Ethiopia is home to the Luminos Fund’s largest and longest-running program. Since 2018, the Ethiopian Ministry of Education and regional education bureaus have partnered with Luminos to expand accelerated learning as a government-led strategy for supporting out-of-school children, reaching 233,915 children in government schools implementing the Luminos Method.

More recently, at the request of the Sidama Regional Education Bureau (REB), Luminos partnered with the region to strengthen this model by introducing a structured pedagogy approach: detailed lesson plans in local languages, teacher training, and ongoing supervision and coaching. In government classrooms, the structured pedagogy approach combines evidence-based literacy and numeracy instruction with joyful, student-centered learning, covering Grades 1 and 2 of primary school in just 10 months. The results are remarkable: students in these classrooms read at four times the rate of their peers in conventional Grade 2 classrooms.

Co-created with government from the start, the structured pedagogy model is designed to be locally led. The Tigray regional government has since adapted the model to its context for implementation in government primary schools.

In Oromia—Ethiopia’s largest and most populous region—Luminos and the regional government are now working together to bring structured pedagogy to children both in and out of school. The partnership will strengthen literacy instruction for Grade 1 students in government schools while also supporting vulnerable and out-of-school students through an accelerated learning program focused on foundational literacy and numeracy. Across both areas of work, children will benefit from the same core approach: clear daily lesson plans, trained and supported teachers, locally adapted materials, and joyful, evidence-based instruction designed to help students build strong foundational skills.

That partnership reached a formal milestone this month, when the Oromia REB and Luminos signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), launching a shared framework for government-led structured pedagogy programs across the region.

Dr. Tolla Barrisso, Head of the Oromia REB (at right), and Dr. Alemayehu Hailu Gebre, Luminos Senior Director of Programs (at left), sign the agreement formalizing the partnership to bring structured pedagogy into mainstream Grade 1 government classrooms while strengthening accelerated learning for children who are out of school. (Photo: Oromia Regional Education Bureau)

The Launch Workshop

The MoU signing kicked off a two-day launch workshop bringing together officials from the Ministry of Education, Oromia regional and district government representatives, Luminos, and community partners. On day two, participants jointly reviewed and validated the Teacher’s Guides or ‘Playbooks’.

Mr. Shemsedin, Oromia’s Director for Primary Education, traced how the partnership with Luminos evolved in his opening remarks. After seeing the results of the Luminos Method in other regions, the Oromia REB set out to extend structured pedagogy to more children across its education system.

The Teacher’s Guides are a product of this collaboration: developed jointly by Oromia government experts and Luminos’ team and customized to the region’s context.

Mr. Shemsedin was direct about what comes next: validating the materials is one milestone, not the finish line. Teacher training is the critical next step to ensure the structured pedagogy approach is implemented with fidelity in government classrooms.

The Journey Ahead

Government partnerships that outlast a single funding cycle are built deliberately from the beginning.  Luminos’ approach in Ethiopia has been to co-create with government, so that government ownership is established from the outset.

From Sidama to Tigray and now Oromia, regional partners have adapted and led implementation of the structured pedagogy model, with Luminos providing technical support throughout. Dr. Bultossa Hirko, Deputy Head of the Oromia REB, spoke to that ownership directly in his remarks to Ministry officials and other guests at the workshop, addressing the learning crisis, the urgency of foundational learning, and the regional government’s commitment to making foundational learning a priority.

Luminos’ journey in Ethiopia is a powerful example of how collaboration, evidence, and strong government leadership can drive meaningful and sustainable change in education.