Speed Schools
Basic Information
Overview
Speed Schools is an accelerated/second-chance education model that compresses the first two to three years of primary school into a 9–10 month cycle for out-of-school children, then transitions them into government schools at the right grade level. Two different organizations run the model under the same name: Strømme Foundation (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger) and Geneva Global (Ethiopia, Uganda). Classrooms are community-based with local teachers, paired with parent and mother support groups, and often start in the local language before transitioning to the language of formal instruction. Ethiopia has had 9,400+ classrooms and 250,000+ children reached cumulatively by 2021/22, with over 90% of Ethiopian classes now government-funded. Geneva Global's 2025 expansion adds 55 more classes reaching 2,640 learners across 5 Ugandan districts.
Intervention type
Headquarters
Evidence base
No SD published. 6-year longitudinal study in Ethiopia; 2023 Uganda impact assessment; a 2018 external evaluation found the program "largely effective" and cost-efficient. Gains measured via pre/post assessment: FLN, grade-level competency, and reading fluency (CWPM). Cost per completer reaching Primary 4 ≈ $145.79 (UGX 472,355 ≈ $131.21 per learner per year). · Out-of-school children in community-based accelerated classrooms — Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger (Strømme); Ethiopia, Uganda (Geneva Global)
Current & Planned Impact
Cumulative reach
715,000
Cumulative since program start, not an annual figure. Across 5 countries (Strømme and Geneva Global).
Current-year scale
~10,500 children / year
Current scale across 390 centres in West Africa (2023, Strømme); Geneva Global's 2025 Uganda expansion adds 55 classes / 2,640 learners across 5 districts
Learning gains
No SD published
Pre/post gains in FLN, grade-level competency, and reading fluency (CWPM) within a 9–10 month accelerated cycle
Ethiopia 6-year longitudinal study · Uganda impact assessment (2023) · External evaluation (2018)
Cost / learner / yr
$131.21
Uganda, 2023 quasi-experimental assessment (UGX 472,355). Cost per completer reaching Primary 4 ≈ $145.79.
Caveat: The 715,000 figure is cumulative since program start, not an annual figure. Current-year reach is roughly 10,500 children across 390 centres in West Africa (2023, Strømme). Cost of $131.21 per learner per year (Uganda, 2023) reflects an intensive, accelerated second-chance model and is not directly comparable to standard in-school FLN costs elsewhere on this dashboard, because it compresses multiple years of schooling into one. For the same reason, learning gains are not directly comparable to the annual SD metrics used for other providers — no EGRA/EGMA is used here and no SD has been published.
Evidence & Learning Gains
Ethiopia longitudinal study
6 years · Quasi-experimental
- •9,400+ classrooms and 250,000+ children reached cumulatively by 2021/22
- •Over 90% of Ethiopian classes now government-funded
Uganda impact assessment (2023)
Quasi-experimental · Geneva Global
- •$131.21 per learner per year (UGX 472,355)
- •~$145.79 per completer reaching Primary 4
- •2025 expansion adds 55 classes / 2,640 learners across 5 districts
External evaluation (2018)
Independent review
- •Program found "largely effective" and cost-efficient
Measured gains
Pre / post assessment · No SD published
- •Improvements in foundational literacy and numeracy
- •Gains in grade-level competency and reading fluency (CWPM)
- •Often sustained after transition into government schools
Caveat: Speed Schools compresses 2–3 years of primary school into 9–10 months, so its gains are not directly comparable to the annual SD metrics used for other providers. No EGRA/EGMA instruments are used here and no standardised effect size has been published.