presenting it in (bi-)weekly brownbag seminar sessions, attended the CESifo workshop and conference on the Economics of Education in Munich, and visited the UNESCO IIEP (International Institute for Educational Planning) in Paris. At the IIEP, the Fellows attended a training seminar on strategic education planning. They were introduced to educational planning and policies, using data and financial resources for effective planning, and learned about approaches to monitoring student learning and quality of education.

AFEP Fellows at the CESifo conference with Director and Co-Director of CESifo Center for Economics of Education, Prof Ludger Woessmann and Prof Eric Hanushek, founder of AFEP.
According to the Fellows, these events were very educational, enhanced their experience and expanded their networks.
‘The quality of research presented was exceptional, and it introduced me to advanced quantitative methods and evaluation designs that I had not encountered before. The level of methodological sophistication, particularly in the use of econometrics and advanced statistical tools, was inspiring. This exposure has motivated me to strengthen my quantitative skills.The discussions [at the IIEP training] reinforced the importance of designing education policies that are data-driven and responsive to these external factors. This experience further highlighted the role of testing and assessments in shaping policy despite the criticisms that such measures often face.’ — Paul Kakupa
‘The most beneficial aspect of the recent trips was meeting other fellows in person. Engaging directly with peers from across Africa allowed us to learn about each other’s work, share insights on the unique educational challenges in our respective countries, and discuss potential solutions that might be adapted regionally. Hearing first-hand about the approaches and priorities in different countries was inspiring and gave context to our individual research efforts. This in-person interaction helped build a sense of community among fellows and fostered meaningful exchanges that go beyond what’s possible in virtual meetings.’ — Thelma Obiakor
‘So far, I have benefited from the great and enriching sessions/programs in the AFEP program. First, I have gained a lot from the brown bag sessions, where we present weekly progress. During these sessions, we are able to get invaluable feedback from AFEP colleagues and the Director of the program. This has enabled me to improve the quality of my research proposal and enriched me with more knowledge on other educational challenges/aspects that my colleagues are working on. In addition, we have attended conferences such as the CESifo conference and UNESCO workshops on educational planning. These events exposed me to interactions with many distinguished scholars and experts and state-of-the-art methodologies in the economics of education. I have since drawn a lot of inspiration from these scholars because of the high-quality research they produce. I have also sought support from these scholars to improve my research proposal. Importantly, I have learnt that Uganda and other developing countries need to subscribe to national and international assessments to track learning quality and improvements compared to other countries.’ — Regean Mugume
Find out more about the Africa Fellows in Education Program.
Hosted in partnership with
Supported by funding from