Education management information system : a short case study of Mozambique

46620 WORKING PAPER NO. 3 An quick examination of the role and of education management information systems in Mozambique. At the national level the initial evidence suggests that EMIS helps generate targets for policy frameworks. In addition EMIS supports the Ministry of Education and Culture to establish targets and objectives for their strategies, as well as helping them to monitor progress towards achieving them at the national level. However, it appears that links between information systems and planning are not Education Management so strong at other levels of the education, such TVET. Information System: A Similarly, EMIS plays a limited role in supporting the planning Short Case Study of process at the provincial level Mozambique due to lack of funds and access to data at the local level. October 2006 WORKING PAPER NO. 3, 2006 About infoDev's working papers series: These short papers represent work commissioned by infoDev that has not been through infoDev's peer review and formal publication processes. infoDev makes such reports available as informal 'working papers' to share information or ideas about a given topic, in case doing so may be of any interest or utility to practitioners working in related fields.  WORKING PAPER NO. 3, 2006 Education Management Information System: A Short Case Study of Mozambique February 2006 Prepared by: Cambridge Education. Edited by: Michael Trucano (infoDev). 2  Contents Executive summary............................................................................................................. 4 1. Introduction..................................................................................................................... 5 2. EMIS and the Planning Process...................................................................................... 5 Links between EMIS and planning for TVET ................................................................ 6 The role of EMIS in monitoring and evaluation ............................................................. 7 The location of EMIS...................................................................................................... 8 3. The development of EMIS in Mozambique.................................................................... 9 Current information and information needs addressed by the statistical EMIS............ 10 Budgetary information systems..................................................................................... 11 Staff database and human resource management system.............................................. 12 School reports................................................................................................................ 12 Carta Escolar ................................................................................................................. 13 Conclusions regarding the design and functionality of EMIS ...................................... 14 4. EMIS Operations and management .............................................................................. 14 Current operations and data quality in the core statistical EMIS.................................. 14 Errors due to combining administrative and statistical information ............................. 15 Indicators and the dynamics of education sector .......................................................... 15 Conclusions................................................................................................................... 16 5. EMIS and strategic/operational planning...................................................................... 16 A strong link between information systems and planning? .......................................... 16 Data, indicators and statistical information for education planning ................................. 17 Planning, layers of government and financial information........................................... 18 Missing linkages between information systems and organizational structures............. 19 Specific operational problems....................................................................................... 19 6. Strategies for maintaining EMIS .................................................................................. 21 Conclusions on sustainability of information systems.................................................. 21 7. Strategies for dissemination.......................................................................................... 22 Statistical EMIS: main outputs and dissemination........................................................ 22 Budgetary information systems and staff databases ..................................................... 22 School reports and Carta Escolar .................................................................................. 23 Assessment of dissemination strategy........................................................................... 23 References......................................................................................................................... 24 Annex 1. List of persons interviewed ............................................................................... 26 Annex 2. Overview primary education strategy .............................................................. 27 Table 2: Summary primary education framework and targets.......................................... 29 3  Executive summary EMIS is providing evidence of increased access to primary and secondary education albeit with low primary completion and consequent limitation on access to succeeding cycles. It also suggests that improvement in education quality has been limited. In addition, EMIS in the TVET sub-sector is not articulated with the changing demands for labour in an evolving economy Plans for educational development as part of a poverty reduction strategy are informed by EMIS. At the same time, monitoring and evaluation at the provincial level is largely confined to implementation, budgetary constraints precluding additional activity. Core EMIS data collected through a school census are collated at provincial level whereas data analysis and dissemination of information is performed at central level. EMIS has been in operation for some thirty years, computerized data storage and analysis being set up in 1980 with development assistance. A range of information is available through the statistical EMIS including enrolment of orphans following the HIV/Aids pandemic and information about poor attendance and drop-out Capacity for tracking expenditure and linking it to work plans is weak but a new system has been developed to address this issue. Personnel databases are established to support human resource management and are being updated for greater effectiveness. Paper-based reporting systems are well established at school level but are not linked to EMIS and consequently have little input to strategic planning. In contrast, a new digital system for school-based information has been piloted with a view to making information more readily available for increasing access; it is not yet fully functional. Development partners require periodic performance indicators but civil society is less involved in EMIS. The various levels of education management are involved in the school census but lack of capacity reduces the quality of data validation. Difficulty in obtaining reliable estimates of the school-age population makes the calculation of enrolment rates problematic and the statistical basis for their calculation has been questioned in the Mozambique context. However, although there are issues about enrolment rates, the trends are clearly discernable at national and lower levels There is a lack of effective links between EMIS, monitoring and planning but there has been a growing consensus between stakeholders about the need for agreed quantifiable indicators. Capacity for analysis tends to be shallow and not based on a holistic approach with consequent low utilization of information at decentralized levels. 4  There is a lack of transparency in education finance exacerbated by poor communication between the education and finance ministries resulting in a lack of reliable financial information for planning and operations at the various levels. Budgetary information systems are weak and there is no system for tracking teacher performance. Linkages between EMIS and organizational structures have been weak but recent developments have greater stakeholder involvement. However, access to information beyond the central level is limited with expansion heavily dependent on training, equipment and energy supplies. EMIS utilization is greatly reduced by the lack of capacity to exploit it fully. The minimalist nature of EMIS with relatively low demands on expertise and funding augurs well for its sustainability. Although the sustainability of statistical EMIS appears assured, the outlook for the financial and human resource management information systems can only be judged after their current reform Annual statistical reports are made available to various stakeholders and utilized for a variety of purposes. Printed copies of budgets, with limited information, are available; some financial information is on the ministry intranet. Digital information about individual schools is not widely available; it is not clear how traditional paper-based institutional information is utilized. EMIS publications are lacking in meaningful analysis related to planning issues 1. Introduction The role played by EMIS in educational planning in Mozambique is mixed. At the national level the initial evidence suggests that EMIS helps generate targets for policy frameworks. In addition EMIS supports the Ministry of Education and Culture to establish targets and objectives for their strategies, as well as helping them to monitor progress towards achieving them at the national level. However, on the downside it would appear that links between information systems and planning are not so strong at other levels of the education, such TVET. Similarly, EMIS plays a limited role in supporting the planning process at the provincial level due to lack of funds and access to data at the local level. 2. EMIS and the Planning Process EMIS is providing evidence of increased access to primary and secondary education albeit with low primary completion and consequent limitation on access to succeeding cycles EMIS also suggests that improvement in education quality has been limited 5  At the broad policy framework level, it would appear that data plays a significant role in helping the government to develop strategies and also establish targets, including monitoring progress towards such targets. A close look at the broad policy frameworks will help illustrate the role played by EMIS in the planning process. Mozambique has just completed the implementation of the Education Sector Strategy Plan 1 (1999-2003). This focused on basic education and had three objectives: (i) Expanding access to basic education throughout all regions of Mozambique, (ii) Improving the quality of education services and (iii) strengthening of the institutions and the administrative framework for effective and sustainable delivery of education. Analysis of data from EMIS showed that considerable progress was made in improving access to education, reflected in an increase in enrolment at primary and secondary levels (MEC, 2005). The education system continues, however, to be characterized by low primary completion rates due to high levels of drop outs and the limited number of so- called `complete' primary schools (i.e. those offering both EP1 and EP2). Access to secondary schools is also still severely limited, as is access to higher education despite the considerable increase in the number of both public and private higher education institutions in recent years. EMIS also helps educational planners understand that improvements in education quality were limited during the implementation of ESSP I. For instance, some indicators suggest that enrolment expansion may have occurred at the expense of quality. This happened despite some initiatives to address quality such as teacher training initiatives and curriculum development in primary education. Some progress during ESSP I was also made in the implementation of the broader strategy of public sector reform in the education sector, addressing the three themes of decentralization, improved management and administrative structures, and the strengthening of capacity at all levels. The monitoring of the ESSPI by education planners enabled them to develop goals and targets for the Education Sector Strategy Plan II (2005-2009)1. Specifically, the goal of the ESSPII is to reach de facto universal primary completion and gender equity in EP1 by 2009 and make substantial progress towards these goals in EP2 (grades 6-7) by this time. ESSP II is thus intended to make a huge stride by 2009 toward the 2015 goal of universal primary completion, or an integrated program of 7 years basic education that provides all children with the basic skills for further learning and responsible participation in society. Much of the base line information and targets for the ESSPII were obtained from data collated and analyzed by EMIS (see annex II). Links between EMIS and planning for TVET EMIS in the TVET sub-sector is not articulated with the changing demands for labour in an evolving economy 1 At the time of writing ESSP II had not yet been formally been approved as the costing of the strategy had not been finalized. This is however expected to happen soon. 6  Minimal links exist between the production of accurate information and decision making in TVET. Under recent reforms the government limits the number of new entrants in technical schools and jobs are no longer guaranteed for graduates or trainees. This assumes that provision will become more responsive to the labour market and institutions will adjust the curriculum accordingly. However, at present EMIS has not yet adapted to the new role of a market economy and the centralized management systems prevents institutions from responding to changing demand. As a consequence in certain fields graduates are produced for areas where there is no labour market demand. Nevertheless, recent reforms for TVET are attempting to make TVET more demand driven and involve developing the appropriate institutional structures to ensure that decision making is based on accurate labour market information. The role of EMIS in monitoring and evaluation Plans for educational development as part of a poverty reduction strategy are informed by EMIS Monitoring and evaluation at the provincial level is largely confined to implementation, budgetary constraints precluding additional activity The outputs from EMIS play an important role in the annual planning cycles and monitoring. For instance, education policy targets are set annually by the government of Mozambique (GoM) in conjunction with the MEC and the progress towards targets is discussed at annual review meetings, involving stakeholders. Throughout the year there are smaller internal reviews as well as regular meetings between representatives of the donor community and representatives of the MEC at the level of national directors. Similarly, the Poverty Reduction Action Plan is implemented through annual planning exercises that are reflected in the Economic and Social Plan and the State Budget. An important tool in this process is the Performance Assessment Framework (PAF), which is used to review progress toward PARPA's objectives. The PAF currently contains three education objectives: (1) increased access and retention; (2) increased quality of education; and (3) reduced gender disparities. To achieve these objectives the PAF calls for the development and approval of the Education Sector Strategy Plan II (ESSP II) which is discussed in more detail below. The PAF also sets specific targets for improved access and retention in primary schools as summarized in the Table 1. Table 1. Performance Assessment Framework Targets No Indicator 2005 2006 2007 1a EP1 net enrollment rate