PAL Network takes this opportunity to thank you for your company during a rather unique and eventful 2020. Indeed, 2020 was full of uncertainties. Yet it had its silver lining – people stayed home, did things differently, and the seeds for innovation were planted. It is a year that affirmed that our choice, of household based assessments and actions, is on the mark. We are hopeful as we look ahead. We look forward to your continued friendship and support. Warm wishes for New Year 2021.
ICAN Featured in the White Paper by Save Our Future
Building on ICAN, PAL Network is strengthening and expanding its common assessment via the KIX+ Project. The core workforce of the KIX+ project comprises staff drawn from all participating countries of the network. This team has sampled additional districts for the assessment. The field trial plan to develop and finalise the assessment package has been drafted. The KIX+ pre-numeracy and numeracy assessment framework and a pilot of textbook analysis for language and literacy assessment are under preparation. Connect with us, @palnetworkHQ for more developments.
Online Workshop on ICAN Policy Linking for Measuring Global Learning Outcomes
Thirty teacher panellists, 15 each from Kenya and Nigeria participated in eight 2-hour online workshop sessions to align ICAN to the Global Proficiency Framework (GPF). Panellists also set benchmarks for the score children need to achieve on ICAN to “meet global minimum proficiency” in Grades 2 and 3. Policy Linking is a methodology that links existing assessments to the GPF and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.1.1.
MIA Mexico Wins the 2020 SUMMA Competition
Medición Independiente de Aprendizajes (MIA) Mexico won the 2020 Innovation Contest for Educational Justice in Latin America with the project, Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Remedial courses in rural areas. The project seeks to validate a sustainable model for scaling up evidence-based participatory educational innovations aimed at reducing the lag in basic learning in reading and arithmetic among children and adolescents in rural contexts in South-eastern Mexico.
LBOP2 Country Case Analysis Presentations
Teams from Kenya and India (including PAL Network and partner representatives) submitted seven papers and participated in the Learning at the Bottom of the Pyramid (LBOP) second virtual conference on 30 November and 7 and 8 December 2020. The team presented Country Case Analyses with focus on equity for children at the bottom of the pyramid and PAL Network and Pratham Education Foundation participated in panel discussions. Young 1ove and ASER Pakistan also served as commentators. See the presentations here.
Expanding Inclusion of Learning Opportunities: Policy Dialogues in Kenya
The last three months saw the Ministry of Education through the Directorate of Policy, Partnerships, and East African Community Affairs, the Directorate of Special Education Needs, NACONEK and KICD together with PAL Network hold a series of virtual Policy Dialogues. Over 200 education stakeholders discussed the inclusion of children with special education needs and those in marginalised areas amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The dialogues, funded by the INCLUDE Platform, also looked at the emerging of policy gaps within the current education reforms. View the dialogues here.
Facilidade ICDS Shines a Light on Education in Emergencies
Wiixutta Nithweelaka or ‘‘Learning by Playing’’ is a Facilidade ICDS program that will be adapted and implemented in Northern Mozambique, targeting over 400 displaced children. It aims to prepare pre-school age children to enter school and improve their literacy and numeracy skills. The program will also ensure that every displaced child has the fundamental right to education.
Uwezo Tanzania’s Jifunze Program Improves Literacy and Numeracy
A recent reflection meeting organised by Uwezo Tanzania and education stakeholders revealed that the Jifunze (TaRL) program has improved children’s reading and arithmetic skills. Out of the 800 children enrolled in the Jifunze program in five schools, 85 per cent of them improved in literacy and numeracy after 30 days. It shows a closer partnership between parents and teachers in a bid to support learning. Parents also formed accountability committees to hold themselves accountable and ensure children attend school regularly.
Re-entry in Schools Post Nationwide Lockdown in Botswana
After a break of over six months without implementing TaRL in schools, Young 1ove worked with the National Service Program facilitators in Botswana, who had previously been trained to implement TaRL in 19 schools in the North East region of the county. Fifteen days post-implementation, the innumeracy level of the students in the program dropped from 22 per cent to 5 per cent. The overall number of children who learned a new operation stood at 57 per cent.
PAL Network at the Africa Knows Conference
During the Virtual Africa Knows Conference that started on 2 December 2020, PAL Network made five presentations. Members shared their experiences on using evidence-based advocacy to promote equitable access to quality education, reflections on reaching children farthest behind and the utility of citizen-led assessments. Also presented was a paper on the experiences of designing ICAN with the aim of measuring progress towards the achievement of SDG 4. Full presentations here.
ESA Hub Shares Experiences on the Use of Low Technology to Promote Learning
On 23 November 2020, the Eastern and Southern Hub of PAL Network comprising Usawa Agenda, Zizi Afrique Foundation, Uwezo Uganda, Uwezo Tanzania, TPC Mozambique/Facilidade-ICDS and Young 1ove organised a webinar on ‘Experiences on the use of low technology to promote learning’. During the webinar, Zizi Afrique Foundation and Young 1ove shared their experiences on how they adapted low-tech solutions to ensure continued learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. See the presentations here.
Launch of ICAN Report in ALCE Hub
On 29 October 2020, the Latin America Alliance for Education Quality (ALCE) Hub of PAL Network comprising MIA Mexico and VIdA Nicaragua launched the ICAN report with the theme ‘Challenges and Opportunities in the Assessment of Mathematical Skills’: Towards the Realization of SDG 4 Indicators.” The event, organised by the MIA Mexico together with VIdA/ÁBACO en Red and FUPECG in Nicaragua, with the support of the PAL Network presented the ICAN tool – an open-source assessment tool for comparing results at the international level in accordance with SDG 4.1.1. View the event here.
ASER 2020 Wave 1 Released
ASER 2020 Wave 1, the first ever phone based ASER, was released at an online event on 28 October 2020. The event featured eminent panellists from India and abroad and was live streamed on several social media platforms; close to 11,000 people attended from around the world. ASER 2020 reached a total of 52,227 households and 59,251 children in the age group of 5-16 years. Read all key documents and resources related to ASER 2020 Wave 1 here.
ASER Pakistan Makes ICAN Accessible for All
ASER Pakistan becomes the first among PAL Network member organisations to pilot the ICAN tools in Sign Language. The ICAN tools were piloted in sign language in September 2020 to 65 children with hearing impairment with the collaboration of Family Educational Services Foundation. View here.
TEP Centre Nigeria Promotes Transparency, Accountability in Basic Education Sector
On 10 December 2020, The Education Partnership Centre (TEP Centre) participated in a two-day training exercise tagged ‘Stakeholders’ Workshop in Promoting Transparency and Accountability in the Basic Education Sector’. During the training organised by the MacArthur Foundation, TEP Centre nudged Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board to adopt technologies that will enhance transparency and accountability in its operations.
MIA Mexico Collaborates with The Inter-American Dialogue to Launch the ICAN Report
On November 10, MIA Mexico together with The Inter-American Dialogue convened an online session dubbed ‘‘Evaluating Learning in Times of COVID-19 – ICAN, a Civil Society Initiative’’ to present ICAN and discuss how to assess learning in a pandemic and in the long-term. Access a summary of the event here.
VIdA Nicaragua Shares ICAN with Government Officials
Following the launch of ICAN report in ALCE Hub, VIdA Nicaragua and the Ministry of Education of Nicaragua met to discuss the assessment results in the rural area of the municipality of Matagalpa. In two meetings, participants discussed ICAN results and elaborated a plan to improve children’s learning. Two more meetings are set, one with volunteers/enumerators and the other with companions.
Communities where Zizi Afrique Foundation Works Continue to Thrive
Uncertainty set in in March when schools closed. However, Zizi Afrique Foundation quickly adapted a hybrid implementation approach of the Accelerated Learning Program combining radio, print materials, SMS and household support to ensure continued learning. This has resulted in continued learning for over 6,500 learners to date. Watch the full video here. Besides, the structured community-based camps have benefitted over 2,500 learners, with the first cohort completing their 30 days recently.
