ROLE OF INFORMATION IN MANAGING EDUCATION

1. ROLE OF INFORMATION IN MANAGING EDUCATION Ensuring appropriate and relevant information is available when needed

2. What is needed to effectively manage education? • Valid, reliable and appropriate information available on time • System in place to identify information requirements, collect appropriate information, process and analyze such information • Need commitment from all key stakeholders towards using information in decision making • Need information system to be in place to ensure availability of information (EMIS) • Need baseline information before monitoring and evaluation can take place

3. EMIS-Information system for managing education • What is EMIS? • Why have it? • How is it developed? • Who collects information? • Who access and uses EMIS? • Where should it be housed? • What would it cost? • What would it take to sustain the system? • Are resources allocated for the development and sustaining EMIS? • What system is in place for building capacity of those involved in EMIS?

4. What is EMIS? • Not a software for storing data nor a data collection process • A system for managing information that forms the basis of management, planning and evaluation of an education system. • Provides information on state of education, its internal and external efficiency, its pedagogical and institutional operations, its performance, its shortcomings and needs.

5. What is EMIS? • Needs to be as complete as possible and addresses the information needs of all stakeholders in education (user-driven) • Not only collects and stores data, but processes information that is used to formulate education policies, their management and evaluation. • Includes tool (software) to assist in data collection, storage and analysis

6. Why have EMIS? • Strengthen capacities in management, planning and dissemination of information at all levels of the education system • Without EMIS, information necessary for decision making not available • Need to improve capacities in collecting, processing, storing, analysing, and disseminating key messages to decision-makers • Coordinate dispersed efforts in acquiring, processing, analysing and disseminating education management information;

7. Why have EMIS? • Decision makers need to understand how resources are translated into learning outcomes, especially the efficiency and effectiveness of existing processes. • Helps provide analysts and decision makers with information to understand how educational inputs are transformed into educational outputs. • Access to quality and timely data helps improve decision-making and ensure that limited resources target areas in most need and where returns will be highest.

8. Why have EMIS? • Rationalizes flow of information necessary for decision-making by eliminating duplications and filling in the information gaps; • Links and assembles different existing information systems; • Integrates and synthesizes in one single system the quantitative and qualitative data; and • Improves data collection, and the use and dissemination of information for education management, in order to respond to the constantly evolving needs for information.

9. Changing Nature of EMIS • EMIS not static and must respond to changing situation and information needs of country • Changing focus in education (from Access to Quality) requiring different information • Diversity of education providers, each with own information needs (government vs private schools) • Increasing call for transparency and accountability (FOI) and implication on data availability • Increasing call for qualitative information and implication on information collection

10. What does it take to develop EMIS? • Careful consideration, understanding and planning followed by commitment; • Resource mobilization (both human and financial) towards EMIS design, development and maintenance to ensure sustainability, • Strategy in place for addressing organizational and human resource concerns • Balancing focus between developmental and technical issues to avoid dominance of technology • Sustained high level support and political will are essential

11. What does it take? • High level professional development required to build and institutionalize EMIS and to strengthen capacities for data collection and use. • Broad-based involvement of stakeholders in system design and development essential. • Shared vision and clearly defined, realistic expectations (target) essential. • Supplying better data not enough to insure meaningful data use.

12. What does it take? • Local demand for data and information at all levels is critical to successful development. • System must provide data on inputs, processes and outputs of the education system. • Multiple strategies for data dissemination to serve information need of all stakeholders. • Ensuring supply of relevant and reliable data on time requires fast attention to many details in the supply chain from schools to MOE • Ensuring timely availability of required data not easy.

13. What does it take? • Ownership of process crucial, bottoms-up instead of top-down approach to development • Process to be driven by local demand for information and not by external demand • Integrating data and data systems across units and levels is very challenging • Building capacities for data use is essential to success of EMIS. • Computerization means more work for everyone over the short term. • Limits to what technology can do for us so need to build capacity of staff.

14. Use of EMIS • Facilitates M & E for education system by providing information, which is used to improve efficiency and effectiveness, etc. • Allows for setting of new policies, and revising old ones, based on evidence instead of self-perceptions. • Stakeholders such as parents require information about education institutions and student outcomes in order to make decisions about education choices and opportunities

15. Managing and implementing EMIS • Appropriate systems and procedures must be in place to ensure valid data is collected and analysed in a timely manner to support decision making • Need to change mindset of information gatherers as well as information users towards a culture of informed decision-making based on information provided by sound EMIS rather than based on political reasons or hunches.

16. What makes EMIS work? • Availability of resources • Commitment and political will • Neutrality and institutional independence • Institutionalization of process • Capacity to influence policy decisions • Use of data for key policy decisions • Local ownership of process • Clear purpose for EMIS and how data used

17. Developing sound and sustainable EMIS • Readiness analysis – does everyone appreciate the need to have an EMIS and its role? • Identify Educational Outcomes (Targets) to monitor – Addressing stakeholders’ concerns about education • Develop Performance Indicators for each Outcome – The tool for monitoring performance • Develop Baseline Information (where it does not exist) – what is the current status

18. Developing sound sustainable EMIS 5. Select short-term Targets and long-term Results, – taking one step at a time 6. Monitor Data Collection – Keeping on track 7. Evaluate Data – Deciding on diagnosis 8. Report on Findings and Key Messages – Conveying the right message based on evidence 9. Use of Findings and Key Messages – What actions to implement 10. Ensure sustainability - How to make it last?

19. EMIS; changing concerns to results • Who identifies concerns in education and based on what? • Transforming concerns to outcomes and results • Relationship between outcomes and education strategic plan • Stakeholders role in identifying concerns about education • Concerns as basis for setting both short-term and long-term outcomes • Outcomes as basis for monitoring progress

20. Dimensions monitored by EMIS systems • Quantity: Outputs, numbers of students, teachers • Quality: learning outcomes • Equity: social distribution of outputs, outcomes • Efficiency: unit costs of learning outcomes • Effectiveness: unit cost per unit time of learning outcomes • Salience: degree to which education system meets needs of individuals, the overall education system and the country’s economic and social needs

21. Role of Technology in EMIS • Technology helps facilitate all stages of EMIS especially in data storage, analysis and reporting • Tendency to over-emphasize technology in developing EMIS. This leads to narrowing of focus on EMIS • No one system fits all so technology should reflect information needs of country • From experience imposing technology (software) on country often not sustainable

22. Organizational Issues • Where should EMIS be housed? • Who should manage? • How will it be maintained? • How is it to be developed and who should be involved? • How is it to be funded? • Who is demanding what data and when? • What are the sources of data? • What is the most effective and efficient way of collecting data? • Who should have access?

23. Human Resource Development Issues • What knowledge and skills are needed but not available? (design, build, maintain, review, use, • How much professional development is needed? • What strategy is needed to ensure knowledge and skills are addressed in the long run

24. Technical Issues • What infrastructure is in place? • What infrastructure is needed? • What data-base tools are needed? • What network system is needed? • What standards and protocol necessary for access and exchange?

25. The Challenges • Acquiring equipment, software, and personnel only a minor part of the picture • Wide variation in expertise, skills, infrastructure and commitment among countries • Funding EMIS in the long term the biggest challenge • Integrating data from different sources and data system to suit country’s data need • Developing skills needed at all level • Incorporating influx of technology and internet • Cope with Freedom of Information Laws