4th KIX Knowledge Café: From Education Data to Policy Decisions

The 4th KIX Knowledge Café on Statistical Processes in Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) was convened on 25th August 2026 by the African Union’s Pan-African Institute for Education for Development (AU-IPED), through the Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative (GESCI), under the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX) Africa 19 Hub - a joint endeavour with Canada’s International Development Research Centre. 

The discussion aimed to address existing gaps and minimize the risk of inaccuracies in the education data collection process. Education data is typically collected from schools, compiled, validated and analyzed before becoming national statistics used for planning and policymaking. If incomplete records, duplicate entries or inconsistent figures are not identified during this process, they can affect the accuracy of these statistics and their ability to guide decisions that strengthen education systems and respond to learners’ needs. This challenge anchored the discussions among education and data practitioners from 12 African countries, alongside researchers and development partners.

Delivering the thematic intervention, Polycarp Otieno, Education Specialist at UNICEF’s Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office, emphasized that the credibility of education statistics is ultimately demonstrated through their use in decision-making. He explained that credibility requires completeness, plausibility, consistency, reproducibility and timeliness, with validation beginning at collection. 

The country presentations highlighted two connected challenges - verifying the data schools submit, and bringing information from different education subsectors together for planning. Sierra Leone’s KIX focal point, Emmanuel Vandy Deoud, described how census records are checked for omissions, duplication and inconsistencies, with school visits, telephone follow-ups and independent verification helping resolve errors before publication. Malawi’s Deputy Director of Education Planning, James Namfuko, explained that digitization is progressing through separately funded subsector projects. While these platforms are helping the country move beyond paper-based reporting, connecting them within a national EMIS remains a priority so that information collected across the education sector can be analyzed and used together.

The broader lesson that emerged, was that technology can move data faster, but it cannot repair weak processes or fragmented institutions. Countries prioritized interoperability, data exchange, analytical capacity, coordination with National Statistics Offices and peer learning on validation.

AU-IPED Policy Officer for EMIS, Lukman Jaji, highlighted that an education data system combines people, processes, technology and tools, and that digitizing a weak process only automates its weaknesses. Responding to the discussion, he reaffirmed that support through the GPE KIX Africa 19 Hub targets country-identified priorities through technical assistance, capacity-building and peer learning.

These priorities advance the Continental Education Strategy for Africa 2026–2035, particularly its objectives on evidence-based policy and governance and stronger monitoring and evaluation. They also contribute to Agenda 2063 Aspiration 1 - particularly the goal of well-educated citizens and a skills revolution, and strengthen national monitoring of Sustainable Development Goal 4.

Read the full meeting report here.