continued eligibility. Teachers and administrators also oversee student discipline and ensure that sponsored students abide by school rules and maintain commendable character, a key retention criterion in the program. Moreover, school staff facilitate the distribution of essential materials such as uniforms, learning supplies, and hygiene products.
Support Provided and Relative Importance to EIP Students
Figure 2: Percentage of Reception of Support to EIP Students vs. Perceived Importance
The data show that financial support is the foundation of EIP’ s value delivery, with nearly all students listing it among their top three most important aspects of support, far outpacing other aspects. All students surveyed reported receiving financial support( N = 41), directly related to school( tuition) and examination fees. Most students reported receiving stationery( 80 %), school attire and / or accessories( 78 %) and personal hygiene products, including sanitary wear for females( 73 %). School attire / accessories and stationery form the next tier of priorities, reflecting both the need to meet school requirements and to access basic learning materials required on a daily basis. Personal hygiene items are widely provided but less frequently ranked in the top three, a fact which should be interpreted through a gender lens, as such it turns out to be lesser when compared to other needs. Items such as food / cooking essentials, counselling / mentorship( a structured, ongoing relationship where a trained adult or alum supports a student’ s academic progress, wellbeing, and decisions through regular check-ins and goal-setting), and the EIP camp scored lower relative priority in top-3 rankings, suggesting they function as complementary supports rather than core barriers to education.
It is also worth noting that the alignment between what EIP provides and what students rate as most is likely influenced by whether the student is a boarder, self-boarder, or not, as well as the fact that the EIP camp has only been running since 2023, hence previous beneficiaries( and only current few) may not have participated. However, what is clear is that the most important aspects to support education are already central in the EIP support. During an FGD, a student at the EIP camp described the benefits of these different aspects of support provided by the EIP project:“ We would not really focus in class because we were also going to school hungry. Sonder came, gave us education, food, and motivated us to work hard in class for a better future.”
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