In this episode, RISE partnerships manager and co-producer of the RISE podcast Joe Bullough speaks to Armando Ali, CEO of the People’s Action for Learning (PAL) Network—a South-South network of organisations working to conduct citizen-led assessments of learning to empower citizens and spur political action to improve learning. Armando revisits memories of school in Nampula, Mozambique and reflects on (one generation later) what he learned from the first citizen-led assessment of children’s learning in Mozambique, and the “Wiixutta Nithweelaka” (“Learn by Play”) programme to help children catch up on missed foundational skills. They discuss why literacy and numeracy are important indicators of whether education systems are working to give children value in their education, and the power and potential of community action to drive learning outcomes worldwide, village to village.

Links

• PAL Network Website
• The ICAN (International Common Assessment of Numeracy) Toolkit
• PAL Network datasets on learning (Pakistan, Tanzania, Uganda, Mexico, Mozambique)
• The Essential Role of Citizen-led Assessments, Reflections from the PAL Network Conference in Kathmandu, Nepal [RISE Blog] by Joe Bullough
• Building on Solid Foundations: Prioritising Universal, Early, Conceptual and Procedural Mastery of Foundational Skills [RISE Insight Note] by Carmen Belafi, Yue-Yi Hwa, & Michelle Kaffenberger
• Getting Real about Unknowns in Complex Policy Work (with application to recent education policy interventions in Mozambique) [RISE Working Paper] by Matt Andrews
• RISE Podcast Episode 14 - Modupe Adefeso-Olateju on how partners can come together to solve Nigeria’s learning crisis

Guest biography

Armando Ali

Armando Ali is the Chief Executive Officer at the PAL Network where he provides overall leadership, nurtures a sense of collective ownership and belonging within the network and ensures sustained growth, health and impact. Armando is an Education Specialist with over 20 years of experience in mobilizing citizens to improve the quality of education. He is passionate about improving foundational literacy and numeracy skills of children in the early grades and, since 2001, has held a variety of leadership roles in civil society and academia, advocating for the right of quality education for all children.

Before joining PAL Network, he worked as an education specialist with UNICEF, Mozambique. He also previously worked as the coordinator of Mozambique’s Citizen-led Action, Wiixutta Nithweelaka – an approach inspired by Teaching at the Right Level that helps children to improve their reading and arithmetic competencies. He holds a Master’s degree in Peace and Development Work from Linnaeus University in Sweden. 

Joe Bullough

Joe Bullough is the Partnerships Manager for the RISE Programme and a co-producer of the RISE podcast, based at the Blavantik School of Government at the University of Oxford. 

Joe manages RISE’s engagement with global...