The KIX Africa 19 Hub Secretariat has convened a community of practice (CoP) to strengthen national education systems for innovative data usage and management. The sessions of the CoP were held from May 11th to May 25th 2021 and were organized by the African Union (AU), in collaboration with UNESCO-IICBA. The CoP sessions included interactive capacity strengthening by technical experts and knowledge sharing among thirty Ministry of Education officers and other representatives from fifteen countries to confront their challenges in gathering, managing, storing, and using education data.
H.E. Prof. Sarah Anyang Agbo, AU Commissioner of Human Resources, Science and Technology Division and Dr. Yumiko Yokozeki, Director of UNESCO IICBA welcomed participants by recognizing that the education management information systems (EMIS) CoP events were designed in response to KIX-19 country partner feedback.
Technical experts initiated the first seminar by sharing best practices for developing national EMIS and learning assessment system (LAS). Subsequently, participants discussed factors that limit and strengthen the integration of LAS datasets in their respective EMIS systems.
In the second seminar, participants explored how national education systems could apply national, regional, and international learning assessment data in school reforms. Technical experts highlighted the international comparable assessment of numeracy (ICAN) as an effective tool of cross border assessment solutions.
In the third CoP session, participants designed and implemented appropriate feedback mechanisms for schools following data analysis. Engaging over Jamboard, an online collaborative tool, participants recommended employing community information sharing local information systems such as “miniature radio station, amplifiers, and speakers” to ensure better management of data at school levels.
The CoP sessions closed with a presentation of various innovative database management resources that country representatives could access to continue to bolster EMIS.
[Photo credit: Maryann Joy Dreas-Shaikha/UNESCO IICBA]
