Accelerated Education Programmes (AEPs)

Pakistan has expanded Accelerated Learning Programmes more than tenfold since 2021, helping thousands of out-of-school children - especially girls - re-enter formal education. This case study explores how strong policy frameworks, provincial adaptation, community participation, and smarter data systems are sustaining progress in a decentralised system. Discover what’s driving transition rates as high as 90%, and what challenges remain to make every learner’s second chance a lasting one.

Accelerated education programmes in Ghana and Sierra Leone are helping out-of-school children - especially girls - gain literacy, numeracy, and life skills, with most transitioning successfully into formal schools. Ghana’s Complementary Basic Education has reached over 533,000 learners since 1995, while Sierra Leone’s programmes support young mothers and overage learners through flexible, community-led models. Both approaches show high transition and retention rates, reduce early marriage and child labour, and highlight the power of inclusive teaching methods and strong government leadership.

Luminos uses data as a driver of learning, not just measurement. Through culturally relevant assessments and teacher-led tools, results are analysed and shared to improve instruction and adapt programme design. This feedback loop strengthens teaching, supports learner progress in literacy and numeracy, and secures government buy-in by making impact visible. Monitoring thus becomes an engine for joyful learning and sustained education outcomes

Whether children are out of school, at risk of dropping out, or struggling to stay engaged in formal classrooms, the challenge of keeping every learner in education is widespread. For the millions of children and youth who are not in school, accelerated education programmes (AEPs) have proven to be an effective approach to catch learners up on foundational skills and integrate them into formal education. Education.org’s (2022) AEP synthesis identified nine characteristics of effective AEPs, centring on government ownership and the need to embed AEP policies and guidelines into the formal school architecture. This (2025) Transitions synthesis completes the story, adding a tenth characteristic that is a crucial lever of success for all AEP models and transition pathways, especially those to formal schooling: close collaboration between AEPs, formal schools, and communities. It presents the STEP Framework, for Supporting Learners Through Evidence-based Planning (STEP), which follows the AEP learner on their transition journey, not just until they enter formal school, but ensuring they thrive within it (see image below).

Speed School in Ethiopia and Uganda shows how accelerated learning can spark change beyond non-formal classrooms. Its holistic teacher development model - rooted in practice-based training, peer collaboration, and supportive supervision - empowers facilitators to use play-based, learner-centred methods that foster creativity, confidence, and deeper learning. Crucially, there are systems and processes in place to enable these practices to spread into formal schools, improving education outcomes for all students.

In Kenya’s refugee camps, Accelerated Education Programmes (AEP) run by the Norwegian Refugee Council and Save the Children are helping over-age out-of-school learners catch up and transition into formal schools. Success goes beyond academics - daily psychosocial support, teacher wellbeing, and cross-sector coordination build confidence, resilience, and smoother transitions. By training both AEP and formal school teachers, supporting peer integration, and linking education with health and protection services, these models improve retention and wellbeing. Kenya’s experience shows how practical, holistic strategies can transform refugee education in crisis and low-resource settings.

By embedding multiple transition pathways into national policy, Nigeria’s Accelerated Basic Education Programme recognises the diverse needs of overage out-of-school children and youth, and the communities where they come from, ensuring a more inclusive, context-responsive option for learners.

Routed in evidence and deep stakeholder engagement, Sierra Leone embarked on a project to co-develop new National Guidelines for Accelerated Education with Education.org. The guidelines provide benchmarks for AEP providers nationwide, including pre-requisites for clear pathways back into formal education, appropriate training, or employment.

Despite significant efforts, the global out-of-school rate has dropped by just 1% in the past decade. 122 million girls are still out of school today. With population growth, the number of girls missing out on education will rise unless we take urgent action. The question is not just how to get millions of girls back in school but how to accelerate their learning. Accelerated Education Programmes (AEPs) offer a proven solution, regularly achieving stronger learning outcomes in less time and at lower cost than formal education, while reaching the most marginalised. AEPs also offer lessons applicable to both non-formal and formal education.