Improving Foundational Numeracy Skills Through Phone-Based Targeted Tutoring: Scaling and Institutionalizing mEducation in the Philippines

In response to the government’s call to improve learning outcomes, IPA and Youth Impact partnered with the Department of Education (DepEd) to pilot mEducation, a phone-based math program. Adapted from the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) model, the eight-week program delivers weekly text messages with simple math exercises and 20-minute phone calls from teachers, offering one-on-one, level-appropriate tutoring. Mastery is required before progressing to new topics. Originally tested in Botswana and later in five other countries, including the Philippines, mEducation has proven highly effective at improving math skills at low cost while boosting caregiver engagement and learner confidence. Following successful pilots, DepEd has endorsed the program and committed to scaling it in two ways: integrating it into national learning strategy and directly implementing it through partner schools. In collaboration with DepEd’s Office of the Undersecretary for Curriculum and Teaching, we aim to reach 25,000 learners by 2025. The scale-up will begin with a demonstration phase and culminate in schools independently running the program. To ensure sustainable implementation, IPA will: 1) Support DepEd divisions and schools in designating focal persons. 2) Build capacity for focal persons through training on monitoring systems, proposal development, and learning intervention assessments. 3) Set up mechanisms to ensure teachers are incentivized.