CAMEROON | PROCESS EVALUATION OF WORLD BANK READ AT HOME PROGRAM
April 2025-November 2025
This project is focused on supporting the World Bank and the government of Cameroon to conduct a process evaluation of the Read at Home program in Cameroon. The Read@Home initiative was conceived in 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing children with books to maintain learning connections during school closures. Read@Home is not just a crisis response though. It is a key component of system building that will help countries address learning poverty, develop more effective and equitable education systems, and be resilient in the face of future shocks. The objective of Read@Home is to deliver reading and learning materials to hard-to-reach homes, as quickly and efficiently as possible, along with support for parents and caregivers to engage with children’s learning.
A global initiative supported by the World Bank in 18 countries as of 2025, Read@Home was designed to be country specific. The core objective in Cameroon was to strengthen literacy efforts by providing culturally and linguistically relevant books to parents as the end users alongside their children and by training parents, regardless of their literacy level, on shared book reading techniques with these new reading materials.
In Cameroon, the program prioritized five national languages from the main sociolinguistic groups —Douala, Ewondo, Fufulde, Gomala, and Kom—alongside the official languages of formal instruction, French and English. This choice was underpinned by research demonstrating that children gain literacy skills most effectively in a language they know and understand, and these foundational skills can support literacy skill development in other languages, such as the official languages used for instruction.
Through the support of Gates Foundation-funded Engeza and the contractual management of Education Development Trust, EdIntersect supported a Cameroon Read@Home local consultant and the World Bank team to conduct a process evaluation of this parental engagement program for home reading practices in books in five national languages and two languages of instruction. Throughout the evaluation period, EdIntersect offered technical advice on design and implementation of the evaluation, data collection instruments, and sampling. EdIntersect conducted remote key informant interviews, and extensive reviews and cleaning of data collected by a local team. EdIntersect also produced an evaluation report identifying recommendations incorporating findings and future options for sustaining the program in Cameroon.
The evaluation followed a process evaluation design aimed at documenting project progress and implementation details through largely qualitative methods, including interviews, focus groups, and open-ended questionnaires. The initial sampling frame included all 200 pilot schools across Cameroon’s 10 regions from which a sample of 65 schools was drawn. Due to logistical challenges and insecurity impeding access to some areas, the final sample for the evaluation was 59 schools. A total of 159 individuals (78 female, 81 male) completed questionnaires as part of the main sample (99 teachers and 60 head teachers). Sub-sample data included 44 data collection activities (interviews and focus groups) with head teachers, teachers, parents, and ministry/implementer staff.
The Read@Home initiative in Cameroon demonstrated significant success as a comprehensive pilot program focused on enhancing primary students’ reading levels through culturally relevant materials and targeted parental training. By relying heavily on existing government structures, the program validated that governmental systems can adopt ambitious educational reforms centered on national language use and parental engagement, achieving crucial ministerial legitimacy. However, the analysis revealed critical structural and logistical challenges, such as delays in book development and validation, and lack of tracking systems for books.
The central element of success was the development and distribution of 41 high-quality, culturally relevant reading titles. According to stakeholders, these materials instilled a love of reading in children and they noted examples demonstrating that children improved their reading abilities. Furthermore, the specialized training empowered parents—even those with limited literacy levels—with practical, step-by-step methodologies (like image interpretation and discussing with their child in the home language), fostering engagement and improving communication between the home and the school.