Me Report

Designing
effective monitoring and evaluation of education

systems for 2030:
A global synthesiss of policies and practices

This is a preliminary version, not for quotation
UNESCO Education Sector

Division for Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems (ED/PLS)
Section of Education Policy (ED/PLS/EDP)

January 2016

TABLEOFCONTENTS
TABLEOFCONTENTS......................................................................................................................1
LISTOFACRONYMS........................................................................................................................2
SECTIONIMONITORINGANDEVALUATIONINEDUCATION 5
1.1 Introduction.................................................................................Error!Bookmarknotdefined.
1.2 ChangingContextofMonitoringandEvaluationinEducation..................................................6
SECTIONIIANALYTICALFRAMEWORK 6
2.1 Backgroundandcontext...............................................................Error!Bookmarknotdefined.
2.2 ExploringM&EinEducation:ConceptualFramework...............................................................7
SECTIONIIIMAINFINDINGS 17
3.1 HowM&ESystemsinEducationhaveevolved?.....................................................................17
3.3 Whatarethekeyfactorsthathavecontributedto/influencedtheEffectivenessandEfficiency
ofM&ESystem?....................................................................................................................23
3.4 HowandWhataretheInteractionsbetweenM&ESystemsandPolicies?..Error!Bookmarknot
defined.
SECTIONIVKEYPOLICYLESSONS 34
4.1 Introduction.................................................................................Error!Bookmarknotdefined.
4.2 PolicyLessons...............................................................................Error!Bookmarknotdefined.
SECTIONVRECOMMENDATIONS 43
COMPARATIVEREVIEWOFPOLICIESANDPRACTICESONMONITORINGANDEVALUATIONOF
EDUCATIONSYSTEMS: 1
ASUMMARYREGIONALREVIEWANDSELECTEDCOUNTRYCASESTUDIES 48
OverallReviewoftheStatusofM&ESystemsintheAsiaPacificRegion......................................48
CountryCaseStudies...................................................................................................................56
Malaysia................................................................................................................................56
Myanmar...............................................................................................................................57
Nepal.....................................................................................................................................58
RepublicofKorea(ROK).........................................................................................................60
OverallreviewofthestatusofM&EsystemsintheArabStates...................................................64
Jordan...................................................................................................................................73
Lebanon.................................................................................................................................75
Palestine................................................................................................................................77
Egypt.....................................................................................................................................79
OverallReviewoftheStatusofM&ESystemsinAfrica................................................................81
Ethiopia.................................................................................................................................93
SouthAfrica...........................................................................................................................95
Zimbabwe..............................................................................................................................97
OverallReviewoftheStatusofM&ESystemsinLatinAmerica..................................................101
CountryCaseStudies.................................................................................................................109
Brazil...................................................................................................................................109
Chile....................................................................................................................................111
Colombia.............................................................................................................................114
ListofAcronyms
ADEA AssociationfortheDevelopmentofEducationinAfrica
AKFAghaKhanFoundation
ANA AnnualNationalAssessment
ARNECAsiaPacificRegionalNetworkforEarlyChildhood
ASERAnnualStatusofEducationReport
CARICOM CaribbeanCommunity
CIDACanadianInternationalDevelopmentAgency
CTE CollegeofTeachersEducation
DBE DepartmentofBasicEducation
DEMMISDistrictEducationManagementandMonitoringInformationSystem
DFID DepartmentforInternationalDevelopment
DISEDistrictInformationSystemforEducation
DRC DemocraticRepublicofCongo
ECCEEarlyChildhoodCareandEducation
ECDEarlyChildhoodDevelopment
EFA EducationforAll
EMISEducationManagementInformationSystem
ESP EducationSectorPlan
EU EuropeanUnion
FERPAFamilyEducationalRightsandPrivacyAct
FBOFaithBasedOrganization
FPE FreePrimaryEducation
FMISFinancialManagementInformationSystem
GDP GrossDomesticProduct
GER GrossEnrolmentRatios
GMRGlobalMonitoringReport
GTZTheDeutscheGesellschaftfrInternationaleZusammenarbeit
HDI HumanDevelopmentIndex
HIV HumanImmunodeficiencyVirus
ICFESInstitutoColombianoparaelFomentodelaEducacin
I/NGOs International/NonGovernmentOrganization
ICT InformationandCommunicationsTechnology
IIEP InternationalInstituteforEducationalPlanning
ILO InternationalLabourOrganisation
KICEKoreaInstituteforCurriculumandEvaluation
LACLatinAmericaandtheCaribbean
M&EMonitoringandEvaluation
MDGs MillenniumDevelopmentGoals
MEHE
MOE MinistryofEducation
NAEPNationalAssessmentofEducationalProgress
NGOs NonGovernmentalOrganisations
NIENationalInstituteofEducation
NIERNationalInstituteforEducationalPolicyResearch
NCHRD
NORADNorwegianAgencyforDevelopmentCooperation
NUEPA NationalUniversityofEducationalPlanningandAdministration
ODIOverseasDevelopmentInstitute
OECD OrganizationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment
PISA ProgrammeforInternationalStudentAssessment
PTAParentTeacherAssociation
RBM ResultsBasedManagement
SACMEQSouthAfricanConsortiumforMonitoringEducationQuality
SASAMS SchoolAdministrationandManagementSystem
SASStudentAssessmentSystem
SMC SchoolManagementCommittee
SRKSSchoolRecordKeepingSystem
SMCSchoolManagementCommittee
SSESchoolSelfEvaluation
SSRP SchoolSectorReformProgramme
TESTeacherEvaluationSystem
TI TransparencyInternational
TIMSS TrendsinInternationalMathematicsandScienceStudy
TMISTeacherManagementInformationSystem
TVETTechnicalVocationalEducationandTraining
UAE UnitedArabEmirates
UIS UNESCOInstituteforStatistics
UNDP UnitedNationsDevelopmentProgramme
UNESCO UnitedNationsEducational,Scientific,andCulturalOrganization
UNESCWA UnitedNationsEconomicandSocialCommissionforWesternAsia
UNICEF UnitedNationsChildrensFund
USAID UnitedStatesAgencyforInternationalDevelopment
WB WorldBank
WEO WoredaEducationOffice
WSE WholeSchoolEvaluation
SECTIONIMONITORINGANDEVALUATIONINEDUCATION
1.1 Introduction
The current discourse on global education notes a shift in focus and the emergence of new
challenges since the Dakar Global Education Forum. This warrants new impetus to periodic
measurements of progress made in the education sector, including the diverse nature of the
Education 2030 agenda that encompasses varying themes such as quality, gender, adult literacy,
youth and skills, early childhood care and education, inequality and governance, marginalized
populationsandarmedconflicts.Itisimportanttonoteinthiscontextthattheneweducation2030
Framework for Action lays emphasis on developing and implementing a focused, evidencebased
anddynamicmonitoringandevaluationsystemfortheeducationsectorinordertoadequatelymeet
thedemandsgeneratedbythenewchallengesmentionedabove.
It is now generally accepted by all that sustained development hinges on good governance and
accountability.Inordertoachievethis,stakeholderslookforevidencebaseddecisionmaking.They
believe in the crucial role of M&E systems for doing this. While the proper assessment of quality
aspects of the teachinglearning mix is no doubt an important function of M&E, measuring the
performanceofotherimpactaspectsofeducation,suchasdecentralization,schoolautonomyand
greater accountability for outcomes, are equally important functions. Even though M&E systems
formapartofeveryeducationsystem,manyofthemsufferfromlackoforpoorpolicydesignand
weak implementation. Most M&E systems try to measure performance; however, their precision,
effectiveness and efficiency are questionable. The availability of a legal framework, political will,
capacity ofconcernedpersonnel, accessibility and reliabilityofevidenceetc.,are theother critical
issuesthatinfluencethelevelofimpactandthesustainabilityofgoodM&Esystems.
Acknowledging its mandate to support Member States in this regard, UNESCO has taken up a
ComparativeReviewofM&EsystemsoftheEducationSectorwiththehelpofcountrycasestudies
obtained from different regions. The main expected deliverable of this exercise is a global report
entitledAComparativeReviewofPoliciesandPracticesofMonitoringandEvaluationofEducation
Systems.
ThisUNESCOinitiativeintendstogreatlycontributetoaproperunderstandingofhowthedifferent
nations have tried to monitor, measure and assess the performance of their education systems in
ordertoaddressthemajorissuesidentifiedvisvistheachievementoftheireducationgoals.Thisis
expectedtofacilitatetheEducation2030discussionsonthesubject.Byprovidingalinktonationsat
thepolicylevel,thisreviewwillprovideawayforwardtoMemberStatestofurtherreview,refine
and redesign their M&E systems so that they can properly address all their critical and emerging
needsrelatedtotheEducation2030agenda.
The involvement of all stakeholders in the M&E process would greatly enhance its ownership by
them. M&E in the education sector, as in the other sectors of development, has gone through
several stages of evolution over the years, starting from broad inputoutput monitoring, through
projectbased monitoring systems to meet the needs of donor agencies, and onto the current
discourse with its focus on providing timely and reliable data on evidencebased indicators of
progress at the different levels of implementation, including at the local school and community
levels. The ultimate aim of this UNESCO initiative is to help Member States to develop and
implementadynamicM&Esystemwhichwouldnotonlyhelpsystematicallymonitorandevaluate
thekeyissuesoftheeducationsectorbutwouldalsobetimely,reliableandtailoredtomeettheir
ownspecialneedsofimprovingthequality,relevanceandcoverageoftheireducationsectors.
1.2 ChangingContextofMonitoringandEvaluationinEducation
Most governments have data systems, simple or sophisticated, already established for measuring
the results of any programme on the target group/population, the cost effectiveness of their
spending and the outputs of the programme. However, not all governments have effective and
efficient systems to monitor and evaluate performance in terms of the outcomes of all their
programmes.Onlyafewcountries,especiallyinthedevelopedworld,possesssuchwelldeveloped
M&Esystemsformeasuringnotonlytheoutputs,butalsotheoutcomesofeducation.Fordoingthis
effectively, the governments of these countries have developed high performing, dynamic and
sustainableM&Esystems.CountriessuchasChile,Brazil,MexicoandColombiainLatinAmerica,the
RepublicofKorea,Singapore,AustraliaandMalaysiainAsia,andSouthAfrica,canbecitedashaving
suchwelldevelopedandgraduallyevolvedM&Esystems.However,itmustbenotedthatthescope
of M&E in education is not static, and that it may need to accommodate the dynamics of
perceptionsandneedsofthesectorwhichagainmayvarywiththechangingtimes.Theevolutionof
M&Esystemscannot,therefore,beseenasalinearprocessbutmoreasadynamicprocessthathas
manyvariationsinitsresponsestochangingneedsindifferentcountrycontexts.Tounderstandthe
natureofanM&Esysteminrelationtoitsroleintheeducationsectorofacountry,theM&Ecanbe
classifiedintofourstagesofdevelopmentaselaboratedinSectionII:AnalyticalFramework.
The growing importance at the country level of the effectiveness and efficiency of funding for
education has led to the emergence of issues of governance and transparency, such as
accountability and sustainability. The importance of involving stakeholders, including civil society
andthelocalcommunity,hasledtoagrowinginterestinparticipatoryapproachestoM&E.
This new approach to M&E has also confirmed the necessity of 1) the introduction of a well
established system of reporting on programmes and initiatives, 2) the availability of quality and
reliabledata,3)theefficientcoordinationamongalldepartmentsandstakeholdersatalllevels,and
4)theavailabilityofnecessaryinfrastructureandcapacityforimplementingtheimprovedsystem.
Anothersignificantchangeinperceptionthathasbeentakingplaceinsomecountriesasaresultof
multidonorandmultisectorapproachesisthemetamorphosisofM&Efrombeingpredominatelya
donorled exercise into one with a patent increased interest in countryled approaches. The
resultant assessments and evaluations conducted in partnership with a broader range of
stakeholders, including the civil society and the local community, have mainly been driven by a
desiretointernalizesuchassessmentcapacitieswithintheconcernedcountrycontexts.

SECTIONIIANALYTICALFRAMEWORK

2.1 ExploringM&EinEducation:ConceptualFramework
2.1.1 Definitionsofmonitoringandevaluation
Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) are two distinct but complementary processes that mutually
reinforceeachother.Ingeneral,M&Eisdesignedtomonitortheimpactofapolicy,orprogressof
programme activities, against the overall goals, objectives and targets. M&E also assesses the
outcome relevance of an activity, and the impact of a programme, or effectiveness of a policy, as
wellasitsefficiencyandsustainability.
OECDDAC(2002)definesmonitoringastheongoing,systematiccollectionofinformationtoassess
progresstowardstheachievementofobjectives,outcomesandimpacts,anditdefinesevaluation
as the systematic and objective assessment of an ongoing or completed project, programme or
policy, its design, implementation and results, with the aim to determine the relevance and
fulfilmentofobjectives,developmentefficiency,effectiveness,impactandsustainability.1
It would be germane to this analytical framework to digress on the continuity aspect of both
monitoringandevaluation,whichcannotbedividedintowatertightcompartments.Monitoringand
evaluationisinthenatureofacontinuum,whereactivitiesintheinitialphasesfocusmoreoninputs
andoutputs,andtheirtimeliness,andthentheprocessprogressivelyturnsinmoreofimpactdata
andbecomesmoreofanevaluationofimpact,withspecialstudiesadded.
2.1.2 M&Eandpolicymaking
Since the priorities and the objectives assigned to M&E systems are moving towards ensuring
greateraccountabilityandpromotingmoreeffectiveandefficientpolicymaking,newconceptsand
approacheshavebeenintroducedbyvariousinstitutions,particularlydevelopmentagencies,.From
them, some of the emerging key concepts related to M&E in the development context are
highlightedbelow.
Concepts
EvidencebasedPolicyMaking(EBP)
Evidencebased policy helps it to be more effective in achieving the desired results.
Recently there is increasing acceptance of this approach among all development
stakeholders.Evidencemustbebasedondatathatiscomprehensive,timely,relevant
andreliable.Toachievethis,effectiveandcomprehensiveM&Esystemsarerequiredas
datamustbecollectedatalllevels,includingdisaggregateddatathatiscollectedatthe
microlevelandfocusedonspecificaspectsofconcern.
1 http://www.gsdrc.org/go/topicguides/measuringresults/contextanddefinitions
ResultsBasedManagement(RBM)
In the late 1990s, the United Nations initiated resultsbased management systems to
improvetheorganizationseffectivenessandaccountability.2TheUNDGRBMhandbook
(2011) defines RBM as a management strategy by which all actors, contributing
directlyorindirectlytoachievingasetofresults,ensurethattheirprocesses,products
andservicescontributetothedesiredresults(outputs,outcomesandhigherlevelgoals
or impact) and use information and evidence on actual results to inform decision
makingonthedesign,resourcinganddeliveryofprogrammesandactivitiesaswellas
foraccountabilityandreporting.Thus,M&Ebecomesanessentialelementtoensure
that results are being achieved. It also provides invaluable information on lessons
learnedforfuturedecisionmakingthroughadvocacy,asdescribedbelow:
M&EintheRBMsystemisquitedifferentfromthemoretraditionalM&Eapproach.
Thetraditionalapproachisdesignedtoaddresscompliance,simplyaddressingthe
did they do it question. It looked more at questions of mobilization of inputs in
time,completionofplannedactivities,anddeliveranceofintendedoutputsatthe
endoftheproject.Itisusuallydesignedtoprovideinformationonadministrative,
implementation, and management issues, and does not provide policy makers,
managers and stakeholders with causality, that is, the reasons for the success or
failureofimplementationofapolicyorprogramme/project.3

WhiletheRBMapproachfocusesmoreonmonitoringandassessingperformanceofa
project,programme,orpolicy,italsohelpstoanswerotherrelatedquestions,suchas,
2
http://www.undg.org/docs/12316/UNDG-RBM%20Handbook-2012.pdf
3
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/1492
6/296720PAPER0100steps.pdf?sequence=1
Are the goals intended at the policy formulation or programme design stage being
achieved?andHowcananypolicyimpactorprogrammeachievementbeproved?In
this regard, more qualitative and quantitative information at the output level is
gatheredtodeterminewhetherandhowandtheycontributetowardtheachievement
or progress of the outcomes. This is usually carried out in conjunction with strategic
partners in order to understand the success or failure of the partnership strategy in
achievingthedesiredoutcomes.4
2.1.3 M&EintheSocialDevelopmentContext
Socialdevelopmentcanbebrieflystatedastheprocessoforganizinghumanenergiesandactivities
athigherlevelstoachievegreaterresults.5Itisaboutimprovingthewellbeingofeveryindividualin
societybyinvestinginpeople.6Theimpactofsuchinvestmentsonthetargetbeneficiariesneedto
bemeasuredinordertoassesstheextentofsuccessintheachievementoftargetsset.Theimpact
aspect is linked to some key issues, such as investment/aid effectiveness, accountability and
sustainabilityoftheproject.
Most definitions of M&E in the development context look at providing those involved in the
programmeimplementationprocesswiththerightinformationsothattheycanreportonanyearly
indicationsofproblemsorissues,aswellasprovideearlyindicationsofthelikelihoodofachieving
targetsordesiredresults.M&Ealsofocusesontheachievementoffinancialtargetssetfordifferent
points in time and includes systematic and objective evaluation of progress towards the
achievementofdesiredoutcomes.
Monitoringinthedevelopmentcontextiscriticaltoproperlyguidetheprogrammeimplementation
process.AgoodM&Esystemwillmaketheevidencebaseddecisionmakingprocessmorepractical
andeffective.Evaluationisnotaonetimeevent,butanexerciseinvolvingassessmentsofdiffering
scopeanddepthcarriedoutatseveralpointsintimeduringaprogrammecycleinordertoassessits
impactonthetargetgrouporissue.Evaluationsprovideinsightsandknowledgethatcouldbebuilt
into the next programme cycle to address any potential problems or to reduce delays. As an
implementationproceeds,thesameactivitiesofmonitoringgraduallyacquireaqualitativecharacter
with a greater focus on the outcomes of the investment made, problems faced, new challenges
identifiedand,viathesethings,ontheoverallimpactoftheimplementationprocessofaprojectora
programme.
Due to the nature of development concerns and the growing of body of literature on what
constitutesgooddevelopmentpractice,theconcernforwhatneedstobemonitored,measuredand
evaluatedisalsochanging.Asmoremultidonorandsectorwideprogrammefundingstrategiesare
being considered the way forward, the concern for aid effectiveness, and locally led multi
For further information of the difference between the two types of

4
monitoring system , please see FukudaParr, Lopes, and Malik 2002, p.

11.
5
http://www.icpd.org/development_theory/SocialDevTheory.htm
6
http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/esic/overview/content/what_
is_social_development.html
stakeholder approaches and their impact on their target communities seem to dominate much of
todaysdiscussionsonM&E.
Particularly, in the context of countries with diverse socioeconomic and cultural patterns, data
collection at the macro levels may not pinpoint all of the problem areas. In such cases, data on
problemsatsuitablemicrolevelswillgreatlyhelptoaddressthesespecificconcerns.Forinstance,
dataonwhycertaincommunitiesstopsendingtheirfemalechildrentoschoolsupontheirreaching
pubertymaybeonesuchmicrolevelissueneedingreliablelocalfeedback.Similarly,awelldrawnup
advocacyprogrammecanensuretimelyandeffectiveutilizationofqualitydataforpolicyresearch,
policymakingandprogrammeimplementation.This,inturn,canhelpsavelives,reducepovertyand
improve performance, particularly in developing countries. The entire EBP process should be built
intotheoverallM&Esysteminordertomakethemechanismfullyautomatic.
Itisequallyimportanttodevelopaneffectivepolicyresearchandadvocacyforpolicychangemodel
andbuilditintotheoverallM&Esysteminordertomakethemechanismfullyutilizetheevidence
gathered.Withouthavingsuchchainactions,thisoutstandingconceptwouldonlyremainonpaper
anditsbenefitsneverenjoyed.
2.2 M&EofEducationSystems
AllconcernsraisedwithinthecontextofM&Earetheresultofvariousglobal,regionalandnational
leveldiscussionsanddebatesofthepostDakarEducationforumin2000.Thedrivetoachieveglobal
targets in education has introduced new key concepts, such as the expanded vision of basic
education,accesstoequitableandqualityeducationforall,lifelonglearningtoyouthandadults
etc.AllofthesehaveaffectedthewayM&Esystemshavebeendesignedandimplementedinmany
countriesaroundtheworld.
The paradigm shift in M&E towards performancebased and resultsoriented outcomes in the
development context, along with current education reform trends paying attention to quality in
education, has greatly influenced the current approaches and practices of M&E in the education
sector.
2.2.1 UnderstandingM&ESystemsinEducationSector
OneofthemainpurposesofM&Eineducationistoensurethatequitableandqualityeducationis
being provided to all of the population and at all levels. Quality education is a multidimensional
concept that takes into account the quality aspects on input (human, material, and financial),
process (teachinglearning and effective management practices), and outputs and outcomes (the
learningoutcomesandqualityofresults)(IIEP:2007).
Fromtheaspectofmonitoring,thefollowingtypologycanbeusedtoreviewtheassessmentofthe
qualityofeducationintermsofinputs,processesandoutputs.7
Typesofmonitoring
7
Typology of Educational Monitoring System (Richard, 1988), Educational
Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Summer, 1988), pp. 106
116.
10

ComplianceMonitoringfocusingoninputs
This is a bureaucratic type of monitoring to ensure that the educational institutions
comply with predetermined standards and norms set by rules and regulations. It is
mainly focused on educational input of teachers, textbooks, classrooms, teaching
equipmentetc.

DiagnosticMonitoringfocusingonprocesses
Thistypeofmonitoringfocusesontheinstructionalprocessesrelatingtowhathappens
in the classroom and whether the students are actually learning what they are
supposedtolearn.Sincetheteachinglearningprocessisequallyasimportantasinput
variables in education, having such monitoring would give insightful information on
explainingthequalityofeducationprovidedbytheeducationalinstitutions.

PerformanceMonitoringfocusingonoutputs
The emphasis of this kind of monitoring is on the academic achievement of the
students through testing to see what results have been yielded by the investments
madeineducation.
Withinasingleeducationsystem,suchtypesofmonitoring,withdifferentinstruments,maycoexist,
servingdifferentpurposes.SometypicalM&Ecomponentsthatonecanfindinmostcountriescan
beclassifiedinthefollowingfivecategories.
ComponentsofM&Esystems

Schoolrecordkeepingsystem
This aims to keep information at the school level. This typically includes data on
students (school entrance, attendance, academic achievements etc.), teachers
(individual profile of teachers), finance (school budget and expenses), and physical
facilities(quantityandqualityofschoolbuilding,classrooms,furniture,equipmentetc.).
Usually information from such systems are consolidated and fed into other M&E
systems,suchasEMIS.
Statisticaldatasystem
Often called Education Management Information System or EMIS, this is designed to
collect, compile, collate and analyse school level data (students, teachers, facilities,
financeetc.)forpolicyandprogrammeformulation,implementationandmonitoringat
differentadministrativelevels.
Resourcemanagementsystems
These could include (i) teacher management (or Teacher Management Information
SystemTMIS),whichisdesignedtosupportthemanagementofteachersrecruitment
and deployment, and (ii) financial resource management (or Financial Management
InformationSystemFMIS),whichconductsthetransactionsandmonitorsthefinancial
statusofeducationinstitutions.(Insomecases,suchsystemsarepartofalargersystem
usuallymanagedbytheMinistryofFinance.)

11

Performanceevaluationsystem
Thisincludes(i)aSchoolInspectionandEvaluationSystemwhichiscarriedoutbythe
Ministry of Education to observe and inspect whether schools comply with the rules,
regulationsandstandardssetbytherelevantauthorities,and(ii)aTeacherEvaluation
Systemwhosefunctioniscarriedoutbyrelevanteducationinstitutionstoevaluatethe
performanceofteachers.(Insomecases,suchasystemisintegratedintotheTMIS.)

Studentevaluationsystem
This can include (i) an Examination System designed for the purpose of certifying or
selecting students, usually covering the main subject areas in the school curriculum,
and (ii) a Student Assessment System designed to provide an estimate of the
achievementlevelintheeducationsystemasawholeataparticularageorgradelevel.
FocusofEducationalProcess Objective
Input Process Output
Schoolrecordkeepingsystem X X X Supportingschoollevelmanagement
Statisticaldatasystem Providing input for policy and
X programmeatdifferentadministrative
levels
Resourcemanagementsystem Ensuring efficient investment in
X
education
Performanceevaluationsystem Ensuring effective teachinglearning
X
process
Studentevaluationsystem Measuringtheresultsoftheeducation
X
provision
There are some major challenges to the establishment of a good and useful M&E system. These
relatemainlytoaspectsofcoordinationandsynergybetweensubsystems.Manycountriestypically
have provisions for the M&E components as mentioned above, but often these are not well
coordinated, and there is no strategy or systematic mechanism to ensure that these different
systems mutually reinforce each other to create synergy and support for the performance of the
educationsysteminaholisticandcomprehensivemanner.Furthermore,duetotheinterrelationship
among education subsectors (preprimary, primary, secondary, postsecondary and tertiary),
coordinated effort among M&E systems should be established not only within the subsectors of
education,butalsoacrossallotherconcernedsectors.
Evaluationcriteria

Policyorprogrammerelevance
It could relate to the countrys real needs as opposed to the perceived needs on
whichfundingcouldbebased.

Effectiveness
Effectiveness is about doing the right thing, i.e. in providing the right amount of
relevant and quality information to the right users in the right time. An effective
educationprogrammeleadstoincreasingopportunitiestolearninanequitablemanner
andinasustainableway.
Efficiency
12

Efficiency is about doing things right, i.e. functioning effectively with minimum
resources.
Impactandsustainability
Intheeducationcontexttheseconceptscouldrefertotheoveralleffectanypolicyand
programmehasonthetargetcommunityoronthesocioeconomicdevelopmentofa
country etc. They can help address both wider policy related questions as well, for
example at the community/local level where significant change can lead to better
progressamongthetargetcommunity.
2.2.2 TheEvolutionofM&ESystemsintheEducationSector
As in other development areas, M&E in education varies widely in approach and methodology
depending on the objective, purpose, socioeconomic context and the target group/community.
Sinceeducationincludesformal,nonformalandinformalmodesoflearningthatcoveralllevelsand
agesfrompreschooltoadultlearning,itisdifficulttohaveoneframeworktomonitor,measureand
evaluatetheentirespectrum.However,therearesomecommonissues,challengesandaspectsthat
canbeconsideredtomanyeducationprogrammes,suchasaccessandcoverage.Ineveryeducation
projectandprogramme,acomponentonM&Eislikelytobefound.
M&Eineducationhasevolvedovertheyearsinresponsetochangingneedsperceivedbyeducation
planners,implementersandotherstakeholders.SectorbasedorprogrammebasedM&Einitsinitial
stageswasoftenfoundtobetoobroad,focusingmostlyonfinancialandinputoutputindicators.At
thesametime,projectbasedM&Esystemsweredevelopedbythedonoragenciestodemonstrate
thattheintendedactivitieswereimplementedaccordingtoprojectplansandtheexpectedoutputs
were obtained. Gradually, projectbased M&E systems merged with the concerned
programme/sectorM&Esystems.Forexample,inmostdonoraidedprojects,specialearmarkingof
fundsforcapacitybuildingbothintermsofinfrastructureandhumanresourceskillstoestablishand
run sound M&E systems was made. When such projects were wound up, the systems so created
were often continued in the initial stages within the scope of the donoraided project areas but
within the overall sector M&E system of the beneficiary states. However, total merger within the
sectorwasgradualbecausethescalingupofsuccessfulprojectbasedM&Esystemstooksometime
since the beneficiary states had to find the needed resources (financial, infrastructural and skilled
humanresources)forinclusionintheirregularsectoralprogrammesandbudgets.
However,theextenttowhichsuchM&Esystemsbecameinclusiveoftherequirementsofindicesas
perneedsofmicrolevelplanningandimplementationvariedbetweensectors.
ProposedcommonframeworkforassessingthelevelofdevelopmentofM&Esystems
Althoughthepace,thepathandtheevolutionoftheM&Eintheeducationsectorhavedepended
on each countrys educational development context, this review proposes the following
developmentstagesonthebasisoftheabovementionedunderstanding.Thedifferentdevelopment
stagesofM&Esystemineducationsectorcanbeclassifiedasfollows:
PrematureStage:Stageofestablishingfavourableandconduciveinstitutionalconditionsto
setupafunctionalM&Esystem.
Fragmentary Stage: Reasonable institutional and organizational conditions exist and M&E
systemsarebecomingfullyfunctional.
13

Independent Stage: Different M&E systems are established and functioning, but they are
operatingasseparateentitiestoservetheirconfinedscope.
SynergeticStage:DifferentM&Esystemsarefunctioningharmonicallyandinacoordinated
manner to provide effectively and efficiently relevant and quality information for policy
actions.
Significantvariationsacrossdevelopingcountries
The Premature Stage of M&E can be seen largely in countries facing conflict situations, such as
Somalia(Puntland,SomalilandandSouthCentralZone).
Manycountriesinthedevelopingworldwouldfallundereitherthefragmentaryortheindependent
stage of M&E. Both stages use a conventional approach focusing more on measurement and
cateringtotheneedsofthefunders(donorsandpolicymakers),andlesstowardsbeneficiariesand
localpeople.Bothalsofocusonconductingevaluationstomakejudgementsmorethanfocusingon
theempowermentoftargetgroupsandoutcomesindicatingimpact.Theseconventionalapproaches
to M&E are designed as externally driven exercises that are concerned about cost efficiency and
usuallyrelyheavilyonaquantitativeapproachforassessments.Therefore,oftenM&Eisseenasa
tooltocontrolandmanageprogrammesanddoesnotinvolvebeneficiariesorotherstakeholdersin
the planning and implementation stages. The heavy emphasis on quantitative methods for
measuring results tends to ignore the qualitative information which is often linked to local socio
culturalcontextsandmayhelptoprovideabetterunderstandingofthenatureoftheoutcomesand
theoverallimpactofaprogramme.
ThehighlyevolvedsynergeticstageconcentratesontheuseofnewandinnovativewaysofM&E.
This approach is expected to look at ways of making M&E more participatory and inclusive. It is
expectedtotakepeoplesneedsandthelocalsocioculturalcontextsmoreseriouslyintoaccount.
However,thisisnotextensivelypractisedinmanydevelopingcountries;althoughtherearesignsof
some attempts being made towards inducting such participatory approaches to M&E. No matter
whichadvancedstageofdevelopmentthatanM&Eisin,trendstowardsusinginnovativewaysof
M&E can be seen in countries like India, Bangladesh, Kenya, Sri Lanka and South Africa. These
countrieshaveeitherstrongcivilsociety/communityorganizations,ortheyhaveaveryactivemedia
culture which propels them towards attempts to make the M&E process more participatory in
nature. It is interesting to note that such participatory approaches to M&E have evolved more in
nonformal areas of education, such as adult literacy, life skills and ECCE. Some of the emerging
issuesineducation,suchascitizenshipandpeaceeducationalsowarrantamoreparticipatoryM&E
duetotheirpeoplecentricnature.
2.2.3 WhatmakesaneffectiveM&Esystemineducation?
14

AneffectiveM&Ecanhelpnotonlygovernments,developmentpartnersanddonors,butallthose
concernedwitheducationanditsqualityandcoverage.SincesuchanM&Egathersanddisseminates
robustdataasevidence,itprovidesareliablebaseforeffectingimprovementstoqualityandreach
ofeducationtoall.Thisbaseshouldbemadeaccessibletoallthestakeholders.Therefore,itwould
behelpfultoinvolveallthestakeholdersintheprocessofM&Easwellsothatitsownershipbyall
thestakeholdersgetsenhanced.
Furthermore,theM&Esystemshouldberegardedasalongtermeffortwhichrequiresastrategic
commitmentfromtheoutset(MarriottandGoyder2009).Therearesixcrucialcomponentsinvolved
in building the sustainability of M&E systems in which each of the following dimensions needs
continuousattentionandcare.Theseare:demand,clearrolesandresponsibilities,trustworthyand
credibleinformation,accountability,incentives,andcapacity.8
2.3 ExistingResearchandKnowledgeGaps
InresponsetothegrowingneedforbetterM&Esystemineducation,variousresearchandstudies
havebeencarriedoutparticularlybytheinternationaldevelopmentagencies.
A World Bank initiative, SABER the Systems Approach for Better Education Results, attempts to
evaluate different aspects of education based on each countrys needs, such as the quality of
educationpoliciesagainstevidencebasedglobalstandards,usingnewdiagnostictoolsanddetailed
policy data collected for the initiative. The domains of interest include the EMIS system, which
providesdataandinformationnecessaryforeffectivesystemmanagement.Currentlymorethan100
countriesareparticipatinginthisinitiativeandareproducingcountryreports.9
Inaddition,theUIS(UNESCOInstituteforStatistics)hasdeveloped,incollaborationwiththeWorld
Bank, the Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF) for education statistics, and has conducted
qualitative assessments of education statistics in a number of countries. The main purpose of this
framework is to describe the quality of the statistics produced by the education information
systems.
IthasbeenfoundthatmanyoftheavailablereviewsandstudiesfocusonparticularaspectsofM&E
systemsineducation.ThisUNESCOcomparativereviewwillprovidefindingsandanalysisalongwith
policyadviceonwhattheimportantconsiderationsandcriteriaarefordesigningeffective,efficient
andsustainableM&Esystemswithaholisticviewoftheeducationsector.Moreover,itwillaimat
highlightingthebestpracticesattheregionalandnationallevels,aswellasprovidingkeylearning
pointsforstakeholders.Thiswillinformandguidenewandemergingpolicyandplanningneedsin
thepost2015educationcontext.
2.4 ResearchQuestionsandIssuesCoveredbythisAnalysis
Methodologicalapproach
8
http://www-
wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2004/08/27/000160016_20040827154900/Rendered/PDF/296720PAPER01
00steps.pdf
9
http://saber.worldbank.org/index.cfm
15

ThisreviewseekstoconceptualizeM&Esystemsineducationwithaholisticapproachthataimsat
monitoring the performance of the education system and providing the accountability of
informationtopolicymakers,aswellasthepublic,inordertoimproveeducationalprocessesand
results.ItwillalsolookatmoresystemicaspectsandsectorwideperspectivesofhowdifferentM&E
systems and components are interacting among these systems, and also to what extent they are
alignedwithpolicyneedstoproviderelevantinformationformakinginformedpolicies,ratherthan
exploringthedetailedcharacteristicsofeachsystem.
ThereviewisnotaimedatcomingoutwithanyM&Eframeworkormodel,ratheratpromotingan
activedialogueandintensiveresearchtohelppolicymakers,plannersandeducationpractitioners,
especially at the national level, to better design their M&E systems in effective, efficient and
sustainable manner in order to formulate, implement and monitor their education policies and
programmes.
M&Esystemsineducationareatdifferentstagesofevolutionindifferentcountries,asmentionedin
the previous section. In each stage, countries have faced various sets of challenges and issues
dependingontheirindividualcontexts.Intheirattemptstoovercomesuchchallengesandtakethe
systems to the next higher level, they have had to deal with many contributory factors, such as,
technical support, capacity building, infrastructural needs, financial resources, intersectoral
coordination, coordination with partners, etc, the status of which differ as between countries and
overperiodsoftime.
TheultimateaimofalltheseeffortshasbeentoplacetheM&Esystematthesystemiclevelinorder
to provide relevant and useful information and implementation feedback for better policy
formulation with evidence. At the same time, the prosperousness of M&E systems also greatly
dependsontheintentionandinterestofpolicymakersandtheirpolicyactionsonit.Itisimportant
toknowhowsuchM&Esystemsandpoliciesareinteractingwitheachotherformutualbenefit.
In conclusion, the purpose of this review is to support Member States in designing/strengthening

effective and efficient M&E systems for better and more responsive education policies. More
specifically,thereviewintendsto:
analyzevariousaspects(roles,relevance,processandquality)ofM&Esystemsineducationand
relatedevidencesandsummarizethemtohelppolicydialogue;
identifyinnovativeandgoodpolicyandimplementationpractices;
facilitateexchangeofexperience,ideasandpromotecrosscollaborationamongcountries;and
providethemwithkeyfindings and asetofpolicyrecommendationsaimedatachievingmore
effective,efficientandsustainableM&Esystemsineducationinthepost2015era.
ThestudydrawsondifferentexperiencesfromseveralcountrieswithregardtotheirM&Esystems
in education sector at various stages taking into account different regional perspectives and
developmentcontexts.
Researchspectrum
Different M&E systems can be seen in the different levels of education activities to monitor their
implementationandresults.Thereis,forinstance,aprojectbasedM&Esystemwhereitsfunctions
areconfinedtothescopeoftheproject.SomeM&Esystemsaredesignedattheprogrammelevel
wherethescale,scopeanddurationarebiggerthanattheprojectlevel.
This review looks at the system level where the education sector serves national development.
Although the entire education sector is composed of various subsectors (from preprimary to
16

tertiary),thefocusofthereviewismainlyonbasiceducation,wheresignificantresourcesofpublic
spendingaremade.
ResearchQuestions
Thereviewisframedaroundthefollowingkeyresearchquestionsrelatedtopoliciesandpractices
onM&Eindifferentregionsandsomeselectcountries:
HowhaveM&Esystemsineducationevolved(differentstagesofmaturity)?
What are the factors that have significantly contributed/influenced towards achieving
effectivenessandefficiencyofM&Esystemsatdifferentstages,andhowarethesesystems
movingtowardsthenexthigherlevel?
WhataretheinteractionsbetweenM&Esystemsandpolicies,andhowdotheywork?
In the light of emerging issues, dynamic and interrelated contexts of future education
developmentandlearningfrompastexperiences,howshouldM&Ebedesignedtocaterto
policyneeds(setofpolicyrecommendations).
SECTIONIIIMAINFINDINGS
3.1 HowhaveM&ESystemsinEducationevolved?
Overthe last few decades,monitoring has been an integralpart of theeducation process in most
countries of the world. For example, school level practices, such as school registration, school
attendance and staff registration were introduced to monitor performance at the local level.
Furthermore,basiceducationdata,suchasthenumberofschools,geographiclocationofschools,
student enrolment and number of teachers were also gradually collected as part of national
education statistics. Countries, such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania,10 to
nameafew,allhadsimplemonitoringtoolsinthe1990s.SomecountriesinsubSaharanAfricastill
continue touse simple monitoring tools due mainly to their unstable political and socioeconomic
contexts.
SincetheJomteinEFAconference(1990)andtheintroductionoftheEFAinitiative,therehasbeen
increasing awarenessof theimportanceofmonitoringeducation.Thishas furtherbeenreinforced
and has gained global attention since the Dakar Global Education Forum in 2000. Furthermore,
advocacyandtheprovisionofneededassistanceforsystematicmonitoringaspartofEFAprocessby
the UN (UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank) and bilateral agencies (USAID, OECD, EU, CIDA,
NORAD, GTZ and ODI) have resulted in the emergence of better ways of monitoring in many
developingcountries.However,suchsupportintheformoftheprovisionoffinancialresourcesand
capacitydevelopmentinputstothecountriesconcernedhasmostlyfaced,barringafewexceptions
(especially in Latin America and Asia). The first is the challenge of willingness on the part of the
beneficiarycountriestointernalizethemodel.Andthesecondisthelackofexpertiseintheirregular
M&Esystemsandthecapacitytofindtheneededresourcestosustainsuchasystemontheirown.
ThefurtherevolutionofM&EinrecenttimeshasresultedinsomesignificantshiftinthewayM&E
functions and the way it is being utilized by governments and other stakeholders, such as
developmentpartners,NGOsandlocalcommunities.Threesignificantshiftsinthedevelopmentof
M&E systems have taken place either concurrently or independently depending on the socio
economicandpoliticalcontextsofdifferentcountries.Theseshiftsmaybeidentifiedascomingfrom
1)asimplecompliancebasedtoamoreperformancebasedM&E;2)aprogrammelevelorientation
10
NationalEFAAssessmentReportsofSriLanka(2008),Bangladesh(2008),Kenya(2011),Uganda(2012)andTanzania(2012).
17

to a more holisticallyoriented level for M&E; and 3) a centralized focus to a more decentralized
focus in the M&E system. There may not be any clear lines that demarcate these shifts since the
changescanbeinterrelated.Whatisimportanttonotehereisthefactthatthesesignificantshifts
havelargelydeterminedthewayinwhichinformationsystemshavebeendeveloped,structuredand
implemented.Someofthecriticaltransformationsobservedarediscussedbelow.
3.1.1TheorganisationofM&Esystemsineducationhasbeenincreasinglydecentralized
ReformingM&Esystemstorespondtodecentralizationreformsineducation
As countries have moved towards decentralization oftheir education systems,demandhas grown

for evidence on the performance of the systems. As a result of this, as well as due to changing
prioritiesandconsequentpoliticalcommitmentsofgovernments,theM&Esystemshavetendedto
place more responsibilities in this regard on the regional, district, and school authorities. Many
governments have reorganized their monitoring systems as part of a decentralization process to
strengthenthemanagementofeducationreforms.Inparallel,thefocushasshiftedtowardslearners
andoutcomes,hence,towardsperformanceorresultsbasedmonitoringandtheseshiftsledtothe
development of various components responsible for capturing detailed information about each
studentandthecontextinwhichteachinglearningtakesplace.EMIS,TMIS,LearningAssessments,
School Inspection, etc. are some of the components that underwent significant change or got
adapted more towards meeting the new demands that emphasize assessing performance rather
thansimplecompliancebasedmonitoring.
InLatinAmerica,Brazil,forexample,hasoneofthemostcompleteandcomplexM&Esystemsinthe
region which caters to the demands from three levels: federal, state and municipal. Their M&E
system has evolved to ensure that all components, such as SRKS, FMIS, EMIS and SAS, are all
interconnectedandfunctioninacoordinatedway.11SimilarlyinChile,variouscomponentsoftheir
M&Esystem,suchastheSchoolInspectionEvaluationSystem,EMISandFMIS,arewelldeveloped
andcatertoallstakeholdersandthecommunity.AlsoinChile,wheretheAdjustedVoucherLaw(Ley
SEP)wasadoptedtoincreasethelevelofschoolaccountabilitybasedontheirperformance,parents
usetheschoolinformationsystemtomakeinformeddecisionsregardingthechoiceofschoolsfor
theirchildren(ElacquaandAlves,p.18,2015).Allthesemaybeattributedtothedecentralizationof
the M&E system., In Pakistan, decentralized M&E has helped in the collection of gender
disaggregatededucationdata.Thishashelpedthesystemtomonitortheparticipationofgirlsinthe
provinceofPunjabinPakistan(WorldBank,2007).12
UsingM&Esystemstoinformandengagethelocalcommunityinthemanagementofeducation
During the past decades, there has been a growing demand for more evidence and accountability
from donors and other stakeholders of education, especially local communities who have been
evincing interest in knowing what happens at their local level so that they can participate more
effectively in improving the local education provision. Thanks to many international development
efforts, such as EFA and the MDGs aimed at better quality and more equitable education, the
management of education has undergone certain structural changes intended to bring it closer to
the user, particularly to the local level with a view towards giving them a greater stake in the
management of the local education system. The goal of this process has been to increase
accountability,oversightandresponsiveness.
11
ElacquaandAlves.2015.(draft)M&EinEducationinLatinAmerica,UNESCO.
12
WorldBank.2007.PakistanPunjabProvince:PublicFinancialManagementandAccountabilityAssessment.
IntegrativeFiduciaryAssessmentNo.39761,WorldBank,Washington,DC.
18

Decentralized systems try to take into account the local needs through efforts to improve the
participationofallstakeholdersinasustainedmanner.Somecountries,suchasChile,haveensured
easieraccessforparentstostudentinformation.DISE13inIndiacollectsinformationfromschoolsfor
useatthedistrictandvillagelevel,aswellasfornationalleveldecisionmakingpurposes:itprovides
all student related information on a website that provides disaggregated data by school, district,
stateandnationallevels.14KenyahasinitiatedtheuseofanSMSbasedonlineresultsmanagement
information system which enables students to query the database by SMS for their examination
results. Similar systems also have been introduced in other African countries, such as Mauritius,
Botswana and Swaziland.15 Such systematic and focused information on school performance can
helpboththenationallevelpurposesandthelocalcommunitylevelneeds.Similarexamplescanbe
citedfromotherpartsoftheworld,suchastheuseofdistrictplans,schoolinspectionreportsand
schoolplansformonitoringwhichhavebeensuccessfullyadaptedtosuitlocalcontexts.
School Management Committees (SMC) and Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) have gained more
importanceassupportingpartsofthedecentralizationprocessandhavehelpedtheauthoritiesand
thecommunityplayagreaterroleinmonitoringtheperformanceofschools,asseeninthecaseof
Africancountries,includingGhana,Madagascar,Niger,Senegal,SierraLeoneandUganda.16
Examples from around the world have shown that decentralization of M&E in education has met
withpositiveresults,17particularlywhentheprocesshasbeeninclusiveandparticipatory.Providing
anopportunityforcommunityparticipation,itempowerscommunitiestobemoveinvolvedleading
toward greater accountability and better resource allocation as well as ensuring the quality of
educationtheirchildrenreceiving.CountriessuchasChile,UgandaandCotedIvoirefallunderthis
category(Katsiaouni2003).18WinklerandGershberg(2000)conductedresearchinseveralcountries
which shows that positive outcomes are associated with increased local autonomy. Other studies
have also found that increasing community participation and, in particular, parent participation in
schools has led to significantly lower rates of student and teacher absenteeism, for example in El
Salvador (Jimenez and Sawada 1999).19 Further studies have also shown that decentralization has
had a positive impact on students test scores as observed in Argentina (Galiani and Schargrodsky
2001;20 Eskeland and Filmer 2002);21 and that decentralized management of schools has led to
improvedachievementscores,forexampleinNicaragua(KingandOzler1998).22
3.1.2.Theweaknessofcoordinationeffortsremainsacriticalissue
Handlingthechallengesofverticalcoordinationinresponsetodecentralizationefforts
13
http://www.dise.in/
14
UNESCOetal.2015.ComparativeReviewofPoliciesandPracticesonM&EofEducationSystemsRegionalreportsArab,Asia
Pacific,LatinAmericaandAfrica(workingdrafts).
15
https://edutechdebate.org/educationmanagementinformationsystems/emisopportunitiesandchallengesformobiledata
collectionanddissemination/
16
Antonowicz.L.,Lesn.F.etal.2010.AfricaEducationwatch:GoodGovernanceLessonsforPrimaryEducation,Transparency
International,Berlin.
17
Winkler,Donald,andAlecIanGershberg.2000.EducationDecentralizationinLatinAmerica:TheEffectsontheQualityof
Schooling.LCSHDPaperSeriesNo.59,WorldBank,Washington,DC.
18
Katsiaouni,Olympios.2003.DecentralizationandPovertyReduction:DoesitWork?PaperpresentedattheFifthGlobal
ForumonReinventingGovernment,MexicoCity,November37.
19
Jiminez,E.,andY.Sawada.1999.DoCommunityManagedSchoolsWork?AnEvaluationofElSalvadorsEDUCOProgram.
WorldBankEconomicReview13(3):41541.
20
Galiani,Sebastin,andErnestoSchargrodsky.2001.EvaluatingtheImpactofSchoolDecentralizationonEducationQuality.
http://www.utdt.edu/Upload/_115332118904928800.pdf
21
Eskeland,G.,andD.Filmer.2002.Autonomy,Participation,andLearninginArgentineSchools:FindingsandTheirImplications
forDecentralization.PolicyResearchWorkingPaper2766,WorldBank,Washington,DC.
22
King,E.,andB.Ozler.1998.WhatsDecentralizationGottoDowithLearning?TheCaseofNicaraguasSchoolAutonomy
Reform.WorkingPaper,WorldBank,Washington,DC.
19

ThisshifttowardsmoredecentralizednatureofM&Ehasnotalwaysbeentransformedsmoothlybut
withseveralchallenges.Asmanycountrieshavetransferredthisresponsibilityawayfromthecentral
government, as stated in the EFA GMR (2009)23, vertical coordination remains one of the key
challengestothem.Thisissoprimarilybecausethetransferofresponsibilityfromthecentretothe
lower levels within ministries has not been complete. It is noted that in primary education most
central governments, such as Cambodia, China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, transfer
authorityinsomeareasbutcontinuetoplayasignificantroleinothers(GMR,2015).24Thismeans
thatafullyfunctionalmonitoringatlowerlevelsbecomesachallengewithpartialmonitoringcontrol
stillremainingwiththetoplevel,thusaffectingcoordinationatalllevelsofthesector.
Furthermore,tobecomeaneffectivedecentralizedsystemcoordinationmechanismsamongalldata
producersandusersarerequired.SomeAfricancountries,suchasBenin,Chad,RwandaandKenya,
whohavegonefordecentralizationoftheeducationsector,facechallengesinensuringthatvertical
coordination functions effectively and efficiently at all levels, especially at the district and school
levels.25. In addition, all stakeholders must be fully aware of the M&E process. In Nepal, staff,
especiallyinthedistrictsandschoolsresponsibleforenteringdata,arenotwellinformedregarding
thepurposeofthedatacollectionortheresultsofsuchdataintheM&Eprocess.
Promisingreformstoimproveverticalandhorizontalcoordination
AnalysisoftheM&EsystemsinsomecountrieslikeBrazil,Chile,Colombia,SouthKorea,HongKong
(SARChina)andMalaysia26pointstosomecriticalbenefitsofwhathappenswhenanM&Esystem
becomes holistic from a programme level monitoring perspective. The various components of an
M&E system, such as EMIS, TMIS etc., tend to be coordinated more effectively, as in the case of
Brazil and Chile. The advantage of all the components functioning and intercommunicating well
under the one umbrella of M&E is that it helps to introduce common standards and classification
systemsusinguniformcodingforbettermonitoring.Thisalsoreducesduplicationoftheprocessof
collectinginformationandismorecosteffective.Moreover,theavailabilityofanM&Eframeworkas
partofnationaleducationsectorplanhelpstoconnectvariouscomponentsofM&Eunderasingle
framework, thus making the M&E system more efficient and effective. Countries, for example,
LebanonandPalestine,havesuchanationalframeworkaspartoftheeducationsectorplan.
Inordertomeetthesechallenges,theeducationsectormayneedtostudyothersectorswhichmay
bedoingthisbetter.MinistriesofHealthandAgriculturearegoodexamples,inmostinstances,of
havingeffectivecoordinationbothverticallyandhorizontally.Forinstance,theMinistriesofHealth
inmanydevelopingcountries,suchasSouthAfrica,27Kenya28andRwanda29havesetupextensive
mechanisms for intersectoral and vertical coordination and monitoring of the many different
projects and programmes for monitoring HIV and AIDS, with special tools for measuring the
effectivenessofpublicinvestmentsinthesector.Incontrast,MOEsinmanycountriestendtowork
23
UNESCO.2009.EFAGlobalMonitoringReport2009:OvercomingInequality:whygovernancematters.Paris,UNESCO.
24
UNESCO.2015.EFAGlobalMonitoringReport2015:EducationforAll20002015AchievementsandChallenges.Paris,UNESCO.
25
FormorediscussiononthedecentralizationinAfrica,seeChanna,A.2014.Decentralizationandthequalityofeducation.
BackgroundpaperforEFAGlobalMonitoringReport2015.
26
UNESCOetal.2015.ComparativeReviewofPoliciesandPracticesonM&EofEducationSystemsRegionalreportsAsia
Pacific,LatinAmerica(workingdrafts).
27
OmokhoaAdedayoAdeleyeandAntoinetteNgoziOfili.2010.StrengtheningIntersectoralCollaborationforPrimaryHealth
CareinDevelopingCountries:CantheHealthSectorPlayBroaderRoles?JournalofEnvironmentalandPublicHealth,Volume
2010.
28
DANIDA.2012.KenyaHealthSectorSupportProgrammeHSPSPhaseIII(20122016),ProgrammeDocument.
29
GovernmentofRwanda.2012.ThirdHealthSectorStrategicPlanJuly2012June,2018;MinistryofHealth,Rwanda.
20

independentlyevenincrosscuttingareassuchasEarlyChildhoodEducation,wherehealth,nutrition
andeducationarethethreecriticalinputsneededforeverychild.
3.1.3. The focus of M&E systems has been shifting from compliance to performance,
sheddinglightonstudentlearningoutcomes
Anincreasingfocusonperformancetohelpmeetingbugdetconstraintsandenhancegovernment
accountability
Due to major international efforts to persuade governments to improve the quality of education,
significant changes have taken place in the last few decades in the basic understanding of the
purposeofeducationaswellasinitsmonitoring.
M&E in its initial stage is mostly about compliance and providing basic information demanded by
authoritiesathigherlevelsofgovernment.Compliancemonitoringistheoldestbureaucratictypeof
monitoring.Itsprimarygoalistomakesurethatschoolscomplywithpredeterminednormsfixedby
laws and administrative rules and regulations.30 Monitoring at this stage is more an inputdriven
approachlookingatquantifiableinputsoftheeducationprocess.Itisaboutapredeterminedsetof
quantitativeindicatorsandachecklistagainstwhichtheperformanceoftheschoolismonitoredand
measured.Theexerciseisoftencarriedoutmainlyforthepurposeofreportingtohigherauthorities
atthenationallevelandfortheinspectionofschools.
Togetherwiththeadvancementintheconceptandpracticesofeducationplanning,thefocusisnow
ontheimportanceoftheallocationandutilizationofresourcesintermsofefficiency,effectiveness
and impact. Thegrowing demand forbetterprovisionof quality education and accountability, has
redefined the purpose of M&E, shifting more towards outcomes and impact than access and
inputs.Thisispartlyduetovariousinternationalefforts,suchastheParisDeclarationwhichfocused
onaideffectivenessandaccountability31andfosteredperformanceresultsbasedM&E.32Theyhave
resultedinthegraduallychangingofcontextandcontentofM&Etowardtransformativefocusfrom
aDidtheydoit?approach,toaSowhat?approach.33Inotherwords,thisshiftisaboutmoving
beyondtheextentofinvestmentmadeandtowardsachievingtheintendedresultsandtheimpact
envisaged initially for an effective M&E. This shift towards outcomes and impact has helped
countriestomonitorandevaluatetheprovisionofeducationqualitymoreeffectively.Particularlyin
thecontextofeconomieswithscarceresourcesandcompetingdemands,investmentprioritiesneed
tobeguidedbytheircomparativeimpactpotentialsforpolicies.Therefore,theM&Esystemmust
collectalltherelevantinformationneededforbothpolicyformulationandforbudgetpreparation.
Keymacroeconomicpolicymakers, i.e. ministriesof finance and planning,areincreasingly focusing
on the accountability factor, that is, on the quality and effectiveness of public spending in the
expectationofbetteroutcomesandimpactofsuchpublicinvestments.Foreffectiveresultsbased
monitoring and local level planning, comprehensive school and learner information, including
student outcomes, is needed. Information on outcomes and impact of education on learners
providesaclearerpictureofthevalueofinvestmentsmadeandontheimpactonpolicydecisions.
30
Richards,C.E.1988.ATypologyofEducationalMonitoringSystems.EducationalEvaluationandPolicyAnalysis.Vol.10(2).
31
ForfurtherdiscussionontheAidEffectivenessandAccountabilityaspectsoftheParisDeclaration,SeeOECD:2008.Paris
DeclarationonAidEffectiveness(2005)andAccraAgendaforAction(2008),pp.12,p.8,OECD,Paris.
32
ForcriticalreviewontheAideffectivenessofParisDeclarationseeJonathanGlenniesarticleinTheGuardian(Nov.2011),
http://www.theguardian.com/globaldevelopment/povertymatters/2011/nov/18/parisdeclarationaideffectivenessnecessary
33
KusekandHall.2004.TenStepstoaResultsBasedMonitoringandEvaluationSystem,WorldBank,WashingtonDC.
21

However,suchashiftappearstobeunevenamongdifferentcountriesdependingontheavailability
ofnecessaryresources,politicalcommitment,infrastructureandthecapacityamongthepersonnel
forimplementingperformancebasedM&E.ManycountriesofSouthEastAsia,SouthAsiaandthe
politically stable/fast growing nations of Africa along with many Latin American countries, can be
citedashavingachievedtheshift.InLatinAmerica,forinstance,thecurrentmovementtodevelop
M&E systems emerged out of a desire for greater transparency and as a way to measure
performanceinthepublicsector.34
Studentlearningoutcomes,anareaofgrowingconcernatthelocal,thenationalandthe
internationallevels
Against this context, decisionmakers have begun to attach increasing importance to the
development of a coherent system for monitoring and evaluating educational achievement,
especiallystudentlearningoutcomes.
There are several reasons for this increasing importance of student learning outcomes
particularlyinthedevelopingworldwherelearningassessmentsarerelativelynew.Themost
prominent argument would be a growing concern that many children do not acquire the
necessary skills expected of them at any given age. Student assessments are also gaining
importance due to the demand for more information on student performance by various
stakeholders.Manycountriesareinterestedinusing,forexample,thefindingsofassessments
tomaintainandimprovethequalityoftheireducationsystems(OECD:2004).35Furthermore,
decentralizationreformshavegrantedschoolsandlocalcommunitiesgreaterautonomy,thus
requiringmoretransparencyonperformanceandstrongaccountabilitymechanisms.

As a result, many countries have set up national institutes (NIER Japan, KICE South Korea,
NAEP USA, NIE Singapore, and South Korea, and ICFES in Colombia) or dedicated separate
units (Rwanda and Zanzibar) within the Ministry of Education, which are responsible for
conducting regular national assessments. Furthermore, as illustrated in GMR 2015, the
number of countries taking up largescale international student assessments such as PISA,
TIMSS,SACMEQhasgrownfromfourin1990tooveronehundredby2013,andthisnumber
continues to increase. International assessments help countries to understand how their
students are performing in comparison with students in other countries. International
assessments also help build capacity in the countries through the assessment process, test
development, analysis and drafting of technical reports. SACMEQ, for example, has helped
countriessuchasKenya,36Tanzania37(mainlandandZanzibar38)tostrengthenthecapacitiesof
staffinvolvedinconductingnationalassessment.Further,suchinternationalassessmentstend
toattractmorepoliticalandmediaattentionthannationalstudies.SeveralcountriesinAfrica,
theArabregion,AsiaPacificandLatinAmericahaverealizedthevalueofconductingnational
assessments,aswellasofparticipatingininternationalassessments.

However,therearestillotherrelatedaspectsinatypicaleducationprocessthatneedgreater
attention, particularly those relating to the teachinglearning process. The monitoring of
processissuessuch asschoolinspection,teacherappraisals,qualityofteachinglearning
process, etc., are still weak in many countries, including those with welldeveloped M&E
34
ElacquaandAlves(2015)M&EinLatinAmerica,RegionalReport.
35
OECD.2004.WhatMakesSchoolSystemsPerform?:SeeingSchoolSystemsthroughtheprismofPISA.Paris.
36
http://www.knec.ac.ke/main/index.php?option=com_phocadownload&view=category&id=66:sacmeqiiireporthighlights
37
http://www.epdc.org/sites/default/files/documents/Tanzania_sacmeq.pdf
38
MinistryofEducation,Culture,andSports.2005.TheSACMEQIIProjectinZanzibar,SACMEQHarare,Zimbabwe.
22

systems such as India, Malaysia, Kenya and Chile.39 One of the main reasons for this is the
qualitative dimension of such processes or subprocesses. Most EMIS systems and other
informationsystemsarebuiltonlytohandlequantitativeinformationwithverylittleattention
paidtothecollectionanduseofqualitativeinformation.Anotherreasonforthisweaknessis
the lack of welldeveloped methodologies to monitor such processes and the emerging
aspects of education as, for example, in countries such as Syria, Yemen, Libya, Tunisia and
Egyptwhichareaffectedbycontinuousornewconflictsofvarioussociopoliticalandcultural
causesintheArabregion.40
3.2 WhatarethedecisivefactorsinbuildingeffectiveandefficientM&E
systems?
A good M&E system is more than a mere statistical task or an external obligation. For the M&E
systemtobeeffectiveandefficient,itmustbeplannedproperly,managedefficientlyandprovided
withadequateresources,makingitsustainable.
Effectivepolicymakingineducationrequiresinformationonwhethergovernmentsaredoingthings
rightandwhetherthedesiredresultsarebeingachieved.StrongM&Esystemsprovidethemeansto
compileandintegrateallthenecessaryinformationintothepolicycycle,thusprovidingthebasisfor
enablingsoundgovernanceandaccountabilityineducationpolicies.
Althoughtheseaspectsareinterlinked,itisdifficulttoestablishthecausalrelationshipsbetweenthe
variousfactorsthatcontributetotheefficientperformanceofthesystem.Similarly,theexactnature
of the contribution of each of these factors towards the performance parameters (effectiveness,
efficiencyandsustainability)isdifficulttoestablish.Thefindingsinthissection,whicharedistilled
fromthefourregionalreportsandothersecondaryresearch,reflectthefactorsthataffecttheway
that the M&E system is able to function, and the other issues that contribute to the proper
functioningofanM&Esystemintheeducationsector.
3.2.1.UsingtechnologytodevelopcomprehensiveM&Esystems
Therehasbeenagrowingdemandfordatacomprehensiveenoughtomeetthedemandsofusers
such as decisionmakers, planners, and the community. Such data need to include details of
disaggregation at various levels as also reliable data on key indicators and other qualitative
determinants.Thankstoadvancedtechnology,suchalargevolumeofdatacanbemadeavailable.
Technological advancements also have helped in the production of more data at the school level.
Again,suchdataincludes,forexample,notonlythedatasourceswithinMOE,suchasEMIS,butalso
from other sources, such as largesized household surveys, socioeconomic surveys and special
studies.
Thekeyroleoftechnologyinmonitoringandevaluationofeducationhasbeenwidelyrecognizedby
policymakers,planners,donorsandallstakeholders.Whenputtogooduse,technologycangreatly
reducethetimeandadministrativecostsassociatedwithM&E.Technologyalsoimprovesthequality
of data and reduces the time taken for collection, processing and analysis. There has been a
39
UNESCOetal.2015.ComparativeReviewofPoliciesandPracticesonM&EofEducationSystemsRegionalreportsArab,Asia
40
UNESCO,2015.(DraftMarchversion).ComparativeReviewofPoliciesandPracticesonM&EofeducationSystems.
23

significant acceleration in the use of ICTs for education since the World Summit on Information
Society(WSIS)2003.41Countrieshaveinvestedheavilyintechnologytoprovideaccesstoeducation,
especiallyhelpingcommunitiesinhardtoreachplacestogainaccessthroughtheuseoftechnology,
includingthecreationofelearningplatformsandtheintroductionofmobilelearningtechnologies.42
If ICTs are to become effective and integral tools in education, and if accountability is to be
demonstrated to donors and stakeholders, monitoring and evaluation must be a priority area of
focusofsuchtechnologyuse.
Bywayofexample,BrazilisreportedashavingoneofmostcompleteandcomplexM&Esystemsin
the world (Vaillant, 2015). The system is used to formulate, implement and evaluate policies and
programsinthethreetiersofgovernment.Technicalchangeshavebeenmadeovertimetoimprove
theM&Esystemineducationinordertomeetnotonlythepoliticalneedsfortheimplementationof
policydecisionsandprograms,butalsotopromotegreaterintegrationofthedifferentcomponents
oftheM&Esystem.AnotherexampleisthatofBhutan,wheretheNationalEducationAssessment
(NEA)asasystemwideassessmentprogramisdesignedtoinvestigateandmonitorthehealthof
theeducationsystem.Themainpurposesaretoprovidepolicymakerswithinformationtomonitor
standards overtime and to compare its performancewiththe international standards,to monitor
theimpactofparticularprogrammes,andtomakedecisionsaboutresourceallocation,schoolsand
teacherswithinformationaboutwholeschool,classandindividualpupilperformance.Theextensive
datacollectedundertheEducation Reform fortheKnowledge EconomyProgram(ERfKE) may be
cited as another example. The programme is responsible for collecting and processing education
data (Educational Management Information System EMIS), for analysis and interpretation of
educationdata,inaccordancewiththeStrategicPlanoftheMinistry(evaluatetheeffectivenessof
the education system and its internal efficiency), for financial planning, and strategic planning.
Similarly,SouthAfricanSchoolsAdministrationManagementSystem(SAM)hasbeenintroducedand
is expected to eventually replace data collection through surveys. It is an integrated electronic
application that is supplied free to schools and allows the capture of various types of school
information such as parent and learner profiles and educator information as well timetables,
finance,governance,assetsandLearningandTeachingMaterials(LTM).
In addition, availability of individual student level information in a timely fashion helps tracking
student level performance, as well as helps in allocating resources efficiently. Countries such as
Nepal, Brazil,PeruandSouth Korea,43 are able to track studentprogressthroughthe collectionof
student level information. Student tracking at the district/county level sometimes gets more
attention through a systemwide approach to ensure that information on every student gets
collected. Cambodia and two states in India provide another typical example of countries where
censusbasedsystemsarebeinggraduallyreplacedand/orintegratedwithoperationalsystemsusing
informationtechnology.
3.2.2.Addressingthepotentialrisksofgeneratingimportantvolumeofdata
Thegenerationofsuchlargevolumesofdata,thoughusefulfromtheangleofdataavailability,also
posescertainchallengesrelatingtothehandlingofbigdata.Whiletechnologyhashelpedcountries
41
WSISStocktaking:SuccessStories2012,2013.WSISProjectPrizes2012,WorldSummitontheInformationSociety,
InternationalTelecommunicationsUnion,Geneva.
42
ForsuccessstoriesofuseofICTsinEducationseeWSISStocktaking:SuccessStories2013,WSISProjectPrizes2013,World
SummitontheInformationSociety,InternationalTelecommunicationsUnion,Geneva.
43
UNESCOetal,2015.ComparativeReviewofPoliciesandPracticesonM&EofEducationSystemsRegionalreportsArab,Asia
24

to improve their existing databases and data capturing processes using digital media, many
countries, for example, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon44 and Nepal and Cambodia have several
databases, but they are not wellintegrated for exchange of data. Some of these countries still
uploaddatamanually.InAsia,whilesomecountries,likeMyanmar,Nepal,andBangladeshfacethe
challenge of insufficient capacities to utilize the technology for M&E at all levels, some countries,
such as India and Malaysia, suffer from overutilization of technology. In some of the stronger
economieswhereIThasbeenontherise,thereisatendencytohavesophisticatedtechnologythat
isnotfullyutilized.
Theincreasingvolumeofdatacollectedmaycastaburdenonthedataprovidersatthelowerend.
Often demand for more information results in schools, especially the teachers, being tasked with
collecting several types of information, filling in survey forms and administering assessment tests,
etc.Thisconsiderablyaffectstheirteachingscheduleandaffectsthequalityofteaching.Further,this
canhavemoreseriousconsequencesontheprovisionofeducationinpoorercountries,especiallyin
thesubSaharanregionofAfrica,forexample,whichhasanacuteshortageofteachers.
Furthermore,schoolsmustensureprivacyandprotecttherightsoftherespondents.Themomenta
school collects information about a student, or a students family, there may be issues about the
waytheinformationiscollected,howitisstored,howitisusedandhowandtowhomitisdisclosed
and disseminated. An efficient information system must have strict measures that would prevent
anypossiblemisuseofstudentinformation.Protectingtheprivacyofstudentshasbeengivengreat
importance in most developed countries, such as the United States through Family Educational
Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA) and New Zealand through its Privacy Act 1993. Such laws are mostly
absentorweakinmanydevelopingcountries,afactwhichraisesquestionsabouttheprotectionof
suchstudentdatafromthepossibilityofmisuse.
3.2.3.Buildingstronginternalcapacityatalllevels
Building strong organizational and technical capacity at all levels of M&E system and improving
careeropportunities
The success of the development of M&E systems, not the least through the use of technology,
dependsontheabilityofthesystemtoutilizethetoolsbyhavingwelltrainedpersonneltohandleit
for M&E purposes. The capacity needs range from analysis and policy formulation, data
management, upgrading the skills of staff doing work that demands higher levels of IT skills, and
proficiencyinhandlingalargemassofdata,toprovidingneededtrainingforstatisticalordatabase
management.Thecapacitytoanalyzeandinterpretdatawillhavetofocusontheneedsofdifferent
users.Thetoolsfordatacollectionneedtobecarefullydesignedsothattheydonotmissoutonany
essential information and, atthesame time, not include superfluous or ambiguous information. A
goodmatchingofcapacityfordesigningthetoolsandthecapacityofanalyzingandinterpretingsuch
data would be called for inorderto achievedesiredends. In theabsence ofsucha matching,the
data system may run the risk of ending up with the collection of a large mass of unutilized data,
while at the same there may still be data gaps on certain specific demands of specific users. The
properstorageandretrievalofsuchdataisanotherchallengetobeaddressedbybothtechnology
andthecapacitymatchingreferredtoabove.
44
UNESCO.2014.ComparativeReviewofPoliciesandPracticesonM&EofEducationSystems:ArabStatesReport(draftversion,
September).
25

It is increasingly acknowledged that more often than not it is the organizational and institutional
dimensions,ratherthanM&Etechnicalities,thatarethemainchallengesfacedbymanycountries
M&E(Bedietal.,2006;45Woodetal.2011).46AddressingthegapsintechnicalcapacityofanM&E
system requires an approach that would balance the development of individual skills by
strengthening the organizational structure supportive of, and responsive to, the context in which
M&E takes place. Newly trained staff must be supported by their organizations to translate their
new skills effectively into sound practices in data collection and use. Training programmes should
also reinforce the importance of M&E practices laying emphasis on the use of M&E for decision
makingforprogrammeimprovementratherthanusingdatacollectionforreportingpurposesalone.
One of the crucial elements in this regard is the establishment of an appropriate institutional
structure providing support and having good coordination among the different personnel/units
involvedintheproductionofdata,analysesofdataanduseofevidence.Todothis,M&Epersonnel
needasetofspecializedskillsandknowledge.However,inpractice,theneededtechnicalcapacity
and the ability of the M&E personnel to perform such wide ranging tasks seldom gets much
attention.
Countries, generally, have taken the initiative to focus resources on assessing capacity and
performance of their M&E system and have taken steps to develop a systematic approach to
capacitybuilding.Sincetheneedsarevastandvaried,capacitybuildersmustsetprioritiesbasedon
immediateaswellaslongertermneeds.Animportantpolicylessonisthatperformanceobjectives
areusefulforguidingcapacitybuildingandsystemstrengtheningexercisesandwouldhelpavoidad
hocacceptanceofassistanceasitisoffered.EvenhighlyevolvedM&Esystems,asinthecountriesof
Latin America, tend to have technically sound personnel, but may fall short in other crucial areas
such as getting poor pay packages, lack of adequate support staff, lack of opportunities for
continuouscapacitydevelopmentandlackofopportunitiesforcareerdevelopmentwithintheMOE.
There is thus a clear need for establishing institutional support systems to sustain the technical
capcitiesacquiredbyM&Estaff.
TheeffectivenessofanM&Esystemcanbejudgedbythedemandfordatawithinandoutsidethe
ministry, the quality and reliability of evidence produced and the extent evidence is used for
planningandimplementationpurposes.Thedemandforevidencecanbegeneratedonlywhenthere
issystematic,timelyandreliableavailabilityofdataforallstakeholders.Ineffectiveuseofdatacan
be attributed to 1) lack of easy access to data and 2) lack of capacity of the user to use the data
efficiently and effectively. Sensitization and advocacy for effective ways of using data by various
usersisoftentheprescribedmethodforachievingthis,butmostcountriesdonothavesystematic
effortstoaddressthisneed.Forexample,mediatrainingonpresentingdataintherightmanneris
often accorded a low priority by many governments. This may result in the risk of elaborate
monitoring and evaluation reports gathering dust on the shelf. Traditional M&E systems typically
involvedevelopingandmonitoringofkeyeducationindicators.However,manycountriesaremoving
towards a more inclusive M&E system which takes into account the concerns of all stakeholders,
that is, those on both the demand and the supply sides. More active participation of the target
beneficiaries/communitiesandNGOsisexpectedtoimprovetheaccountabilityofthegovernments
and the quality of monitoring. It is also open to providing information on various aspects of the
education process and not restricted to a narrow approach of giving information on only selected
indicators.
45
Bedi,T.,Coudouel,A.,Cox,M.,Goldstein,M.,andThornton,N.2006.BeyondtheNumbers.UnderstandingtheInstitutionsfor
MonitoringPovertyReductionStrategies.Washington,DC:WorldBank.
46
Wood,B.,Betts,J.,Etta,F.,Gayfer,J.,Kabell,D.,Ngwira,N.,Sagasti,F.andSamaranayake,M.2011.TheEvaluationofthe
ParisDeclaration(FinalReport).Copenhagen:DanishInstituteforInternationalStudies.
26

Promoting the effective use of evidence collected by M&E systems within the media community
andcivilsociety
Alearningpointisthattheeffectiveuseofinformation,evenwhenitisavailable,dependsonthe
capacityoftheusers.Itisalsodependentonthemannerinwhichtheinformationismadeavailable
totheuser.Attractivepackagingandappealingpresentationofdataaremorelikelytocaptivatethe
attention of the target audience and motivate their quick response to the problems addressed.
Systematic advocacy and providing opportunities to sensitize different stakeholders on the use of
information from M&E are not common approaches in most countries. Only through systematic
efforts can the social accountability factor be improved and made into an operational response
mechanism.
3.2.4.Ensuringpoliticalcommitmentandleadershiptoestablishinstitutionalframeworks
andsecurefundingforthedevelopmentofsustainableM&Esystems
ThereisundeniableneedforhighlevelcommitmentandpoliticalwillformakingM&Esystemswork
better and deliver up to expectation. Such commitment would lead to the provision of sufficient
resourcesneededfordevelopingthenecessaryinfrastructureandthehumanresourcestodevelop
efficient,effectiveandsustainableM&Esystemshaveallotted.
Firstly,thereisaneedforgovernmentstoconsiderfinancialsustainabilityandhaveproperplansin
placefordevelopingsustainableM&Esystems.AsnotedbytheAsiaPacificreviewofM&Esystems,
(UNESCO Bangkok, 2015), the initial development of M&E systems in many AsiaPacific countries
werefundedbyinternationalorganizationsincludingUNESCO.Nowthereisaneedformoreinternal
funding by the countries concerned in order to sustain the systems that were created. Country
financialplansshouldfactorinallthecostsneededtobothbuildandmaintainthesystem,aswellas
other operational costs. For instance, in the Arab region, countries, such as Jordan, Lebanon and
Palestine (UNESCO, 2014)47 have considered the development of their M&E systems as part of a
strongnationalcommitmenttoattainingnationaleducationgoals.Incontrast,countrieslikeSouth
SudanandMauritaniainAfricahavebuilttheirM&Esystemswithdonorfundingincludingtechnical
assistance.
Secondly,stronglegalframeworksareessentialtosupporttheoperationalizationofeffectiveM&E
systemsandensurebetteraccountabilityandtransparencywithregardtotheexpenditureoffunds
allocated.Itwillalsoensurethesystematicavailabilityofreliableevidencetomeasuretheimpactof
policiesandprogrammes,andtheeffectivenessofthoseexpenditures.
Thegrowingdemandforbetteraccountabilityofpublicexpenditurehasresultedintherealizationof
the importance of M&E in bringing to light the impact of programmes. This requires that line
agenciesandministriesregularlyoperatetheirveryownMIS.ItfurtherrequiresthattheMinistryof
FinanceandthePlanningCommissionholdthelineministriesaccountablenotmerelyforthetimely
spendingofthemoneyallottedontherelevantprogrammesbutalsoforensuringtheachievement
of the desired outcomes. Again, the third requirement is that there should be a system of
performancemanagement,locatedpreferablyatahighlevelingovernment.Thisinturnmeansthat
the whole system needs to be supported by statistical bodies that are responsible for the timely
collection of quality and reliable data that is need based and, if need be, goes beyond what is
47
UNESCO.2014.ComparativeReviewofPoliciesandPracticesonM&EofEducationSystems,ArabStatesReport(draft).
27

normally collected in a conventional MIS. Countries without such accountability factor built into
theirM&Esystemsmayendupwithavoidablewastageoftheirscarceresources.
Thirdly,manycountriesseemtohaveaNationalStrategicFrameworkandaNationalCoordinating
Body but they tend to lack a welldesigned National M&E Framework. This is because the entities
responsible for implementing M&E systems are relatively new and have fragile institutional
structures and weak platforms from which to advocate for effective M&E practices. As a result,
many governments have taken initiatives to build a more firmly institutionalized national setting
conducive to continuous resultsbased M&E activities tied to planning, budget allocations and
decisionmakingforimplementationandaccountability.
The development of an M&E system in South Africa is a good example to demonstrate the above
point. Historically, until 2000, there was no centrally driven M&E system. After 2000, there was a
growing interest in M&E. As a result, the Presidency became interested in the role of M&E. Soon
thereafter,in2005,camecabinet approvalforthe developmentofan M&Esystem.48A functional
M&E system was planned for each department, including education. In 2007, a policy framework
waspublishedtoguidetheM&E system,which includedtheneed forframeworks forprogramme
performance information and for statistical data quality and evaluation. This in turn helped to
strengthenthelinksbetweenthePresidency,theTreasury,andthenationalstatisticsagency.Asa
result,policyframeworksweredevelopedfortheseelementsbetween2007and2011(Engelaand
Ajam,2010).49
SimilarexamplescanbecitedfromcountrieslikeBenin,whereanofficefortheEvaluationofPublic
Policy has been set up since 2007 in the Office of the Prime Minister with a clear mandate to
evaluate all public policies. The national M&E system is now organized around a chain of parties
which carry out planning, programming, budgeting (PPBS), and monitoring and evaluation (Clear,
2013).50Similarly,inKenya,51aMonitoringandEvaluationunitwassetupintheMinistryofPlanning
in 2008. One of the main tasks of this unit is to prepare all monitoring products, particularly the
AnnualProgressReportsontheNationalMediumTermPlanrelatedtoKenyaVision2030.
Similar national M&E units have been set up in countries of other regions, including India, Sri
Lanka,52Nepal,Malaysia,Palestine,Jordan,Brazil,PapuaNewGuinea,53etc.However,therearealso
countriesinthedevelopingworldwhichareyettohaveafullyfunctionalandoperationalnational
levelM&Eunit.Forexample,inseveralcountriesoftheCaribbeanregion,andincountriesinconflict
areas, such as Somalia, Central African Republic and Afghanistan, there is lack of welldeveloped
nationalM&Esystems.
3.3 WhataretheInteractionsbetweenM&ESystemsandPolicies?
The value of evidencebased policymaking in education has been well documented and argued
widely as discussed in the preceding sections. The true impact of policies can be realized only
48
NationalTreasury.2007.FrameworkforProgrammePerformanceInformation.Pretoria,SouthAfrica.
49
Engela,R.,andT.Ajam.2010.ImplementingaGovernmentWideMonitoringandEvaluationSysteminSouthAfrica.ECD
WorkingPaperSeriesNo.21,WorldBank,Washington,DC.
50
CLEAR,2013.AfricanMonitoringandEvaluationSystemsWorkshopReport,UniversityofWitwatersrand,Johannesburg.
51
RepublicofKenya.2012.APolicyFrameworkforAction:AligningEducationandTrainingtotheConstitutionofKenyaand
KenyaVision2030andbeyond,Nairobi.
52
Sivagnanasothy,V.Nodate.MonitoringandEvaluationSysteminSriLanka:Experiences,ChallengesandtheWayForward,
MinistryofPlanImplementation,SriLanka.
53
GovernmentofPapuaNewGuinea.2008.PapuaNewGuineaVision2050,NationalStrategicPlanningTaskforce,PNG.
28

throughsystematicmonitoringoftheimplementationofthepolicyandmeasurementofitsimpact.
AgoodM&Esystemcanhelppolicymakersandplannersarticulatebetterevidencedrivenpolicies
thattakeintoaccountboththepoliticalperspectiveandtheuserperspective.

Thissectionpresentsthethreemainfindingsfromtheregionalreviews:

1. M&E systems continue to lay more emphasis on gathering voluminous data but with low
utilizationofevidenceforpolicyformulationsandplanningprocess.
2. Despiteincreasinglevelsofparticipationoflocalstakeholdersintheprovisionofeducation,their
activeparticipationinmonitoringisnotapparent.
3. Localcommunitiesareoftenunlikelytouseevidencefromevaluations.

i. M&Esystemscontinuetolaymoreemphasisongatheringvoluminousdatabutwith
lowutilizationofevidenceforpolicyformulationandplanningprocess

As discussed in the earlier section, there is abundant data that is being produced by various M&E
systems through school census, school assessments, and other M&E initiatives. These days, many
countrieshavemadetheirstatisticalreportsandschooldatabaseonline.InPalestine,allquantitative
data for various indicators are compiled through existing databases using computerized matrix
linked with the computerized financial system. These computerized calculation mechanisms are
used in transforming qualitative results to quantitative measures. The monitoring mechanisms for
theschoolinformationsystemarecomputerizedandplacedonthewebpagetolinkwithschoolson
an ongoing basis via the Internet. The publication of the reports on the web page of the ministry
consolidates public awareness. Chile is another example of country which publishes its education
data on its website. In Colombia, school level and aggregate SABER test results are widely
disseminatedandavailabletodownloadonICFESswebsite.

Yet, although availability of such comprehensive information could help policy makers to identify
areas that need more attention, such as dropouts, achievements, accessibility in remote areas,
quality of teaching etc. but often they are not being used for the policymaking process, as is the
caseinEthiopia,Lebanon,NepalandBolivia.54Utilizationofevidenceisdependentonthewaythe
information is disseminated. It may be that the information that is produced may not cater to
specific user demand or for a specific audience. For example, in Colombia, the information
disseminated does not cater to the specific needs of local policymakers, principals, teachers and
parents.Itcatersmoretonationalpolicymakersandthepress.AnotherexampleisMyanmar,where
itisreportedthatschoolsandteachersarenotbeinginformedonwhatthedatareports,andthat
theanalysesarenotbeingusedtoimpactanyimprovementinthecurriculum,educationpolicy,or
planning. Similarly, in Nepa, while there is a standard and welldeveloped school record keeping
system, it is yet to cater to the needs of schools in areas of management, decisionmaking, and
enhancementofteachinglearningprocesstoimprovequalityofeducation.InthecaseofEgypt,it
hasbeenreportedinthecasestudythatreportsproducedbytheM&Esystemsareeitherroutinely
generated regardless of demand or produced on ad hoc basis. According to the Ethiopia country
report,theEMISdatabaseneedstoberevisedtoincludecomprehensivedataonhumanresources,
information on state of infrastructure and assets. It is also weak in catering to performance
measurement data at district and school levels as also with regard to information on financial
management.

54
29

Inaddition,dissemination mechanismstosubnational levelareoftenpoorin manycountries.For

example, statistical reports may be too technical with many aggregated tables, or may be
disaggregatedonlyattheprovincial/districtlevelandnotfurtherdown.Thenationaldatamaynot
be of much help when it comes to some micro subprovincial or district level in some remote
inaccessible area where such rates are not known. It is not uncommon to come across situations
where certain macro level data look quite fair but not so at particular micro levels, for example,
enrolment rates or dropout rates. Therefore, culling out and disseminating relevant data at such
levels, and in a timely manner, gains importance for local level programme planning and
implementation. In addition, most publications (especially in Africa) are in English or French, and
thereforenotmanyatthelocallevelsareabletousethem.
Furthermore,theperceivedunreliabilityofdatawouldbeanotherreasonforlittleuseofsuchdata
forinformedpolicyformulationandplanning.Forexample,theRegionalReviewofM&Epracticesin
theAsiaPacificregionmentionsthattherearelowlevelsoftrustinthequalityofdataproducedin
manycountries.Whilesomecountriesproduceabundantdata,thelackoftrustinthequalityofthe
data and lack of necessary capacity among the lower levels of education systems, such as in
MyanmarandNepal,canalsoleadtopoorutilizationofdataforpolicymaking(UNESCOBangkok,
2015).55
Anotherfactorrelatedtothepooruseofdataforevidencepolicymakingisthelackofcultureand
technical capacity to fully harness M&E systems as pointed out in the Regional Review of M&E
systemsinLatinAmerica(ElacquaandAlves,2015).Thereviewpointsoutthatmanycountriesdo
generateabundantdata,butnotmuchofitisfoundtobeinformingpolicymaking.Thisisalsothe
caseintheArabregionwithmanycountries,suchasLebanon,Jordan,EgyptandPalestineproducing
substantialdatawithnopropermeasurestoensureevidencebasedpolicymakinginpractice.The
regional reports of M&E systems in the Arab region and in Africa also mention that there is low
utilization of data for policymaking, and even when it does, it is influenced by political decisions
(UNESCO,2014,56UNESCO,201457).Atthenationallevel,mostpolicymakersareoftentoobusyto
read and thoroughly understand the implications for policy of a statistical report. Again, in some
cases,lackofcapacityandinclinationmaybethecause.Insuchcircumstances,theytendtodepend
ontheirownintuitiongainedfromlongyearsofexperience,fromthesociopoliticalcontexttheyare
familiar with, and from short briefs prepared for them that tend to gloss over finer details and
disparitiesthatexistatthelocallevel.Theendresultisthatmostoftheselocallevelproblemsfailto
attract the attention of top policy makers and hence get neglected. At subnational levels, even
though the functionaries may not have such time constraints as compared to the toplevel
functionaries, they still may lack adequate capacity in data appreciation, resulting in monitoring
alerts not getting acted upon properly. The situation at the micro level is no better given the
functionariesat thatlevelnotevenknowing why theyare collecting information and not knowing
whatthedatameanattheirlevels.
The normal benchmark for the effectiveness of an M&E system is the extent to which the
information produced is utilized. Effectiveness is also linked with its sustainability. In short, for
evaluations to be useful, they must be used (OECDDAC, 1991). When evidence is wellutilized it
improvestheoverallefficiencyoftheM&Esystem(e.g.Brazil,ChileandRepublicofSouthKorea).58
55
UNESCOBangkok,EPRUnit.2015.PracticesonMonitoringandEvaluationofEducationSystems,UNESCO,Bangkok.
56
UNESCO.2014.ComparativeReviewofPoliciesandPracticesonM&EofEducationSystems:ArabStatesReport(draftversion,
September).
57
UNESCO.2015.PracticesonMonitoringandEvaluationofEducationSystems:AfricaRegionalSynthesisReport,AddisAbaba.
58
Opcit.
30

Despite increasing levels of participation of local stakeholders in the provision of

education,theiractiveparticipationinmonitoringisnotapparent
Inmostdevelopingcountries,responsibilityforprovidingbasiceducationhasbeenwiththenational
governments. However, a result of the growing number of countries that have gone in for
decentralizationoftheireducationsystem,transferringofresponsibilitiestothesubnationallevel
has taken various forms including devolving management responsibilities to lower levels of
government. In many countries, the civil society plays the role of provider of education to the
socially marginalized and the poor, and in some other cases they constitute the only source of
education, such as in the refugee camps in Kenya59, or providing essential services including
educationtoremoteindigenouspopulation in Nepal60andthePhilippines.61 Communities get also
involvedinprovidingsupplementaryresourcestotheeducationsystemasforexample,inBhutan,
manyprimaryschoolsarerunbythecommunity62,andinCambodiatheschoolsystemheavilyrelies
oninputsfromthecommunity63.Therearesimilarcasesoftheprivatesectorgettinginvolvedinthe
provision of education, such as Azim Premji Foundation in India, and Agha Khan Foundation (AKF)
workinginseveralcountriesofAfricaandAsia.
However,unlikeothersocialdevelopmentsectorssuchaspovertyreduction,agriculture,health,and
communityempowerment,thequantumandqualityofinvolvementofstakeholders,suchasNGOs,
FBOs and the communities, in M&E of education appears to be very negligible. Although many
countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific also have apex NGO coordinating bodies,
which could provide a platform for better coordination of monitoring progress among NGOs and
betweenNGOs,governmentsanddonoragencies,however,widerandmoresystematicinvolvement
ofNGOs,andmorebroadlythecommunity,inmonitoringactivitiesbygovernmentsisfoundtobe
lowintheeducationsector.Inmanycases,thepresenceofapexNGOcoordinatingbodiesinmany
countries occasionally triggers their involvement by the government in the planning or the
disseminationstagesofaprogramme,butthiscanbynomeansbeconsideredasbeinginvolvedin
theprocessofmonitoring.Forexample,theSouthAfricareportstatesthatalthoughcivilsocietyhas
influence it has tended to be largely peripheral to the activities of the state. In Chile, voluntary
services are limited to establishingand distributing awardsfor excellencetoteachers,butnothing
morethanthat.
Another observation in this regard is that developing the role of community in monitoring has
remained largely an idea on paper and has not been translated into reality. Even where attempts
havebeenmadetooperationalizethisconcept,theyhavebeensoroutinizedthatattheendofitall
they have remained mere ritualistic meetings for purposes of record only. Community monitoring
can be effective only when the target groups are trained in the appreciation and use of data for
monitoring and evaluating the performance of a school or a learning institution situated in the
community. The lesson is that for doing this, the data need to be simplified and presented tothe
community monitoring and evaluation committees in a manner that makes sense to them and
therebymayspurthemtoactiontoremedytheproblemsituationsbroughttotheirnotice.
There are still some examples of communityled initiatives monitoring in education, such as ASER
(India and Pakistan) and UWEZO (Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda) where volunteers and parents are
59
Mackinnon,H.2014.EducationinEmergencies:TheCaseofDadaabRefugeeCamps,CIGI,PolicyBrief,No.47.from
www.cigionline.org
60
SeeNEFINathttp://www.nefin.org.np/list/AboutNEFIN/4/0/13
61
Seehttp://www.cpaphils.org/about1.php
62
BhutanRoyalGovernment.1999.EducationforAll:anassessmentoftheProgress,MinistryofHealthandEducation,Thimphu.
63
Bray,M.1999.ThePrivateCostsofPublicSchooling:parentalandcommunityfinancingofprimaryeducationinCambodia.
UNESCOIIEP,Paris.
31

involvedincollectingannualstudentperformancedataandsurveysatthehouseholdlevel.Results
of such assessments are communicated to the governments, ministries, teachers and parents
regarding the quality of the schools. These assessments are being used as accountability and
governancemechanismsbycommunitiesandcivilsocietyorganizationstoraiseissuesofeducation
delivery and quality (Banerjee et.al, 2010).64 Nevertheless, the results of their surveys and studies
arehardlytakenintoconsiderationinpolicyformulationprocesses.
Localcommunitiesareoftenunlikelytouseevidencefromevaluations
Increasinglevelsofparticipationbyvariousplayersincludingthelocalcommunitiesintheprovision
of education have generated greater demand from stakeholders for more evidence to ensure
greateraccountabilityandtransparency.However,theabilitytoeffectivelyutilizesuchevidencefor
monitoringishamperedbyseveralreasons:
Thefirstreasonrelatestodifficultiesinaccessingsuchinformation.Inmanycountriesthereisaright
of the public to obtain any information from the public domain or any information that is not
classified. There are also special commissioners in some countries to ensure the provision of such
informationtomembersofthepublicwhomaywanttohavesuchinformation.However,itisnot
uncommontoseesomehesitationonthepartofthefunctionariesinchargeofsuchinformationto
part with the same on demand. The process of obtaining such specialized information, or
information pertaining to particular micro level units, is usually desultory at best. This may
discourage such seekers from further pursuing their enquiry. In addition, many countries try to
restrictaccesstosuchdataduetosociopoliticalorotheradministrativereasons.
Thesecondpointrelatestopoorqualityofdata.Insomecountries,datacollectionmechanismsmay
notbereliableandoftenthedatathatisproducedisnotofgoodqualityandrelevance.Therehave
beeninstanceswherethelogicofcausalrelationshipsbetweentwovariablesthatarecorrelatedhas
been found to be too weak to gain credence. Confusing formats of crosstabulations are also not
uncommon.Importantlocallevelinformationsuchasthesocioeconomiccontextofthelearnerare
usually not covered fully in the final reporting formats. Furthermore, timeliness is also one of the
qualityfactorstobeconsidered.Thisincludestimelinessinthereportingprocessfromsubnational
tonationallevels,andintheresponsemechanismfromnationaltosubnationallevel.Sincethetime
takenbetweenthecollectionofdataandthepublicationofdataisusuallyquitelong,oftenmicro
level planners and administrators atlocal levels never gettousethefinalproduct in atimelyand
hence useful manner. Ensuring such timeliness will not only involve making available suitable
infrastructure and training, but will also entail some attitudebuilding exercises for the staff
concerned,particularlyatsubnationalandschoollevels,togainabetterunderstandinganduseof
M&E.
Some sensitive issues and low priority aspects, such as refugee education (Arab and African
countries),migrantpopulations(AsiaPacific),prisoneducation(Africa),andtribaleducation(South
Asia)getlessreportedandarelargelyunaccountedfor.Apprehensionaboutperceptionofcertain
data by the public as reflecting performance in a poor light may result in a lack of trust about
providingsuchdataonthepartofdataproviders.Insomecases,wherelackadaisicalperformanceis
revealed,governmentsmaynottrustthecivilsocietyandthecommunity,ingeneral,forfearoftheir
using the information to create complications for the government. For this reason, there is a
conventionalinhibitionamongdataprovidersagainstdisclosingtoomuchinformationastheyfear
thatitmayleadtocomplications,andsometimestoavoidabletroublewithorforthegovernment.
64
Banerjee,A.,Banerji,R.,Duflo,E.,Glennerster,R.andKhemani,S.2010.PitfallsofParticipatoryPrograms:Evidencefroma
RandomizedEvaluationinEducationinIndia.AmericanEconomicJournal:EconomicPolicy2010,2:1,130.
32

Tociteanexample,theadventofsocialmediaandothersocialnetworksthatuseelectronicmedia
hasincreasedthepressureongovernmentsandministriesofeducationtoreleasecertaindata,such
asexamresultsinatimelymanner.InAfrica,NGOssuchasUwezo,functioninginTanzania,Uganda
andKenya,havemadeuseofmobilephonestoinstantlyreleaseresultsoftheirstudentassessments
tothepublic.Asaresult,theperformanceofstudentsisdiscussedanddebatedwidelyinthepublic
arena, thanks to mass media and social media. This has raised several questions aimed at the
government regarding the outcomes of education in terms of the capacity and skill levels of
students.
The last point here relates to lack of ownership of information due to lack of awareness of the
importance of evidence and its potential use. Often in countries with low literacy levels, such as
Niger, Afghanistan, Somalia and Bangladesh, there is less awareness about the importance of
education.Again,duetoculturalreasons,certaincommunitiesmayignore suchevidence,like,for
example, girls education (in some countries from the Arab region, subSaharan Africa and South
Asia),andinsomecasessuchignoringmayalsobeduetothelackofcertainbasicinfrastructurein
schools, such as proper toilets for girl students. Education also may receive a low priority in the
perceptionofcertaincommunitiesthatfaceconflictandmigration.Insuchcases,thecommunities
aremoreconcernedabouttheirsurvivalandconsidereducationalowpriority.Lowdemandandlack
ofownershipofevidenceiscommoninthesecasesaswell.
33

SECTIONIVKEYPOLICYLESSONS

4.1 Introduction
Thefollowingsectionlistssomekeypolicylessonsbasedontheregionalreviewsandcountrycase
studiescommissionedbyUNESCO,Paris.Severalroundsofregionalandexpertsmeetings,literature
reviewsandothersecondaryresearchhavealsobeenconductedtoascertainthevalueofselecting
thesecriticalpolicylessonsforthisglobalsynthesis.Thereviewprocesshasconsideredthefollowing
issuesbasedonwhichthepolicylisthasbeendeveloped.Theyare:
availabilityofthenecessaryinstitutionalandorganizationalcondition;
utilizationoftechnology;
availabilityandproperutilizationofresources;
interestandcommitmentofthestakeholders;
methodologiesusedfordatacollection;
datadisseminationandutilizationbyitsintendedusers;and
waysinwhichthesystemisinteractingwithotherrelatedM&Esystems.
Thislistdoesnotclaimtobeeitherdefinitiveorexhaustive,andrecognizesthefactthatthereisa
possibility of adding other aspects to it. A closer look at this list would also reveal some overlaps
whichshouldbeconsideredinevitableinasubjectlikethis.M&Eisnotastatic,oneoffentity,buta
dynamicprocessthatcutsacrossactivitiesundertakenbydifferentsectorsthatprovideeducation,
as they normally happen in a typical educational system; from conception and formulation of an
issue into a policy, designing of a programme or initiative, the process of implementing the
programmeorinitiative,andmeasurementofitseventualresultoroutcome.
The list can also be further broken down into more lessons; but the purpose of this exercise is to
synthesize some major global concerns regarding M&E in terms of policy lessons and
recommendations for further actions on them. The policy lessons are broadly grouped under the
followingthreeheadings:
Promotingstrongnationalownership;
Strengtheningsystematiccoordination;
DesigningM&Easatoolfordecisionmakingatthenational,subnationalandschoollevels.
4.2 PolicyLessons
4.2.1.Promotingstrongnationalownership
Countrieslackingstrongnationalownership,aswellasownershipatsubnationalorlocallevels,
areunabletohavesustainableM&Esystems
TheParisDeclaration(2005)establishedcountryownershipasakeyprincipleofaideffectiveness
whereby partner countries exercise effective leadership over their development policies and
strategiesandcoordinatedevelopmentactions.65
65
OECD.2011."AidEffectiveness200510:ProgressinimplementingtheParisDeclaration",OECDPublishing,Paris.
34

Strong national ownership and leadership is the most important critical factor for ensuring good
developmentoutcomesandgoodmonitoringandevaluationsystemsforeducation.Theownership
principle in the Paris Declaration states that partner (developing and transition) countries will
exercise effective leadership over their development policies and strategies and coordinate
developmenteffortsthemselves.

Theprincipleofownershipmeansthatcountriesshouldownandleadtheirowncountrylednational
monitoringandevaluationsystems.LackofownershipcanresultinaweakM&Esystemwhichcan
affecttheevidencebasedpolicyandplanningeffortsineducationatthenationallevel.Theroleof
donors and international organizations can be to provide support for sustainable national
monitoring and evaluation through capacity development. However, such capacity development
must be owned and internalized by the countries concerned and used to develop their own M&E
systems.AnM&Esystemisatawelldevelopedstagewhenitisindependentand/orsynergetic,and
often has good national ownership as demonstrated in many Latin American countries, such as
Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Argentina.66 In Brazil, the M&E system is used for formulation,
implementation and evaluation of policies and programmes at all levels. Also, the M&E system
includesallstagesofeducationfromearlychildhoodeducationtotertiaryeducation.Thisispossible
because of the strong national ownership and realization of the need for a welldeveloped and
coordinatedM&Esystemforeducation(ElaquaandAlves,2015).
Another dictum of a good M&E system is that the data collected should be analyzed at levels as
close to their collection point as possible. However, data collection at the subnational level, and
other micro levels, rarely get analyzed and discussed at those levels and this puts the element of
ownershipatgreatrisk.Thisisacommonscenarioincountrieseveninanindependentorsynergetic
stageofdevelopment.Forexample,countriessuchasIndia,SriLanka,Kenya,Tanzania(mainland),
Rwanda, Jordan, Lebanon and Vietnam67 have district level or provincial level data collection
mechanisms,butthedatacollectedissenttothecentralEMISunitwithoutmuchusemadeofitfor
monitoring or planning at the district or local level. The final products that come out of EMIS, i.e.
statisticalreports,haveverylittleimpactatthelocallevel.Thismayresultinsituationswherethe
administrators,managersandteachersatsubnationallevels(provincial,districtorschool)areoften
engagedinthecollectionofdataareoftennotfullyawareofthepurposeofcollectingthedata,and
what their possible relevance might be for them in their activities. Therefore, there is hardly any
surprisewhenthefunctionariesattheselevelsconsidersuchdatacollectionasamereroutinewhich
they have to follow just because it is demanded of them by their immediate supervisors, senior
officersoftheministryorbytherepresentativesofadonoragency.
In sum, ownership and accountability are considered two important aspects that sustain an M&E
system (Whitty, B. 2010;68 Busia, K. 201069). They can lead to developing a holistic approach to
accountabilitywhichpromotesbetterutilizationofinformationatalllevelsandbyallstakeholders,
asdemonstratedinsomeoftheadvancedM&Esystemsmentionedearlierinthisdocument.
Withineachcountry,M&Esystemsshouldbedesignedastolookatthespecificemergingissuesin
education
66
ElacquaandAlves.2015.(draft)M&EinEducationinLatinAmerica,UNESCO.
67
68
Whitty,B.2010.DomesticandMutualAccountabilityforAid:BuildingStrongerSynergies,InterimSynthesisPaper,One
WorldTrustfortheCommonwealthSecretariat,UK.
69
Busia,K.2010.SouthernPerspectivesonAidandAccountability:ECAInputs,APRMSupportSection,UnitedNations
EconomicCommissionforAfrica,AddisAbaba.
35

Therearestructuralvariationsbetweenthedifferentcountriesinthedeliveryofeducationservices
to the various target groups. Therefore, the issues of coordination of M&E systems within the
contexts of such structural variations need to be addressed adopting a countryspecific approach.
Someexamplesareexaminedbelow.
In many countries, basic education, tertiary education, nonformal education, literacy and early
childhood care and education are run by different ministries or departments (Kenya, Nepal,
Tanzania, et al) with no proper coordination mechanism in place. In India, there is a separate
Ministry of Women and Child Development in charge of running an early childhood care and
educationprogrammethroughitsICDS(IntegratedChildDevelopmentServices)programme.70This
situationhas,inturn,resulted in thecreationof several databases; sometimes more than onefor
each department/ministry (India and Sri Lanka). In India, the early childhood care and education
programmeismonitoredbytheMISoftheWomenandChildDevelopmentMinistry,whichisquite
apart from the EMIS of the Department of Education, which is under the Human Resource
DevelopmentMinistry.
Furthermore, several countries have been engaged in the process of conducting comprehensive
national assessments of their progress towards achieving EFA goals since 2000. The countryled
assessmentsinAsiaPacificandAfricahaverevealedthatnotmanycountriesintheseregionshave
hadaclearM&Eplanstoaddressmanyoftheemergingissuesthatmaybespecifictoeachcountry.
For example, peace education is a critical issue in many postconflict countries or countries which
havefacedsomeissuesrelatedtoisolatedviolence,suchas,forinstance,inKenya,UgandaandSri
Lanka.71But,noclearlyfocused and issuespecificM&Emechanismisavailabletocapturedataon
thevariouspeaceeducationinitiativesundertakeninthesecountries.
IntheArabregion,therearetwomajoremergingissuesthatarecommontomanycountries.The
first issue is linked to ongoing or new conflicts of political, religious or ethnic nature in many
countries, including Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Tunisia, and Egypt and to some
extentJordan.Internalconflictshaveledtothemovementofpopulations(refugeesandIDPs)which,
inturn,haveraised the issue ofprovision ofeducation to such populations.The secondemerging
issue is centred on the concept known as Arab Spring, which involves provision of social justice
and youth employment. It involves significant changes to the curriculum to integrate peace
education, 21st Century skills, etc. Such issues pose new challenges from the angle of monitoring
which,then, raises critical issuesregardingthe properdesigning ofan M&E system that is flexible
enoughtointegratesuchdimensions(UNESCO,ArabRegionalReviewReportofM&E,2014).
GoodM&Esystemsarewellequippedtoreporteffectivelyonallemergingoutcomesofeducation
programmes,includingitsalliedareas,namely,EarlyChildhoodCareandEducation;Technicaland
Vocationaleducation;andLiteracyandLifeskillseducation
An important lesson to reiterate in this context is that even though several countries have been
engagedintheprocessofconductingcomprehensivenationalassessmentsoftheirprogresstowards
achievingEFAgoalssince2000,thecountryledassessmentsinAsiaPacificandAfricahaverevealed
thatnotmany,ifany,ofthecountriesintheseregionshavehadaclearM&Eplantoaddressmany
of the emerging issues that may be specific to their country. For example, peace education is a
critical issue in many postconflict countries or countries which have faced some issues related to
disturbing the peace and isolated violence, such as, for instance, in Kenya, Uganda, Afghanistan,
TimorLesteandNigeria.However,noclearlyfocusedandissuespecificM&Emechanismisavailable
tocapturedataonthevariouspeaceeducationinitiativesundertakeninthecountries.Similarly,for
70
ForfurtherinformationonICDSsee:http://wcd.nic.in/icds.htm
71
NationalEFAAssessmentReportsofSriLanka(2008),Kenya(2011),Uganda(2012).
36

HIV and AIDS education; although it has been widely discussed in many countries of the world,
especiallyinAfrica,itsM&Efactorisseentobequiteweak.ThereisnosystematicintegrationofHIV
andAIDSeducationdataintotheeducationdatabaseandthemonitoringofprogrammesarelargely
driven by donor agencies with no clear framework or standards for M&E being developed by the
governments. While some countries (South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda) have
made great progress in the areas of HIV and AIDS education, what one learns is that there is a
general lack of availability of systematic and reliable tools to measure these achievements. Even
where such information can be obtained through proxy indicators identified from Demographic
HealthSurveys(oftenproducedbyMinistriesofHealth)bytheMinistryofEducationitsuseseems
tobeverynegligible.
Asdiscussedearlier,theimpetusforM&Eindevelopingcountrieshasemergedfrominternational
multilateralandbilateraldonoragencies,andislargelyduetothecriticalnatureofthecrisesthat
many of these countries have faced, in terms of health (HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria), and poverty
(famine,drought,armedconflictandmigration).However,itisseenthatmanyemergingissuesare
notproperlymonitoredduetoapaucityofdata.Oftentheseprogrammesarerunasdonordriven
initiatives with specific objectives and expected outputs. Measuring outcomes of some of the
emerginginitiatives,suchaspeaceeducation,lifeskills,nomadiceducation,refugeeeducation,21st
Century skills, HIV and AIDS education, citizenship and sustainable development, warrants the
availabilityofbothqualitative and quantitativedata inordertostudy progress and assess impact.
This is often found to be difficult due to the traditional quantitative study design of most data
collectionformatsintheministriesofeducation.
TheCaseofHIVandAIDSEducation:HIVandAIDS hasbecomeoneofthemajorobstaclesformanycountries,
especiallythepooreranddevelopingcountriesinsubSaharanAfrica,SouthAsiaandSEAsiainachievingEFAby
thetargetdateof2015.ApartfromotherchallengesthathindertheprogressofacountrytoreachtheEFAtarget,
HIVandAIDSaddssubstantiallyhighercosts.Itisestimatedthatbecauseoftheepidemic,33countriesinsub
Saharan Africa would need an additional US$286 million a year to meet EFA goals (Bruns et al, 2003).1 While
countries,suchasSouthAfrica,Kenya,Tanzania,RwandaandUganda,havemadegreatprogressintheareasof
HIVandAIDSeducation,1thereisagenerallackofavailabilityofsystematicevidencetomeasureachievementsin
thisregard.Forexample,thereisacriticalshortageofreliableanddisaggregateddataonabsenteeismofstudents
andteachers,teachershortages,classroomandschoolclosures,classsizesandschoolenrolments,inrelationto
HIV and AIDS, and all lacking data disaggregated by sex and age. This shows that education ministries need
appropriateM&EsystemstoprovidecomprehensivedataabouttheimpactofHIVandAIDSonlearners,teachers
and schools in order to inform policy makers and planners for the purpose of developing better targeted
interventionswithbuiltinmechanismsfortimelyresponses.WhilemanycountriesdonothaveanM&Esystem
thatcancatertosuchemergingchallenges,somecountrieshavemanagedtoaddresstheissuesuccessfully.For
example,UgandahasreducedHIV/AIDSprevalencefrom14percent intheearly1990stoabout 4.1percentin
2003. Uganda is one of a few countries in Africa to achieve such a drastic reduction. An important tool in this
successwastheuseofevidenceandinformationtoeducateUgandansabouttheexistenceofHIV/AIDSandways
toprotectthemselves(Bakilana,A,etal,2005).1AnotherexamplethatcanbecitedofsuccessfulM&Ethathas
incorporatedHIVandAIDSmonitoringisthecaseofZambia(UNESCO,2008).1TheZambianMinistryofEducation
has established many critical components necessary for a comprehensive response to HIV and AIDS, including:
pilotingadistricteducationmanagementandmonitoringinformationsystem(DEMMIS),andcreatingstructures
withclearlydefinedfunctionsandresponsibilitiesestablishedatnational,provincial,districtandschoollevels.
37

4.2.2.Strengtheningsystematiccoordination
The need for an overarching coordination framework across all institutions responsible for the
provisionofeducation
Furthermore,theprocessofeducationfrompreschooltothecompletionofhighereducation,orits
equivalent, is a process that spans over 15 years depending on the choice of stream that an
individual pursues. Monitoring
progress of an individuals ThecaseforECCE: TheEFAperspectiveisthatECCEisonegoalthat
education and hoping that the relies heavily on intersectoral coordination and benefits from an
desired outcome will be effective decentralization of services. However, GMR 2010 notes
achieved at the end is a that coordination between the relevant sectors is weak (especially
formidable challenge for any forservicesforchildrenaged03years).Still,somecountries,such
as Thailand, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines
government. It is widely
havebeensuccessfulinintegratingthevariousservicesprovidedfor
accepted that the availability of ECCE through coordination mechanisms developed at the national
comprehensive, systematic and level. Bangladesh ECD Network and the Philippines ECD Council
reliable information can help promotebettercoordinationbetweentheMOEandtheMinistryof
governments to monitor any Health and other agencies (ARNEC 2010).20 However, many such
cohortofstudentsoveraperiod efforts suffer from a lack of accurate, reliable, valid and
oftime.Theexistingmonitoring disaggregated data. Some countries in the AsiaPacific region also
mechanisms for education face the challenge of a lack of proper integration of data from 21
around the world have been different sectors to make M&E more effective (ARNEC 2011 ,
developed separately under
different institutional arrangements. As a result, most education monitoring systems lack an
overarchingcoordinationframeworkthatworksbothhorizontallyacrosstheministriesandvertically
toincludealllevelsofthegovernmentandalllevelswithintheMOE.
Evidence from countries of the African, AsianPacific, Arab and Latin American72 regions suggests
weakcoordinationwithinMOEsandbetweenlineministriesresponsibleforeducation.Forexample,
inMyanmar,theMOE,theMinistryofBorderAffairsandtheMinistryofReligiousAffairsallcollect
data on the education programmes they implement independently using different methods and
frequency for collection. Similarly, in Malaysia, about 38 divisions of MOE are responsible for
monitoring their own divisions. Each division collects its own data and is responsible for such
collectionandanalysisacrossthefederal,stateandlocallevelsoftheeducationsystem.73However,
manycountrieshaverealizedtheneedforastrongverticalandastronghorizontalcoordinationfor
effectiveandefficientfunctioningofM&E,andformanyplansarebeingmadetorealizethisneed.
EvenverysmallcountriesinthePacificregion,suchastheSolomonIslands,74Kiribati75andFiji76have
made good progress in trying to strengthen the coordination within and across their respective
systems.
72
73
UNESCOBangkok.2015.PracticesonMonitoringandEvaluationofEducationSystems(workingdraft),Bangkok.
74
Pedersen,EricandCoxon,Eve.2009.ReviewofSolomonIslandsEducationSectorwideApproachArrangement,Pedersen
PierceLtd,NewZealand.
75
MOEKiribati.2008.NationEducationSummitOutcomesandEducationSectorStrategicPlan,MOE,Kiribati.
76
MinistryofEducation,Fiji.2014.SchoolstandardMonitoringandInspectionPolicy,Nadi,Fiji.
38

Properandsystematiccommunicationandcoordinationwithinandbetweengovernmentline
ministries/departmentswillresultinmoreeffectivemonitoring.
Even though it is widely accepted that the availability of comprehensive, systematic and reliable
informationcanhelpgovernmentsmonitoranycohortofstudentsoveraperiodoftime,theexisting
monitoring mechanisms for education around the world have been developed separately under
different institutional arrangements. As a result, most education monitoring systems lack an
overarching coordination and communication framework or an explicit reporting and governance
structuretomakethemmoreeffective.
The education sector in most countries can deal more effectively with this challenge through a
process of close observation and learning from other sectors which may be doing this better. For
instance,thiscanbedonebylearningoftheeffectivecoordinationmechanismsintheHealthand
Agriculturesectors.
Thereisaneedforeffectivemonitoringofstudentsallthewayuntiltheycompletetheirschooling
andhighereducation.Somecountries,suchasBrazil,Peru,RepublicofKoreaandSouthAfrica,have
come up with different mechanisms to monitor the implementation of some of their own
programmesthroughcoordination.However,notallsucheffortsareconsideredtobeeffective.
Anefficientintersectoralcoordinationframeworkismuchneededinordertointegratethereporting
processesformonitoringtheimplementationofpolicyrecommendationsandforclarifyingthelines
ofresponsibilityandaccountabilityofthedifferentfunctionariesacrosssectorsinordertofacilitate
the process of consistent and timely implementation of policy recommendations (World Bank,
2007).Suchaframeworkwillensurebettercoordinationbetweendifferentmechanismsdeveloped
by different ministries and will efficiently utilize the monitoring efforts of each ministry. This will
reducetheriskoftheduplicationofeffortsandensurethatallpriorityareaswithintheeducation
sectorgettheneededattentionandthoroughcoveragethattheydeserve.
However,itmustberecognizedthatthisiseasiersaidthandone.Thelessonlearnedisthatthereis
a real challenge in ensuring that the implementation of monitoring processes is comprehensive,
rigorousandtimelyandthattheypromotetheoverallcoherenceandcrosssectoralconsistencyof
implementation.
Anotherlessonlearnedisthattheimplementationofaneffectivecoordinationmechanismrelieson
strongleadershipatthetopleveloftheadministrationandontheparticipationofalltheconcerned
ministries.
Animportantlessonlearntfromthesediscussionsisthatharmonizationoftheemergingdatasets
from different sources in the developing countries is still unrealized. In contrast, an increasing
number of developing countries are now systematically using M&E for education for project
management,financialplanningandprojectevaluation.Anotherlearningpointisthateventhough
theuseofEMISforschoolmonitoringandevaluationisarealityinmanycountries,issuesofquality
ofinfrastructureandthecapacityofpersonnel,stillremain.
4.2.3.DesigningM&Easatoolfordecisionmakingatthenational,subnationalandschool
levels
39

TheprioritizationofM&Easanintegralpartofanyprogrammeorplanningcyclehasbeenshown
toproduceagoodM&Esystem
The effectiveness of a good M&E system depends on several factors, such as coordination among
line ministries and departments, and between all stakeholders, the availability of financial and
humanresources,thepotentialforgeneratinghighqualityandreliableevidence,andtheavailability
ofnecessaryinfrastructureforsuchasystemtofunction.
National M&E systems focus on measuring the results produced by the programmeimplementing
departments. Again, such M&E systems may exist at the level of an individual agency, a specific
department,theministry,orthegovernmentasawhole.However,whatisgermanetothispolicy
issue is whether such M&E can provide unique information about the performance of education
policies, programmes, and projects at the national and subnational levels. It should be able to
identifywhatworks,whatdoesnotwork,andthereasonswhy.Ideally,anM&Eshouldalsoprovide
information about the performance of functionaries at the district level, such as
administrators/managers,andatsubdistrictlevelsrightuptothefrontlineunitsattheschoollevel.
Thefunctioningofsuchaneffectivesystemdependsverymuchupontheextentofprioritygivenfor
M&Eatalllevelsandstagesofaprogrammeanditsimplementation.
However, lessons learned from regional reviews indicate that many countries look at M&E as a
programmespecificactivitythatisoftenrecommendedbyadonoragency.Lowpriorityisgivento
M&Easanimportantmanagementtool,which,inturn,resultsininsufficientallocationoftechnical
staff and financial resources for this component from the concerned countries own budgets. The
endresultofallthisisanirregularandpassivemonitoringandevaluationexercisebeingundertaken
which fails to give the right picture of the outcomes and impact of the overall programme to the
governmentandotherstakeholders.
PrioritizingM&EasanintegralpartofanyprogrammeorplanningcyclecanresultinagoodM&E
system.ThiscanhappenonlywhenawelldevelopedM&Eframeworkisinplace.Aneffectiveand
sustainableM&Esystemhasthreeimportantcharacteristics.Thefirstistheintensiveutilizationof
theM&Einformationprovidedbythesysteminoneormoreofthestagesofthepolicycycleandby
variousstakeholders.Thesecondcharacteristicistheproductionofreliableandqualityinformation,
which should also be relevant and needsbased. The third characteristic has to do with the
sustainabilityoftheM&Esystem,thatis,thelikelihoodofanM&Esystemsurvivingandcontinuing
to be operational and efficient in spite of changes in the government or top officials of the
concerneddepartment/ministry,orthewithdrawaloffundingsupportofadonoragency.
Regularevaluationsarerequiredinordertoassesstheimpactofpoliciesonthetarget
issues/groups
M&Eisacontinuousprocess.Itstartsoffasasimplemonitoringeffortofinputsandoutputsandit
gradually metamorphoses into first, a combination of M&E and thereafter increasingly into an
evaluation of impact. Thus, it may be construed as a process of measuring changes in a given
situationoveraperiodoftime.Suchchangesandtheirquantumandqualitymaybeanticipated;but
sometimestheymaybeunanticipatedtoo.Whatisimportantisthatsuchmeasurementshelpinthe
properunderstandingofthechangesirrespectiveofwhethertheyarepositiveornegative.Expected
changes and windfalls may be positive in nature; however, sometimes some changes may reflect
failuresorunexpectedproblems.Ifthecausesofsuchchangesareunderstoodcorrectly,itmatters
littlewhethertheyarepositiveornegative.Thelatterisparticularlyusefulinrevisingpolicypriorities
or programme planning. It helps programme management a lot in undertaking midcourse
corrections.Henceitisequallyimportant.
40

Monitoringtakesplaceduringaprojectsimplementationphase,moresothaninitsinitialyears,and
itanswersthequestions,whatishappening?And,howisithappening?Onlyagoodevaluationcan
answerthewhyofbothwhathashappenedandwhathasnot.Itmustberememberedthatthereis
nowatertightdivisionofM&Eintodistinctmonitoringandevaluationmodes.Thedistinctionisonly
inthequantumofstressthatislaidontheoneortheotheraspectsatanypointintheprocess.
Most countries give more importance to the monitoring part of M&E and less attention to
evaluation.ItisquiteevidentinmanyNationalEducationSectorPlansthattheM&Esectionfocuses
more on the monitoring of programmes, while evaluations are reduced to midterm and final
evaluations.Mostevaluationsareoftencarriedoutbyconsultantsorindependentagencies,andare
oftendoneasarequirementofdonordrivenprojects.Conventionally,emphasishasbeenmoreon
inputoutputmonitoringagainstbenchmarkswhichtriggerthereleaseoffundtranches.Inthepost
2015 context, however, more emphasis is placed on the outcomes and impact on learning.
Evaluations, if conducted at the right time and done well, can answer the question of impact of
educationonthelearner,andtheimpactofaprogrammeonthetargetgroup(s),etc.
The traditional emphasis on the monitoring aspect may be due in part to the fact that they hinge
largely on conventional datagathering methods, principally survey formats. Even in such formats,
importantinformationfromopenendedquestionsordifficulttocodekindsofquestionsareusually
not summarised because it is extremely difficult to do so in the absence of any coding system to
group them in to convenient codes for purposes of consolidation. Doing it manually is a time
cosumingandtedioustask.Hencetheyarenotusuallycapturedfully.Sometimes,somekeypoints
maybecapturedbutitissubjecttotheinteresttakenbytheanalyser.Thisleadstoasituationof
data processors tending to club vast arrays of responses into a few overall descriptions that they
thinkcouldaccommodateallthevariations.Theresultisthatmostoftheimportantandqualitative
informationrelatingtotheevaluationgoesmissinginthefinalanalysis.
Incaseswherespecialstudiesareconductedonspecificaspectsofaprojectorprogrammethatmay
not lend themselves to closedended types of survey formats, such findings need to be balanced
with the other quantum findings of the main survey. However, in practice, what happens is that
there is distinct lack of balance between ongoing performance monitoring and the conduct of
plannedevaluations.
Duetotheaforesaidreasons,evaluationsareoftenundertakenattheendoftheprojectandtendto
focusontheprojectobjectives.Theyoftendonotlookattheoverallimpactoftheprogrammeon
thegivenpopulation.Instead,theyendupmoreasduplicationsofthemonitoringeffortandfailto
achievetheobjectiveoffindingoutwhathasbeentheimpactofaprojectonitstargetpopulation.
Thus, they are unable to throw sufficient light particularly on problem areas where there is gross
underperformance. A better balance may possibly be achieved by initiating special evaluation
studiesalongsidethemonitoringprocessandwithoutwaitingfortheprojectimplementationphase
to be over. However, it is important to ensure that such special studies are undertaken by fully
trained and competent professionals. An important lesson is to see that such independent
evaluationsareleftfreetoexpresswhattheyactuallyfind,positiveornegative.Onlythenwillthe
findingsbeusefulforpolicychangesandconsequentprogrammedesignchanges.
Finally, evaluation results are often not disseminated widely. Even if disseminated, they are often
not owned by the programme implementers and seldom reach the policy formulators for want of
adequateadvocacyskillsonthepartofthedisseminators.Theyaremostlyjustoneofthefinaltasks
of the project completion phase. They are not seen as a continuum of the M&E system where
findingsfromevaluationmustbeusedforthenextplanningorpolicyformulationcycle.Theresultof
41

all this is that there is hardly any effort to identify advocacy champions to trigger the process of
policy change. The unfortunate lesson here is that using the findings of the evaluation for policy
research, policy analysis and preparation of policy notes and briefs as part of the process of
advocacyforpolicychangeishardlyrecognizedasanessentialpartofM&E.
42

SECTIONVRECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Countries must have a systematic legal framework that recommends the setting up of a
nationalM&Esystemformonitoringandevaluatingeducationperformance
Implementation(TheModality):
1. Advocacy efforts should be taken to the top government level for the development of proper
legalframeworks;
2. If a framework that is already available is old, efforts must be taken to review and revise the
framework,takingintoaccountthecurrentM&Eneeds;
3. Theneededtechnicalsupportfordevelopingtheframeworkshouldbeprovided;and
4. The framework should clarify the roles, responsibilities, and accountability of key players; for
example, division heads, deputy heads, monitoring officers, evaluation specialists, programme
managers, inspectors and others responsible for decisionmaking within the Ministry of
Education.

TargetStakeholders:NationalAuthorities,MinistryofEducation,Parliamentarians
TechnicalSupport:UNESCO
OtherPartners:CivilSociety,INGOs
FundingSupport:NationalGovernment,DevelopmentPartners

FundingRequirement:High(Itwillbeachallengetogetthenecessarypoliticalcommitment.)
FeasibilityLevel:Medium

5.2 In order to ensure that the M&E system becomes effective, a suitable national M&E
framework and relevant standards and mechanisms for monitoring at all levels must be
established
5. AdvocacyeffortsshouldbetakenbyMOEwithallministriesresponsibleforeducation,inorder
to ensure that M&E is made an integral part of all programme planning and implementation
stages;
6. Acoordinationandcommunicationframeworkshouldbedevelopedwithaviewtointegrating
all the reporting processes from the different levels of the various ministries responsible for
educationandformonitoringtheimplementationofsectoralprogrammes;and
7. Suitable measures should be developed to ensure that sufficient communication takes place
acrossthelineministriesanddepartmentsabouttheroleandpurposeofM&Eandhowitcan
helppromoteefficientmanagementofthefunctioningofthesystemandtheprogrammes.

TargetStakeholders:MinistryofEducation,allministriesresponsibleforeducation
OtherPartners:UNICEF

FundingRequirement:Low.(Ithas moretodowithcoordinationarrangementsbetweenMOE
andotherministriesresponsibleforeducation.)
Feasibility Level: Medium. (It will take time to get the coordination between ministries to
functionwell.)

43

5.3 Adequateresources,bothhumanandfinancial,mustbeprovidedforthesettingupofa
nationalM&Esystemforeducation
M&EframeworkmusthaveadetailedbudgetforsettinguptheM&Esystemwithcostsincluded
forbothinfrastructureandtechnicalstaff;
Steps should be taken by the Ministry to ensure that there is strong and committed central
politicalleadershipandacomprehensivenationalM&Eplanavailabletoguidetheactionstobe
takentoachievetheobjectivesoftheM&Esystem;
Efforts should be taken to sensitize all senior government functionaries, including the
ParliamentariansandSenatemembers,soastoensurethatadequateresourcesareallottedfor
supportingthesystematicmonitoringandevaluationofprogrammes;
In addition,attractivestaff incentives and career opportunitiesshouldbe provided in order to
retainhighlyskilledstaffintheM&Eunits;and
Resourcesshouldbededicatedforconductingspecialandparallelevaluationstudies.

OtherPartners:Developmentpartners
FundingSupport:NationalGovernment

FundingRequirement:High(ItwillbeachallengetogetthenecessaryfundsallocatedforM&E.)

5.4 Adequate management capacity should be ensured at the top national level in order to
ensureeffectivecoordinationbetweenministriesimplementingeducationprogrammes

Capacityforableandresponsivemanagementatthetoplevelshouldbemadeavailableinorder
toensuretheproperfunctioningoftheM&Esystemwithinandacrossministriesresponsiblefor
education;
Where such capacity is availablebutfound to beweak, provisionshouldbe madefor building
adequatecapacity.Suchcapacityshouldparticularlyincludeskillsofdataappreciation;
Suchcapableleadershipshouldfurtherensurethatnecessarycapacitiesaresimilarlybuiltinall
thecoordinatinginstitutionsandagenciesatalllevels;
Systematic needs assessment of the technical capacity of the M&E staff must be conducted
periodically;
AdequatefundsandotherresourcesmustbeprovidedforregulartrainingofM&Estaffforsuch
capacity development on various technical aspects of M&E, including its use as a tool for
effectiveandresponsivemanagementofprogrammeimplementation;and
CapacitybuildingofM&Estaffshouldalsoincludeadvocacyskillsforeffectivedisseminationof
evidencetoallstakeholders,includingthepublic.

TargetStakeholders:MinistryofEducation

44

FundingRequirement:High

5.5 Necessaryactionshouldbetakentoensuresystematicandgenuinecoordinationbetween
the M&E system and the other stakeholders, including NGOs, community organizations
and beneficiaries of the project, as well as other relevant ministries, such that there is
transparencyandaccountabilityestablishedandcontinuouslyimprovedupon.
Implementation(Modality):

Actionshouldbetakentoprovideopportunitiesforeducationofficialstobeexposedtomoreof
handson monitoring and coordination work using the different approaches and techniques
suitedtoorinvogueinthedifferentministriesconcernedwitheducation;
Governments should provide a suitable platform to work with the various stakeholders,
includingNGOs,communityorganizationsandthebeneficiaries,intheareasofprojectplanning
andmonitoringofimplementation;
Possibilities of using Apex NGO coordinating bodies, where available, should be explored for
coordinating themonitoringactivitiesofvariousNGOsworkingin several geographicalregions
ofacountryinordertoachieveamoreharmonizedwayofreportingonprogressofprogramme
implementation;
Proactive community and NGO engagement with the Ministry of Education should be
encouragedasawayofensuringsustainedstrengtheningofM&E;and
Greatereffortsshouldbetakentoensurethatbettercoordinationbetweenproducersandusers
of information takes place through effective involvement of community organizations in the
planningandmonitoringprocess.

TechnicalSupport:UNESCO,INGOs,DevelopmentPartners
OtherPartners:CivilSociety,CommunityOrganizations,Media

FundingRequirement:Medium

5.6 Actionshouldbetakentopromoteeffectiveuseofdatabyensuringthatthedataareof
highquality,reliability,timeliness,andeasyaccessibilityandaredisseminatedtousersat
alllevelsfromthetoptotheschoolandcommunitylevels;includingplansinplacetobuild
capacityofstakeholdersandplannersineffectiveuseofdata.

Actionshouldbetakentosensitizealltheconcernedpersonsacrosstheconcernedministriesto
proactively access and use evidence brought out by M&E data for the purpose of improving
programmeimplementation;
Both monitoring and evaluation must be seen as essential inputs to the annual reporting
exercisesoflineministriestoParliament;
Efforts shouldbetakentoinculcate the attitude in all usersof datathat anyevidence is good
evidence if ithelpstoimprovetheperformanceofimplementationandtheneedtomakethe
processofM&Emoretransparentandaccountable;
Suitablemethodologiesmustbeevolvedtocapturetheimpactaspectsofmonitoring;
45

Specificevaluationpoliciesonthenatureofevaluationmustbedraftedincludingrequirements
formakingevaluationreportsavailabletoallstakeholders;
Actionshouldbetakentoensurethatthefindingsofevaluationstudiesformaneffectivebasis
forfurtheractiononpolicyresearch,policyanalysisandpreparationofpolicypapersandbriefs
foradvocacyinordertobringaboutsuitablepolicychanges;
Actionshould betaken to ensurethatthetimeliness ofdatareporting andthe feedbackfrom
topmanagementarestreamlinedsoastomaketheM&Eanoperationalmanagementtoolfor
timelyalterationsinprogrammeplanningandimplementationasperlocalfeltneeds;and
Action should be taken to ensure sensitization, advocacy and capacitybuilding in the use of
informationinanefficientmannertoallstakeholders,includingNGOs,communityorganizations
andbeneficiariesoftheproject,aswellasfunctionariesofotherrelevantministries,suchthatit
resultsinsubstantialimprovementstoeducationperformance.
TargetStakeholders:NationalAuthorities,MinistryofEducation,
TechnicalSupport:UNESCOanddevelopmentpartners
OtherPartners:CivilSociety,INGOs,

FundingRequirement:Medium

5.7 Actionshouldbetakentoimprovethecomprehensivenessofdatacollectioninorderfor
monitoringtoincludeallcriticalissuesandemergingnewareas.

ActionshouldbetakentoreviewtheM&Esystemtoensurethatit includesallnewemerging
areasandcollectsdataonsuchareasrelatedtoeducation,especiallyitsalliedareasandother
critical issues, such as refugee education, peace education, nomads education, and HIV and
AIDSeducation;and
Duetothecrosssectoralnatureofemergingalliedareas,suchasHIVandAIDS,accessmustbe
providedtoM&EstaffofMOEtootherdatabasesoftheconcernedministries.

TargetStakeholders:MinistryofEducation,
TechnicalSupport:UNESCOandDevelopmentPartners
OtherPartners:CivilSociety,FBOs,CommunityOrganizations

FundingRequirement:High
FeasibilityLevel:MediumtoLowdependingontheissueandthelocalsociopoliticalcontext.

5.8 Greateremphasisshouldbeplacedontheuseofstateofthearttechnologyandbuilding
necessary capacity of staff concerned with achieving speed and quality in handling big
data, and also with achieving better harmonization of data across various databases
withintheMOEandbetweenotherconcernedministries.

Actionshouldbetakentointroduce,whereverneeded,stateofthearttechnologyinhandling
voluminousdata with aview to achieving speed and precision inhandling such data; thismay
46

warranttheallocationof adequateresourcesforinstallingtheneededhardware andsoftware

and also for recruiting and training the needed skilled human resources to operate them and
delivertheexpectedresults;
Action should be taken to integrate all the different databases available on other areas of
education, such as ECD, nonformal education, TVET etc., or to find an effective way of
harmonizing all the different data in order to address issues relating to such critical areas of
education;
Asuitabledatadevelopmentstrategymustbeputinplaceforimprovingdataprocessingspeed
and quality which are critical to the credibility of an M&E system. The capacity development
needsoftheM&Estaffmustbediscussedinthedatadevelopmentstrategy;
Actionshouldbetakentoincludeinthedatadevelopmentstrategytheneededtechnicalskillsof
M&E staff to conduct different types of evaluations, since conducting an evaluation is a skill
oftenoverlookedintrainingplansofthesector;and
The stateoftheart technology mentioned above should be made capable of timely
disseminationofresultstothepublic.
TargetStakeholders:MinistryofEducation,OtherRelevantMinistries

FundingRequirement:HighduetohighcostofITinfrastructureandthedataprocessingcosts
47

COMPARATIVEREVIEWOFPOLICIESANDPRACTICESONMONITORINGANDEVALUATIONOF
EDUCATIONSYSTEMS:
ASUMMARYREGIONALREVIEWANDSELECTEDCOUNTRYCASESTUDIES
OverallReviewoftheStatusofM&ESystemsintheAsiaPacificRegion
1. 1.Introduction
Overthepastdecades,countriesintheAsiaPacificregionhavesuccessfullyexpandedcoverageof
educationatalllevels,particularlybasiceducation.Yetissuesofquality,equity,efficiencyand
systemeffectivenessremainmajorconcernsaseducationsystemsintheregionturninmixed
performancesoninternationalandnationalassessments.Giventheincreasinglystrongrecognition
inAsiaPacificoftherolethatrobustdata,monitoringandaccountabilitysystemscanplayin
improvingresourceutilizationandstrengtheningeducationsystemperformance,governmentsand
developmentpartnershavebeeninvestingresourcesinestablishingvariousframeworksand
mechanismsforthemonitoringandevaluationofeducationdevelopment.Despiteitsimportance,
however,therehasnotbeenacomprehensiveandsystemicreviewofthetrendsandevolutionof
educationM&EsystemsintheAsiaPacificregion.
ThisAsiaPacificRegionComparativeReviewofPoliciesandPracticesonM&ESystemswasguided
bytheanalyticalframeworkpreparedbyHQ,andthepreliminarydeskreviewconductedbyUNESCO
Bangkok,comprisedofpublishedandunpublishedreportsandliteratureandpolicydocuments
relatedtothetopic.TheseprovidedthefoundationfortheconceptnoteandtheTermsofReference
forthecountrycasestudiesandregionalreports.Thebasisofthecountryandregionalreportswasa
literaturereviewofthemostuptodateresearch,studies,publications,anddetailedanalysisof
policydocumentsandrelevantreportsanddatacollectedfromvariousgovernmentand
internationalorganizations,especiallydatagatheredfromMinistriesofEducation.Thespecific
nationaldataandM&Eeducationpolicyframeworkswereanalyzed,andthereportssubmittedby
theregionalandnationalconsultantsweresynthesizedtoproducetheAsiaPacificRegional
SynthesisReport:ComparativeReviewofPoliciesandPracticesonMonitoringandEvaluationof
EducationSystems.
Duetolimitedtimeandresources,thecountrycasestudiesfocusonlyonfourcountries,namely,
Malaysia,Myanmar,NepalandRepublicofKorea.Whileinformationfromothercountriesinthe
regionwascollectedtotheextentpossible,thisreportdoesnotclaimtopresentfindings
representativeofconditionsacrossthewholeAsiaPacificregion,assuchareviewmaynotgivea
comprehensivepictureoftherealityontheground.Theregionalreports,however,docovera
goodrepresentationofseveralothercountriesandeconomiesintheregionincludingASEAN
MemberStates:Fiji,India,Japan,HongKong(SARChina)andShanghai(China).
Despitetheseidentifiedlimitations,thecountrycasesandtheregionalreportshavebeenusedto
provideageneraloverviewofthecurrentsituationoftheM&EpoliciesandpracticesintheAsia
Pacificregiontherebyfacilitatingthedevelopmentofpolicyrecommendationsthroughthe
identificationoflessonslearnedandfactorscontributingtotheeffectivenessandefficiencyofM&E
systemsatdifferentstagesofdevelopment.Thisregionalsynthesisreportisintendedtobethefirst
steptowardimprovingtheM&EsystemsoftheMemberStatesforbetterandresponsiveeducation
policiesinlinewiththepost2015agenda.
2. 2.M&ESystemsinAsiaPacific:CurrentStatusandTrends
48

M&EsystemsintheAsiaPacificregionhavebeenundergoingsubstantialchangesinthepastdecade
inlinewithinternationaldevelopments,thoughatadiversepace.Mosteducationsystemshave
developedthemainsubcomponentsofanM&Esystem,namely:(1)schoolrecordkeepingsystems,
(2)statisticaldatasystems,(3)resourcemanagementsystems,and(4)performanceevaluation
systems.However,theextenttowhichthesesubcomponentshavebeenintegratedhasdiffered,as
hastheusageofinformationobtainedfromtheM&Esystems.Therelationshipsbetweenthesesub
componentshaveoftennotbeendiscreteorclearlydelineated.
Insummary,systemdevelopmentacrosstheAsiaPacificregionhasbeenunderlinedbythree
principles:a)decentralization,b)integrationofthesubcomponentsystems,andc)focusonresults.
Inseveralcases,developmentstrategiesweresupportedbyrobust35yearinformationsystem
plansthatidentifiedclearblueprintsforthedevelopmentofsystems,whichincludedanticipated
ongoingoperationalcostsforsystems.Sophisticatedsystemsweresupportedbystrongpolicyand
legislationsuchasthosepertainingtothetransferorpromotionofstaff.
TheFijiEducationInformationSystem(FEMIS)77isanexampleofafullyintegratedSchool
InformationSystemwhichalsofunctionsasResourceManagementSystem.Thesystemwasbuilt
basedonaredesignandintegrationoffourdifferentsystems(SIMS,FESA,LANA,andATLAS).
However,despiteitsprovenbenefitsinsavingtime,reducingadministrativepaperwork,improving
transparencyandsignificantlyenhancingthecapacitytomonitorschoolsandissuespertainingto
teachersandpupils,issuesandbarrierssuchaspoorinternetconnectivity,lackofskillsandtimeand
relianceonoldwaysofdoingthingsarestillreported.CambodiaandFijiSMISaresupportedby
partnersliketheEuropeanCommissionandtheAustralianGovernmentDepartmentofForeign
AffairsandTrade(DFAT),respectively.
3. 3.DescriptionofM&ESystemsinAsiaPacific
3.1.StatisticalDataSystem
Statisticaldatasystems(oftencalledEducationManagementInformationSystemorEMIS)are
designedtocollect,compile,collateandanalyzetheschoolleveldata(students,teachers,facilities,
finance,etc.)forpolicyandprogrammeformulation,implementationandmonitoringatdifferent
administrativelevels.
TheStatisticalDataSystemisthemostbasicformofeducationinformationsystemwhichtypically
reliesonusingdatacaptureforms,suchasschoolcensusforms,toobtaindatafromschoolsona
regularbasis,oftenonanannualbasis.Attheschoollevel,dataonschoolsisretainedinschool
recordsandotherformssuchasexaminationresultbooklets.Thecensusformsusuallyrequire
recordingofaggregatedinformationforstudents,teachers,facilities,financeandotherattributes.
Dataareoftenverifiedandenteredatasubnationallevelsuchasdistrict,localgovernmentareaor
stateandcollatedorpasseddirectlytothenationallevelforpublicationofschoolcensusstatistics.
Dataarethenusedforbudgeting,planningandidentifyingschoolsmostinneedofresource
allocation.TheNepalEMIS,forinstance,usesFlashReportsIandIItoallowsystematicaccumulation
ofallschoollevelinformationintoasinglereport.Thedatageneratedareusedintheformulationof
plansandpolicies,andforallocationofbudgets.
TheCambodianSchoolCensusSystemandtheIndianSchoolCensusSystem,calledtheUnified
DistrictInformationSystem(UDISE),areexamplesofschoolcensussystemsoperatednationally.
77
http://www.femis.gov.fj/femis/
49

Thesystemsuseadatacaptureformtocollectinformationonteachers,students,income,facilities,
andstaffofprovinces,citiesanddistricts.Thedataareverifiedandvalidatedatthedistrict,
provincialandlocalgovernmentlevels(Cambodia)oruptothenationallevel(India)beforeitis
sharedwithNationalUniversityofEducationalPlanningandAdministration78(NUEPA)andMinistry
ofHumanResourceDevelopment79(MHRD).
Toaddressdataflaws,IndiaandCambodiaconduct5percentvalidationexercisestoverifydataat
theschoollevel,usingexternalindependentorganizationsandgovernmentsupervisorsandofficials.
However,theresultsoftheverificationexerciseareusedonlytocorrectdatainschoolsverifiedand
notforpurposeofrecalibratingthedataorreportingconfidencelevelsindata.Asexpected,
significantproblemsremainintermsofconsistencybetweenCambodiandatacomparedannually
withthesubnationallevel(GoC,2014;GoC,2013b)andnationallypublishedfigurestriangulated
againstothersourcesofeducationdatasuchashouseholdsurveys.Similarly,manystatesinIndia
havenotedthatthedataderivedfromtheirResourceManagementSystemsdonotcompare
favourablywithdataderivedfromtheschoolcensus(Karnataka,2014;MadhyaPradesh,2014).
3.2.ResourceManagementSystem
ResourceManagementSystems(RMS)facilitateprocessesandfunctionswithinministries,for
example,1)teachermanagement(orTeacherManagementInformationSystemTMIS)whichis
designedtosupportthemanagementofteachersrecruitmentanddeployment,and2)financial
resourcemanagement(orFinancialManagementInformationSystemFMIS)whichaimsat
conductingthetransactionsandmonitoringthefinancialstatusoftheeducationinstitutions.(In
somecases,thissystemcanbepartofalargersystemmanagedbyinstitutionsotherthanthe
MinistryofEducation).ThesearealsooftencalledOperationalSystemsorTransactionalSystems.
RMScanbedistinguishedfromStatisticalDataSystemsinthattheymanageindividualtransactions
suchasteachertransfers,recruitmentofnewteachers,procurementofassetsorloggingof
individualbudgetlinesmadetoschools.RMSgenerallyaimsatimprovingtheefficiencyofeducation
services.Itmaysometimesrelyondatacollectedviacensus.Forexample,inthecaseofMadhya
PradeshinIndia,thenumberofsanctionedteachersallocatedtoschoolsiscalculatedbasedupona
formuladeterminedbypupilenrolmentineachgradeandbythenumberofteacherspresentlyat
theschool.Thepupilenrolmentispresentlycollectedviacensus80whileteacherdataaremanaged
dynamicallythroughtheMadhyaPradeshEducationPortal.
CambodiaandtwostatesinIndiaprovideatypicalexampleofcensusbasedsystemsthatarebeing
graduallyreplacedand/orintegratedwithoperationalsystemsusinginformationtechnology.Since
late2014onwards,Cambodiaslongstandingstatisticalcensussystemisbeingupdatedand
elementsreplacedorintegratedwithoperationalsystems.Thenewsystemisbeingdeployedto
stateofficesviatheinternet.Presently,alldataaremanagedfromstateeducationoffices;however,
in20152016,thedecentralizationoffunctionstoselectedLocalGovernmentAreas(LGA)withgood
internetaccesswillbepiloted(GoC,2013).ThesystemsbeingpilotedinCambodiawillprovidemore
detailedandtimelydatabymanagingoperationalandtransactionalneedsforstaffandfinancial
management,andbyenablingschoolcensusdatatobereportedmoreaccuratelyandinlesstime
thanthepresentstatisticaldatasystem.
3.3.PerformanceEvaluationSystem
78
http://www.nuepa.org/Index.html
79
http://mhrd.gov.in/
80
usingUDISEdata
50

AperformanceevaluationsystemisanM&Esystemmainlyformonitoring,usedmostlyforprocess
andoutputrelatedfactorsintheeducationsector.Itincludesaschoolinspectionandevaluation
systemwhichiscarriedoutbytheMinistryofEducationtoobserveandinspectwhetherschools
complywithandfollowtherules,regulationsandstandardssetbytherelevantauthorities,anda
teacherevaluationsystemwhosefunctioniscarriedoutbyrelevanteducationinstitutionsto
evaluatetheperformanceofteachers.Insomecases,ateacherevaluationsystemmaybeintegrated
intoTMISandEMIS.
3.3.1.SchoolInspectionandEvaluationSystem
Notably,inmostAsiancountries,beforethelastdecade,evaluationswerebasedonteacheror
studentperformance,andschoolevaluationsreliedalmostexclusivelyonteacherappraisalwitha
focusonadministrativeoversightandcontrolofindividualteachersorexaminations,especiallythe
assessmentofindividualstudentachievement.However,inrecentyears,therehasbeenastronger
senseofqualityassuranceineducationsystemsintheregion:theconceptofevaluationsin
educationhasbeenshiftingfromvariousformsofcontrolinmonitoringandevaluationtowardsa
combinationofaccountabilityanddevelopmentalaspectsinqualityassuranceofschools.In
addition,duetoincreasingadoptionofdecentralizationinmanycountriesoftheregionandtheir
implementationofschoolbasedmanagement,morecountrieshavereplacedorareintheprocessof
replacingtheirtraditionalschoolinspections,whicharemainlyconductedbyinspectorsor
governmentofficers,withacombinationofschoolselfevaluationplusexternalschoolreviewof
schoolperformanceevaluation.Thisusuallyinvolvesdifferentstakeholders,particularlythelocal
community.Forexample,countriessuchasNepal,MalaysiaandthePhilippineshavesetup
competitionsornationalawardsforschoolsdisplayingoutstandingperformanceasameansof
schoolevaluation.
Insomedevelopingcountries,theyareworkinghardtoeitherreestablishorimprovetheirquality
assurancesystems,althoughindifferentwaysandatquitediversepaces.Cambodia,Vietnamand
PakistanhaveestablishededucationlawsandpoliciesforsettingupM&Esystemsineducationin
therecentdecade.Inaddition,mostcountrieshaveaformalsystemofexternalschoolinspection,
schoolrevieworschoolaudit,exceptthePhilippines.Yet,whilethePhilippinesandIndonesiadonot
haveaformalpolicyormechanismforschoolselfevaluation,othercountriesvaryintheir
implementationofschoolselfevaluation.
Specifically,twoexamplesofsuccessfulimplementationofqualityassuranceframeworkin
evaluatingschoolsdesignedbyaninputprocessoutputmodelareHongKongandSingapore.The
HongKongframeworkissupportedbyasetofqualityperformanceindicatorsandcomposedoftwo
parallelprocessesofselfevaluationandexternalreviewofschoolswithemphasisonschool
developmentandaccountability.TheSingaporeanmodelinvolvesatripartiteapproachongoing
schoolselfassessment,theschoolimprovementprocess,andvalidationeveryfiveyearsviaan
externalevaluation.ThesystemofhavingMOEofficersinspectschoolswasreplacedbyaself
assessmentapproach,complementedbyexternalvalidationseveryfiveyears(recentlyrevisedto
sixyearlycycles)undertakencentrallybyMoE.
Teacherevaluation,atitsmostsimplisticlevel,isdefinedasaformalassessmentofateacherbyan
administratorconductedwiththeintentionofdrawingconclusionsabouthis/herinstructional
performanceforthepurposeofmakingemploymentdecisions.Thereisavastbodyofresearch
confirmingthatteachersarethemainchangeagentsforqualityeducation,suchasthe2011Trends
inInternationalMathematicsandScienceStudy(TIMSS)reportindicatingthatthebettertheteacher
quality(i.e.teachereffectiveness),thelesstheincidenceoflowachievement.Assuch,ithasbecome
51

moreimportanttoevaluatetheperformanceofteachers,which,hopefully,inturnwillhavepositive
impactonstudentperformance.
CountriesacrosstheAsiaPacificregionareimplementingmoreholisticandsystematicevaluations
withmoreeffectiveapproachesforstrengtheningteacherevaluationbasedontheirownunique
challenges.Traditionally,formalteacherappraisalhasbeenoneofthemostcommonandkey
strategiesformonitoringandevaluatingteacherperformanceintheregion.Thisusuallyfocuseson
proceduresratherthanonstudentlearning.Theevaluationsfocusontheuseofhighinference
datafromchecklistsbasedonalimitedsampleofclassobservation,withlittledifferentiationin
teacherperformanceandadministrativedecisionsconstrainedbyunioncontractsandlaws.Inmany
cases,theevaluationsareundertakensimplytofulfiladministrativerequirementsandhenceareless
likelytoresultinanychangeinateacherscareeradvancement,leadingtogrowingdemandto
restructuretheteacherappraisalmechanism.Thefocusonteacherevaluationhasintensifiedsince
theearly2000s,butsystematicevaluationofteachershasfoundonlyminimalempiricalsupportin
itsapplicationtotheeducationsector.
Manycountrieshavebeenmovingawayfromapurelyqualitycontrolapproach,suchasteacher
certificationandteacherappraisal,toacapacitybuildingapproachsuchasprofessional
development,teachersupportandcareerpathways.Inparticular,theuseofresultsbased
evaluationorcompetencybasedevaluationhasbecomemorecommoninordertoimproveteacher
performance.AtypicalexampleistheSingaporesModelforTeacherDevelopment,morecommonly
knownastheEnhancedPerformanceManagementSystem(EPMS),inwhichteacherssettheirgoals
forteaching,professionalandpersonaldevelopmentatthebeginningofayearthroughaself
assessment,discussthegoalswithareportingofficerwhomayadviseadditionaltrainingand
coachingarrangements,andundertakeinformalandformalevaluationmeetingstoevaluateteacher
performanceandfuturepotential,whichmaybeusedtodetermineperformancebonusesand
promotions.
However,effectivemonitoringofteacherperformancerequiresagreementonkeyconcepts,
alignmentofmeasurementtools,andconsensusconcerningtheindicatorsandunderlying
framework.Furthermore,therearefinancialconsiderationssuchasthetrainingofobservers,the
designandmanagementofinformationsystems,thequestionofsalarydifferentiationandthe
opportunitycostsofinvestinginotherstrategies.Thereisahugegapbetweentheresultsof
researchonteachereffectivenessandtheimpactofteacherevaluations.InthecontextoftheAsia
Pacificregion,jobsecurityisakeyattractorforteachers.Ifthereisnoeffectiveandthorough
preparationofthenecessaryconditions,itisnotnecessarilyagoodthingtoimplementteacher
evaluationsystems.InmostAsiancountries,culturalnormsofharmonyandcompromisedonot
supportharshpersonnelaccountabilitymeasures.Therefore,ratherthanusingevaluationsto
improvethequalityofinstruction,focushasbeenputonimprovingsupervision,coaching,
mentoringandprofessionaldevelopmentmechanisms.
3.3.2.StudentEvaluationSystem
Inallcountriesacrosstheregion,thestudentevaluationsystemisanimportanttoolandamajor
componentofevaluationandschoolreform,whichaimsatimprovingacademicstandardsand
quality.Manyassessmentsystemsusuallyincludeamixofthefollowing:(a)publicexaminationsfor
selectionandcertification,(b)nationalandinternationalassessmentsand(c)schoolorclassroom
basedassessmentofstudentslearning.Thismixedlandscapeisadeparturefromthepastwhen
onlyexaminationswereusedoftentosimplydistinguishtheablefromthenotablestudents.
PublicExaminations
52

Publicexaminationsaregenerallyhighstakestostudentsandareusuallyadministeredatcertain
transitionpointsofschoolingforselectionandcertificationpurposes,suchasattheendofprimary
(entrytosecondary),endoflowersecondary,andendofuppersecondary(entrytohigher
educationortotheworkplace)(Hill,2013,p.4;Ho,2013,p.7).InmostcountrieswithintheAsia
Pacificregion,examinationsrepresentanimportantqualitycontrolmechanismandexamination
resultsareoftenusedforschoolaccountabilitypurposes(Hill,2013,pp.4&19).
Currently,thereisagroupofcountriesintheregionstillfollowingthesocalledtraditionalBritish
modelof11+examinations(endofprimary),followedbyGeneralCertificateofEducation(GCE)O
LevelorGCSEexams(endoflowersecondary),followedbyGCEALevelexams(endofupper
secondary).ThisisstillthepatternfollowedinmanyAsiaPacificcountries,includingBrunei
Darussalam,Fiji,Indonesia,Iran(IslamicRepublicof),Mongolia,SingaporeandSriLanka.Justasthe
11+examinationswerediscontinuedintheUKwiththeintroductionofcomprehensivesecondary
education,manyAsiaPacificcountries(Australia(NSW),Bangladesh,India,andPakistan)havealso
discontinuedthefirstoftheseexaminationswhileretainingthesecondandthird.HongKong(China)
stillconductstestingforsecondaryschoolplacementpurposes,butusesafairlycomplexprocessof
statisticallymoderatedprimaryschoolassessments,withaspecialaptitudetesttomoderatethe
schoolassessments.Inyetothercountries,thesecondorlowersecondaryexaminationhasalso
beendiscontinuedasuppersecondaryeducationhasbecomeavailabletoall.Forexample,Hong
Kong(China)discontinueditssecondexaminationafter2012.Thereisanothergroupofcountries
thatadoptadifferentmodel,includingChina,Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan,Japan,PhilippinesandSouth
Korea.Ineachofthem,thekeyexaminationistheuniversityentranceexamination(Hill,2013).
NationalandInternationalAssessments
NationalAssessments
NationalAssessments(NA)providerichinformationaboutlearningoutcomesaccordingtonationally
definedstandards.NAaregenerallylowstaketoindividualstudentsandthefindingsareusedto
monitortheprogressofthenationalsystem(Ho,2013,p.7).ResultsfromtheEFAGlobalMonitoring
Report2008indicatedthatinthisregionthepercentageofcountriesthatconductnational
assessmentsdrasticallyincreasedfrom1995to2006.Recentinformationcollectedbythe
SecretariatoftheNetworkonEducationQualityMonitoringinAsiaPacific(NEQMAP)hasrevealed
that,asof2014,virtuallyeverycountryoftheregionhasconductedatleastonesuchNA.Examples
includetheNationalAssessmentofEducationalAchievement(NAEA)intheRepublicofKorea,the
purposeofwhichistoevaluatehowmanystudentsachievethegoalofnationalcurriculumandtrack
theyearlyacademicprogressofschools,andtheNationalAssessmentforStudentAchievement
(NASA)inNepal.
WhileMinistriesofEducationareusuallyresponsiblefordevelopingstandardsandtheoperation
systemsforNAsinmostoftheregion,somecountries,suchastheRepublicofKorea,NewZealand
andSingapore,delegatethisresponsibilitytoindependentinstitutes.Inaddition,someother
countries,suchasCambodia,collaboratewithinternationalagenciestosupporttheinitial
developmentalstagesoftheirNAs.NAsmaytargetsampledstudentsfromparticularschooling
levels,agegroupsorotherwiseinvolvetheentiretargetpopulation.Forinstance,HongKong(China)
andJapanadministeredNAstostudentsofgrades3,6and9.NAstypicallyassessattainmentincore
subjects,notablythenationallanguage,specificsecondlanguages,mathematics,naturalsciences
andsocialsciences.ThefrequencyandscopeofNAsvarydependingonthepurposesofmonitoring
(Ho,2013,pp.811).However,onecommonchallengethatcanbeidentifiedacrosstheregion,both
intermsofnationalandinternationalassessments,istheproperdisseminationandusageofresults.
Whilemanycountriesareusingsuchresultsfortrackingpurposes,itislesscommonforthemtobe
embarkinguponcurricularreformorchangestoteachertrainingasaconsequence.
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InternationalAssessments
InternationalAssessments,suchastheOECDsPISAandIEAsTIMSSandPIRLS,havebecome
importantsourcesofinformationformonitoringstudentlearningoutcomes.Theseassessments
allowcrosscountrycomparisonsbasedoninternationalbenchmarkswhichhelpcountriesto
evaluatestrengthsandweaknessesoftheireducationsystemsfromabroadercontext(Ho,2013,p.
5).GiventhatintheAsiaPacificregionthereisnoregionalstandardforlearningassessment,the
needandimportanceofusingtheseinternationalevaluationsforbenchmarkingstudentslearning
outcomeswithinternationalstandardisgrowingveryfast,andtoacertainextentbecomingthe
norm(Ho,2013,p.5;TheASEANSecretariat,2013,p.22).Forexample,sixteen,fourteenandeight
AsiaPacificcountriesorjurisdictionsparticipatedinthelatestadministrationofPISA(2012),TIMSS
(2011)andPIRLS(2011),respectively.Inaddition,thoughthereisnoAsiaPacificregionalstandard
orassessment,thereareanumberofeffortsunderwaytowardsthedevelopmentofsubregional
standardsormetrics,suchastheSoutheastAsiaPrimaryLearningMetricInitiativefortheSoutheast
AsiasubregionandthePacificIslandsLiteracyandNumeracyAssessmentforthePacificsubregion.
Beyondtheseefforts,thereisastrongtrendinsupportofregionalcollaborationonstudent
assessmentissues,asevidencedbythelaunchoftheNEQMAPnetworkin2013.
SchoolorClassroombasedAssessment
Whileitisnotuniversal,theregionhasseenincreasingreforminthedirectionofschooland
classroombasedassessment.Countries/jurisdictionswhichhaveadoptedsuchmodesinclude
Australia,HongKong(China),Malaysia,NewZealandandSingapore.Theirrationaleincludesthe
desiretoreducestudentpressurefromexaminationsandenhancetheirauthenticity,aswellas
enableteacherstohaveadeeperunderstandingoftheirstudentslearning,decreasetendenciesof
teachingtothetestandassessafullrangeofskillsandcompetencies,includingthesocalled21st
Centuryortransversalskillswhichmaynotbemeasuredintraditionaltests.Whilegenerally
formativeinnature,somecountries/jurisdictionssuchasHongKong(China)andNewZealand
includeacomponentofschoolorclassroombasedassessmentintheirsummativepublic
examinations(Ho,2013).
Giventhesevariouscomponentsofthestudentevaluationsystem,itisworthnotingthatmany
countriesoftheregionhaveestablishednationalmonitoringsystemstocollectinformationon
studentlearningoutcomesacrossthesedifferentcomponentsandtodevelopindicatorsofschool
performanceatnationalandsubnationallevels(includinglocalcommunitiesandschools)for
comparing,benchmarkinganddevelopingpolicesandinterventionstoimproveeducational
outcomes.Thedevelopingcountriesoftheregionfaceparticularchallengesincludingfunding,
capacity,institutionalizationofstudentevaluationsystems,andthedisseminationanduseof
assessmentresults(Ho,2013).
4. 4.PolicyIssuesandEmergingTrends
5.
Inthissection,fivekeypolicyissuesemergingfromtheregionalreviewarepresented.Whilethese
issuesarepresentedinalist,itisimportanttonotethattheseissuesareofteninterconnected.
Policyissue#1:Effectiveness(qualityandrelevance)
Abundantdataarebecomingincreasinglyavailable,buttheydonotsufficientlyinformevidence
basedplanning,monitoring,orthedecisionmakingprocess.
Policyissue#2:Resources
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ManyM&ESystemsareunderfunded,understaffed,andoftendependentonexternalpartnersfor
bothfinancialandhumanresources.
Policyissue#3:Coordination
SubcomponentsofM&Esystemsoftenfunctioninsiloswithoutcoordination,oftenleadingto
inconsistencyandduplication.
Policyissue#4:Capacity
Ensuringsufficientcapacityatalllevelsofadministrationforeffectivelinkagesisachallenge.
Policyissue#5:Informationsharingandmutuallearning
ThereislimitedinformationsharingbetweensubcomponentsofM&Esystems.Platformsfor
mutuallearning,especiallyattheregionallevel,aremissing.
6. 5.KeyRecommendationsforAsiaPacific
Policyrecommendation#1
Focusondevelopingsystemiccapacityforemergingdataneeds
Integratecostofmeetingthedataneedsineverypolicyandplandevelopmentcycle
StrengthennationalM&Ecoordinationbodieswithmandateandauthority
Enhanceinstitutionalandindividualcapacityatalllevels
Planforintegrationofthesystemsintoasingleplatformwithproperqualityassurancemechanisms
55

7. CountryCaseStudies
Inthissection,indepthinformationfromfourselectedcountriesispresentedinorderto
demonstratedifferentstagesofdevelopmentofanM&Esystemineducation.Thecountrieshave
beenselectedonthebasisof:(1)geographicaldistribution(twofromSoutheastAsia,onefrom
SouthAsiaandonefromEastAsia);(2)recenttrendsineducationpolicydevelopmentrelatedto
M&E;and(3)availabilityofliteratureanddata.
8. Malaysia
Background
TheEducationSysteminMalaysiaiscentralizedandregulatedbytheMinistryofEducation,whichis
responsibleforpolicydevelopmentaroundaccess,personnel,curriculum,methodsandmaterials,
resourcing,communityandevaluationpoliciesfrompreschoolingtohighereducationunderthe
nationaleducationsystem;thatis,allgovernmentschools(nationalandnationaltype)alloverthe
countrymustdeliverthesamecurriculum,employingthesamemediumofinstruction(Ministryof
EducationMalaysia,2010).
Thepasttwodecadeshaveseenaseriesofradicalshiftsinpolicies,practicesandsystemsof
educationatalllevelsfromprimaryschoolingtohighereducationinMalaysia.Variouspolicy
initiativeshavebeenintroducedspecificallyonteacherdevelopment,curriculumdevelopmentand
assessmentanduseoftechnologyineducation.Themostrecentpolicyreformineducationisseen
intheMalaysiasEducationBlueprint(20132025).Theblueprintadoptsasystemicapproachto
educationreformandidentifieselevenkeyareasforreformthatwilladdressatleastoneofthefive
crosscuttingsystemoutcomes,namely,access,quality,equity,unity,andefficiency.81
CurrentAnalysisofM&ESystems
Inordertoensurethattheabovedesiredoutcomesaredisplayedinitsschoolsystems,theMOEhas
toconductseveralroundsofmonitoringandevaluation.TheMOEconsistsoffouradministrative
levelsandeachofthemhasmonitoringandevaluationfunctions.TheCentralEducationDivision
(CED)isresponsibleformanagingthenationaleducationsystem,formulatingthenationaleducation
policiesandplan,establishingguidelinesfortheirimplementation,andmonitoringandevaluating
outcomesoftheplans.TheStateEducationDepartments(SED),ontheotherhand,areresponsible
forensuringthatthepoliciesdevelopedaretranslatedandimplementedatthespecifiedlevels,as
wellasformonitoringandevaluatingtheirimplementation.DistrictEducationOffices
(DEOs)/RegionalEducationOffices(REOs)areresponsibleforassistingtheSEDinimplementing,
monitoringandevaluatingthepoliciesandprogrammesimplementedatthedistrictandschool
levels.MonitoringandevaluationarealsodoneateveryunitintheMinistry.Allthethirtyeightunits
intheMinistryhavetheirownprojectstomonitorandevaluate.Otherprojectsthatarenotdirectly
undertheirresponsibilitywillbemonitoredbythenewlycreatedPerformanceDeliveryand
ManagementUnit(PDU).
TheM&EsysteminMOEisdividedintothreecategoriesnamely:LegacySystem(Education
ManagementInformationSystemEMIS,StudentInformationSystemSSM,SmartSchool
ManagementSystemSSMS),SecondarySystem(StudentsDisciplineSystemSSDM,Headcount)and
ExternalSystem(ExaminationSystem,Scholarship,MalaysianEducationQualityStandardSKPM,
TeachersDevelopmentandTrainingInformationandTeachersTraining).Accordingtothe
TechnologyInformationandCommunicationDivision(BTMK)record,thereareatotalofeightytwo
majordatasystemsownedandmanagedbydifferentdivisionsintheMinistrywhichconsistof
81
http://www.unescobkk.org/th/news/article/malaysiaeducationpolicyreviewasystemsapproachtoeducationreform/
56

school,studentandteacherdatasystems.Inaddition,therearealsootherindependentinformation
subsystemsthatweredevelopedwiththeintentionofmeetingtheneedsofindividualdivisions
operationalresponsibilitiesforcollectingandmanagingeducationaldata.
Conclusion
Malaysiahasarichhistoryofmonitoringandevaluationwithregardstoitseducationsystem.
However,withtheintroductionoftherecentMalaysiaEducationBlueprint,thereisaneedtore
evaluateandbuildupontheM&Esystemthatiscurrentlyinplace.Whilemanypositivestructures
exist,refiningthesetoproperlyinformeducationpolicyandplanningatalllevelsofgovernmentis
extremelyimportant.Evidencebaseddecisionmakingisneededinordertoeffectivelypropel
implementationstrategiesthatwillbringtofruitionthecarefulplanningandconsiderationofthe
MOE.
9. Myanmar
OverviewoftheEducationSectorDevelopment
TheEducationPolicyofMyanmarissetoutinthe2008Constitutionandisgovernedbytwomain
laws:theBasicEducationLawof1973andtheUniversityEducationlawof1973,bothofwhichare
underreviewforupdates.Theaimofthegovernmentseducationalpolicyistocreateaneducation
systemthatcangeneratealearningsocietycapableoffacingthechallengesoftheknowledgeera.
ThesocialobjectivesforeducationinMyanmarareambitiousandincludeforstudents:developinga
problemsolvingandcreativeorientationtowardinstitutionsandsocialissues;promotingnational
unityandeliminatingdiscrimination;learningtoworkcooperativelywithothers;anddeveloping
selfreliance.TheConstitutiondeclaresthatallcitizenshavetherighttoeducationandshallbegiven
compulsoryeducation(UNESCO/IBE,2011).
MyanmarisstrivingforfreeandcompulsoryprimaryeducationtoachievetheEFAgoals.The
governmenthasmadearrangementstodistributefreetextbookstoallprimarystudents,provide
scholarshipstooutstandingstudentsandstipendstostudentsfrompoorfamilies,andconstruct
moreschoolsinborderareasandvillages.Thenumberofschools,teachersandstudentshas
increaseddramatically.Inthepastdecade,therehasbeena10percentincreaseinthenumberof
schools,30percentincreaseinthenumberofteachers,anda25percentincreaseinthenumberof
students(MOEofMyanmar,2014a).
Yet,despiterecentdevelopments,itisgenerallyacceptedthattheeducationsectorhaschallenges
toincreasenetenrolmentatdifferentlevelsandensurethequalityofeducation.Poverty,diverse
languagesofover130nationalethnicgroupsandconflictsituationsmentionedintheearliersection
alsocreatechallengesthataffecttheeducationsector(MOEofMyanmar,2014a).
Thebiggestreforminitiativetotheeducationsystemwasstartedinearly2012,whenthe
governmentannouncedtheComprehensiveEducationSectorReview(CESR),thefirstsystematic
sectoranalysisintwodecades.Itcompletedthefirstphaseofthereviewin2013incollaboration
withdevelopmentpartnersineducation.Thisresultedinaseriesofreportsin2013includingfour
technicalannexescoveringsecondaryeducation,highereducation,TVET,andalabourmarket
analysis(thedemandforhighereducationandTVETgraduates)whichprovidemuchneededdata
andinformationonthestateofeducation.ThereviewisnowinPhase3,developingtheNational
EducationSectorPlan(NESP),aunifiedplantoguidegovernmentanddevelopmentpartner
investmentsinthesectorupthroughthenext5yearperiod(ADB,2014).
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OverallAppraisaloftheCurrentM&ESystems
InMyanmar,theEducationManagementInformationSystem(EMIS),runbytheMinistryof
Education,isresponsibleforsupplyingtheeducationsectorwithcomprehensive,shared,accurate
anduptodateinformationforplanning,resourceallocation,andmonitoringandevaluationto
supportdecisionmaking.Atthenationallevel,educationdatathatisaccessibleisproducedin
limitedformats.AnAnnualStatisticalBookletwithnineteentablesisproduced,whichiscompiledby
theDepartmentofEducationPlanningandTraining(DEPT)inconjunctionwithuniversitiesandother
ministries.AlmostnodataisavailableontheofficialMOEwebsite.Educationstatisticsaresentto
developmentpartnersandinternationalstatisticalorganizationssuchasASEAN,UN,UNESCO(UIS)
andADB.Oftenstatisticsareproduceduptooneacademicyearaftercollectionowingtothelabour
intensiveprocessrequiredtocompilethestatistics.
SummaryofMyanmarEMIS
1. Thereissubstantialredundantdatacollectedatunnecessaryintervals.Thisincreasesthe
scopeforerrorandsignificantlyincreasestherequireddataentryandmanagement
correctives,therebylimitingthescopeofdataanalysisanduse.
Therearelimitedtoolswithwhichtoaggregateoranalyzedata,resultinginasituationwhere
anydataanalysishastobeundertakenmanually.
Dataarelargelyprocessedandthensenttohigherlevels.Suchdata,again,arerarelyresponded
toasfeedbackbackdownthelinewithcomparativeinformationandcomments,whichcouldbe
usedtoinformcorrectiveactionforfurtherplanningandbudgetingdoesnotoccur.
Somedata,suchasfinancialdata,areonlystoredinpaperformwhichwouldbebetterrecorded
electronically.
Longitudinal(historical)dataanalysisisverydifficulttoundertakeasinformationfordifferent
months,years,etc.isstoredindifferentspreadsheets.Likewise,validatingdatahistoricallyis
difficultforthesamereason.
Overall,thecountrysEMISisstillweakanddataarenotyetsufficientlydisaggregatedandrendered
comprehensiveenoughtomeettherequirementsofeducationalplanning,policymaking,
managementandadministration.MyanmarneedstoimproveitsEducationalInformationSystem,
whichisessentialformonitoringEducationforAllprogressinECCE,UPE,LearningandLifeSkillsfor
YouthandAdults,AdultLiteracy,GenderParityandEquality,andQualityofEducation(MOEof
Myanmar,2014a).
10. Nepal
Sincetheestablishmentofdemocracyin1951,Nepalhasmadesignificantprogressinthewhole
educationsector,includingearlychildhooddevelopmentandpreprimary,primary/basic,secondary
andtertiaryeducation.Greatstrideshavebeenmadetowardsthehugeexpansionofearly
childhooddevelopmentandpreprimaryeducation,universalprimary/basiceducation,increased
participationinsecondaryandtertiaryeducationanduniversalliteracy,especiallyforyouth,along
withgenderparity.Nonetheless,theprogressisnotevenandadeeperanalysisofreachingthe
unreached,i.e.disadvantagedandmarginalizedgroups,revealsthatmoreconcertedandtargeted
effortsareneededtoachievegreaterequityandcoverageofalllevelsofeducationaldevelopment.

EarlyChildhoodDevelopmentandPreprimaryEducation(ECD/PPE)
Theconceptsandpracticesregardingtheprovisionofearlychildhooddevelopmentandpreprimary
educationinNepalhaveemergedasimportantdevelopments,atleastfromtheperspectiveof
58

quantitativeexpansion;however,itsoverallqualityandleveloffunding82areseriousconcerns.
Currently,thereare34,622communityandschoolbasedECDcentresandpreprimaryclasses
(PPCs)withmorethanonemillionchildren.TheaverageGrossEnrolmentRate(GER)inECD/PPCs
reached76.7percent,with76.2percentforgirlsand77.2percentforboysintheschoolyear
2013/14.TheproportionofchildreningradeonewithECD/PPCexperiencesstoodat56.9percent,
with57.6percentforgirlsand56.2percentforboysinthesameyear.Inthisrespect,itisworth
mentioningthattheSchoolSectorReformPlan(SSRP20092015)underpinsoneyear(age4)ofearly
childhoodeducationanddevelopment(ECED)forall,especiallythedisadvantaged.
Primary/BasicEducation
Primaryeducation,thefirstlevelofeducationaspertheInternationalStandardClassificationof
Education(ISCED),83comprisesfiveyearsofschooling(grade15,ages59)inNepal.Thesecond
levelofschooleducation,i.e.lowersecondaryeducation(grade68,ages1012)hasbeenincluded
inbasiceducation(grade18,ages512).Inthisconnection,itisappropriatetomentionthatthe
InterimConstitutionofNepal(2007)enshrinesbasiceducationasafundamentalrightandstresses
therightofeachcommunitytogetbasiceducationintheirmothertongueasprovidedforinthe
law.Inlinewiththeprinciplesofthisprovision,theSchoolSectorReformPlan(SSRP20092015)has
provisionedtheuseofmothertongueasthemediumofinstructionintheearlygradesofprimary
education.Curriculaandtextbooksareavailableinmorethantwentytwolanguagesandtheschool
annuallyreportsontheuseofmothertongue/locallanguageinprimaryeducation.However,
despitesignificantimprovementinnetintakeandnetenrolmentrates(NIR/NER)inprimary/basic
education,ithasbeenamassivechallengetoimprovetheinternalefficiencyoftheschooleducation
systeminNepaltoensurethateverychildadmittedingradeonecompletesfive/eightyearsof
primary/basiceducationwithanacceptableleveloflearning.
SecondaryEducation
AccordingtoSSRP,schooleducationconsistsofbasiceducation(grade18)andsecondaryeducation
(grade912),withsections,secondary(grades910,ages1314)andhighersecondary(grades11
and12,ages1516).Anationallevelcentralizedexamination,popularlyknownastheSchoolLeaving
Certificate(SLC)examination,isconductedattheendofgradeten.Further,highersecondary
educationexaminationsattheendofgrade11and12areorganizedbytheHigherSecondary
EducationBoard(HSEB)atthenationallevel.Itisproposedthatintheintegratedsecondary
educationfromgrade912,SLCandHSEBwillbereorganized,withprovisionsofgradeten
examinationsattheregionallevel,andgrade11and12examinationsatthenationallevel.
ThereisalsoaprovisionforhighersecondaryleveltechnicaleducationundertheCouncilfor
TechnicalEducationandVocationalTraining(CTEVT).Currently,technicalschoolsaffiliatedtothe
CTEVTofferskillstrainingcoursesofoneyeartotwoandhalfyearsdurationeithertothetenth
grade84passstudentsortothosehavingaTechnicalSchoolLeavingCertificate.85
82.
Ananalysisofthetotaleducationexpenditurebysubsectorrevealsthatoverallexpenditureonearlychildhooddevelopment
andpreprimaryeducationislessthanonepercent,whichhasseriousconsequencesontheprovisionsofsalary/remunerationof
facilitators/teachers,theirqualificationsandtraining,infrastructures,learningmaterials,meansofcareandentertainments,
etc.
83
Classificationsystemdesignedtoserveasaninstrumentforassembling,compilingandpresentingcomparableindicatorsand
statisticsofeducationbothwithincountriesandinternationally.Thesystem,introducedin1976,wasrevisedin1997and2011
(QuotedfromEFAGMR2013/14,UNESCO2014,Paris,France).
84
TenthgradepassstudentsareacademicallyatalowerlevelthanthosewhohavepassedtheSchoolLeavingCertificate
examination.Studentstakesendupexaminationattheendofgradetenandthosewhopasstheexaminationbecomeeligible
totaketheSLCexamination.
85
StudentshavingaTechnicalSchoolLeavingCertificatearetheoneswhohavetakenvocationalstreamaftereightgradesand
completedtwoyearsofvocationaltraining.Thepracticeofadmittingsuchstudentsintovocationalschoolshasbeenabolished
aftertheenforcementofnewpolicyrelatedtotechnicalandvocationaleducation.
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TertiaryEducation
Currently,therearenineuniversitiesandthreeautonomous,specializedinstitutionsofhigher
educationformedical/healthsciences.TribhuvanUniversity(TU)isthefirstuniversityinthecountry.
Itwasfoundedin1959asateachingandaffiliatinguniversity.Nearly89percentofhighereducation
studentsandfacultiesareinthisuniversity.86HSEBgraduatesareeligibletoapplyforgeneralor
professionalBachelor'sDegreecoursesof3to4yearduration.TheMastersDegreefollowsthe
BachelorsDegreeandisoftwoyearduration.TheuniversitiesalsorunMPhilandPhDprogrammes.
TheUniversityGrantsCommission(UGC)ofNepalcoordinatestheuniversitieswithnationalplans
andprogrammes.
NonformalEducation
Inadditiontoformaleducation,thereareprovisionsofnonformaleducationforprimary/basicand
secondaryeducationwithpolicyandplanningframeworksforreachingtheunreached.Outof
schooladolescents,youthandadultswhocouldnotattendprimaryschoolduetovariousreasons
jointheOutofSchoolProgramme(OSP).Therearealsoprovisionsforflexible/openschool
programmeswithcondensedcoursesforthosewhocouldnotjoinregularhourschools.Various
formsofadulteducationprogrammes,suchasbasicandfunctionaladultliteracyandopenschool
programmesareorganizedwithprovisionofequivalencytoschooleducationuptosecondarylevel
(grade110).Accordingtothenationalcensus2011,thecontributionofnonformaleducationtothe
overalleducationalattainmentofpeopleinNepalis4.15percent,with3.49percentformalesand
4.95percentforfemales.
OverallAppraisaloftheSystem
Nepalcollectsandanalyzesvastamountsofdata,mostofwhicharecollectedatschoolsby
teachers.Therearedifferentgovernmentalandnongovernmentalorganizationsthatkeeprecords
ofvariouseducationaldataandinformationinNepalformonitoringandevaluationpurposes.
FindingsofthereviewsuggestthatdataandinformationaccumulatedthroughEMISandothersub
componentsneedtobesharedwithandlinkedtoothergovernmentalorganizationsatthenational
anddistrictlevels.Itisimportanttoestablishamechanismofestablishinglinkagesamongthe
differentMISsystemshorizontallyandvertically.Thesharingandinterlinkingofdatacanreduce
duplicationofeffortsandgeneratealotofinformationontime.Inaddition,whileitisevidentthat
datageneratedfromdifferentsystemsareusedbytheNationalOfficetomonitorprogressand
producedesirableresultsandreformsineducation,thelackoffeedbackmechanismsbetweenand
amongthedatasuppliersanddatareceiversandthequalityofdatacollectedarealsoimportant
concernsthatneedimmediateattentionforqualityeducationplanningandmonitoring.
11. RepublicofKorea(RoK)
EducationintheRoKhasundergonesubstantialchangessincetheestablishmentofthemodern
Koreaneducationsystemin1945.Initsfoundationalphase(19451959),theeducationpolicies
focusedonexpandingcoverageofbasiceducation,especiallycompulsoryprimaryeducation.Asa
result,primaryenrolmentrateincreasedto96percentasearlyas1959.Theilliteracyrate,which
was78.2percentin1948,decreasedto4.1percentby1958.Theexpansionstage(19601979)saw
heightenedinterestineducationamongtheKoreanpeopleandeducationopportunitieswere
substantiallyexpanded.Technicalandvocationaleducationandtraining(TVET)wasalso
86
MOE.2014.NepalEducationinFigures2014:AtAGlance.MOE,Monitoring,EvaluationandSupervisionDivision,Education
InformationManagementSection(EMIS),Singhdarbar,Kathmandu,Nepal. Website:www.moe.gov.np.
60

strengthenedandtheroleoftertiaryeducationwasemphasizedaswell.Thiswastoproducethe
necessaryhumanresourcesfortheRoKsrapideconomicdevelopmentandformodernizingits
industry.
Intheeducationsubstantialitystage(19801999),negativeimpactofcompetitionineducation(e.g.,
universityentrance)becameclearandtheimportanceofanopeneducationsystemwhichprepares
studentsforthe21stCenturysinformationandglobalizationagewasemphasized.Between1995
and1997,foureducationsectorreformswith48specifictaskswereproposed.Theyincluded:(1)
establishabaseforopeneducationandalifelonglearningsociety;(2)diversifyandspecialize
universities;(3)establishschoolcommunitytoautonomouslymanageprimaryandsecondary
schools;(4)reformcurriculumtoincludethehumanitiesandcreativity;(5)reformuniversity
entrancesystem;(6)provideeducationthatrespectseachlearnersindividuality.Currenteducation
policiesintheRoKareverymuchinfluencedbythedirectionssetbythesepolicies.
Since2000,thefocusineducationhasbeenonstrengtheningitsglobalcompetitivenessand
preparingstudentsforsuchcompetition.Theprinciplesofautonomyandcompetitionwith
accountabilityineducationhavebeenemphasizedduringthisperiod.Especially,developinghuman
resourceshasbecomethemainpolicyofeducation.However,comparedtothepastpoliciesthat
emphasizedeconomicvaluesofschooleducation,thecurrenteducationpolicieshaveshiftedtheir
focustopromoteholisticandlifelonglearningbeyondschools.Thekeyeducationpolicyfociare
creativity,globalcompetitiveness,andscienceandtechnologyforbuildingaknowledgebased
societyforthe21stCentury.Autonomyofschoolshasbeenfurthercarriedforwardwhilemorefocus
isgiventoaccountability.Variousmonitoringandevaluationsystemsforstudents,teachers,schools,
andsubnationalgovernmentshavebeenintroduced,andmostoftheresultsaremadeavailablefor
thegeneralpublic.
OverallappraisalofthecurrentM&Esystems
SubcomponentsoftheCurrentM&ESystem
EducationalStatisticsSurveyandAnalysisSystem
EducationstatisticsintheRoKarecollected,analyzedandpublishedbyvariousrelevant
organizationswithapprovalfromtheNationalStatisticsOffice(StatisticsKorea).Currently,thereare
tensucheducationsurveys,coveringfrombasictohighereducation,lifelonglearning,private
educationexpenses,specialeducation,andschooltoworktransition.Mostofthesurveyshave
beenintroducedinresponsetopolicypriorities(e.g.,privateexpenditureoneducation).Theresults
arestoredindatabasesandaremadeavailabletoeducationpolicymakers,researchers,aswellas
thegeneralpublic.
TheNationalEducationalStatisticsSurveyistheoldestamongthetenongoingstatisticalsurveysfor
whichtheMinistryofEducationisresponsible.ItiscommissionedtoKEDI(KoreanEducational
DevelopmentInstitute).TheMinistryofEducationhasthelegalrighttoaskschoolstosubmitthe
informationandcanimposeafinefornoncompliance.Thedatafromschoolsaresubmittedto
districtofficesofeducationviaanonlineplatform.Thedataaregatheredinthemetropolitanand
provincialofficesofeducation,andthensubmittedtoKEDIwhichdevelopspolicyinformationfor
theMinistryofEducation.
NationalEducationalInformationSystem(NEIS)
NEISwasdevelopedin2002andlaunchedin2003.Thesystemconnectsmorethan10,000primary
andsecondaryschoolstosupporttheschoolsdailyadministrativework.Thesystemalsoprovides
servicestodifferentrecipients,suchasparentswiththerelevantinformationontheirchildren,
61

universitiesonentryexaminformation,andeducationadministrationagenciesonstatisticaland
reportinformation.
EduFineSystem
TheEduFineSystem,launchedin2008,isanintegratedfinancialmanagementinformationsystem.
Thesystemislinkedtoeducationstatisticsandenablestheuserstosystematicallymanageunit
work,budget,financialaccounting,settlementofaccountsandfinancialanalysis.Limited
informationforpublicuseisalsoavailableonthewebsiteforpurposesofaccountabilityand
transparency.
PerformanceEvaluationSystems
StudentAssessment
Studentassessmentisconductedatthenationallevelaswellasatmetropolitanandprovinciallevel
officesofeducation.Currently,thenationalassessmentcoversmiddleschoolyear3studentsand
highschoolyear2students,evaluatingKorean,Mathematics,English,Socialstudies,andScience.
Themetropolitanandprovincialofficesofeducationlevelassessmentcoverstudentsfromprimary
year3tomiddleschoolyear2studentsforfivesubjects.Theresultsoftheassessmentareusedfor
qualityassuranceaswellasforpolicydevelopment.Theschoolswithlowachievementlevelsreceive
additionalfundingforprovidinglearningsupport.
SchoolEvaluation
Since1996,schoolsareevaluatedbytheirrespectivemetropolitanandprovincialofficesof
education.Themainrolesofthecentralgovernmentare:(1)settingthegeneraldirectionsofthe
evaluation;(2)developingandimprovingcommonindicatorsandprovidingtraining;and(3)
supportingandmonitoringtheevaluationofmetropolitanandprovincialofficesofeducation.The
schoolevaluationvariesfromoneeducationofficetoanother,butageneralevaluationprocedure
consistsofaschoolselfevaluationbasedontheindicatorsdevelopedbythecentralgovernment
andtheevaluationmadebyschoolvisitsbythemetropolitanandprovincialoffices.Thefrequency
oftheschoolevaluationisgenerallyonceeverythreeyears.Theschoolsarecategorizedbasedon
theirperformance.Highperformingschoolsreceiveadditionalfundingandtheirexperiencesare
sharedwithothersasbestpractices.Lowperformingschoolsreceivetightermonitoringand
additionalfollowup,generallybywayofconsulting.Theevaluationresultsarereturnedtothe
schoolsforplanningpurposes.However,theinformationisnotdisclosedtothegeneralpublic.
MetropolitanandProvincialOfficesofEducationEvaluation
Evaluationofthemetropolitanandprovincialofficesofeducationwasintroducedin1995.The
evaluationisconductedbyateamofexternalexpertsandstakeholdersincludinggovernment
officials,researchers,educators,andparents.Inrecentyears,thefocusisonusingtheexisting
informationfromothersubcomponentsoftheM&Esystemdiscussedabove.Theresultsarewidely
disseminatedthroughmassmedia.Basedontheresultsoftheevaluation,localeducationbureaus
receivefinancialincentives.Informationonthegoodpracticesisalsoshared.
TeacherEvaluation
Teacherevaluationhasbeenimplementedintheformofmanpowerdevelopmentsince1964.The
RoKhasgivenattentiontoteachers,withprofessionalismandaqualitymanagementpolicyplanasa
maintaskofthisevaluation.Inordertoovercomeschooleducationcrisisandstrengthen
competitiveness,theTeacherExpertiseDevelopmentEvaluationhasbeenintroduced.Theupdated
teacherevaluationsystemintroducednationwidein2011includesteachersselfassessmentsaswell
asevaluationsbystudents,parents,andtheircolleagues.Toreinforceparticipantssecurityand
anonymity,theNEISisusedtoconductteacherevaluations,andtheresultsaremadeavailableusing
theNEIS.
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OverallAppraisal
TheM&EsystemforeducationinRoKishighlydevelopedandcomprehensive.Therehasbeena
consciouseffortinthecountrytointegrateandstreamlinevarioussubcomponentsoftheM&E
system.Althoughtherearevariousinstitutesandorganizationscollectingandanalyzinginformation,
theNationalStatisticsOffice(StatisticsKorea)andtheMinistryofEducationareensuringthedata
qualityandusage.Anotherimportantpointtonoteisitsfocusoninformationdisclosurefor
increasedtransparencyandaccountability.Mostoftheinformationismadeavailabletothegeneral
publicusingtheinternetandmassmedia.Thereisalsoaclearsynergyacrossthesubcomponents
oftheM&Esystemandthedatacollectedandanalyzedareusedtoinformpolicymakingand
implementation.Inthiscontext,itisfairtosaythattheM&EsystemintheRoKismovingtowards
thesynergeticstage.
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OverallreviewofthestatusofM&EsystemsintheArabStates
12. I.1 StatusofM&ESystemsinEducationintheArabStates
I.1.1 Policies
M&EfortheeducationstrategiesandplansdoesnothavealongtraditionintheArabregion.The
firstattemptsatestablishingapplicationsforatrackingsystemstartedwiththeMDGsin2000.
Variousmechanismsforcollectingdataandinformationformanagementpurposes(education
statistics,stafffiles,examsdatabases,budgetoperations)existandoperateinindependently
compartmentalizeddepartments.Jordanisconsideredasachampioncountrywhichhasadopted
theseapplicationsinaholisticframework.In2003,theJordanianMinistryofEducationstartedthe
implementationofERfKEI(20032008)andrealizedthedemandformoreM&Eactivities.Since
2010,M&EhasbeeninstitutionalizedasasecondcomponentoftheERfKEIIproject(20082012).
ThefirstdraftofanM&EsysteminPalestinewasproducedin2008tosetqualitystandardsand
performanceindicatorsfortheSecondFiveYearPlan(20082012).Palestinegainedsolidknowledge
fromthisfirstexperiencewhichraiseddemandforamoresophisticatedM&EsystemforEDSP3
(20142019),focusingonResultsBasedManagementandservicedeliveryprogrammestoenhance
thequalityofeducationattheschoollevelandsimilarperformanceatalllevelsofmanagement.
InLebanon,M&Edemandemergedin2010withtheendorsementoftheNationalEducation
Strategy(NES)bytheLebaneseCabinet.TheNESconsistsoffivemainprioritiesunderwhichthere
aretendevelopmentprogrammes.InFebruary2012,anM&Eframeworkforthetenprogrammes
fortheESDPwasdevelopedandapproved.
DefiningEgyptasbeinginanIndependentStagebestdescribesthestatusoftheM&Eofthe
educationsectorthereasdifferentM&Esystemsareestablishedandfunctioning,butareoperating
asseparateentitiestoserveonlywithintheirconfinedscope.Plannedpolicyactionsneedtobe
implementedtoimprovetheeffectivenessandefficiencyofM&Esystems,andwhichwillsecureits
sustainabilityandbringtheresultsbasedpreceptintopractice.Thelackofanenabling
environment,markedbyamultiplicityofagencies,overlappingactions,bureaucracy,rigidinherited
structures,resistancetochange,andabsenceofupdatedM&Econceptsatlocallevelsareseento
bethemainchallenges.
I.1.2 InstitutionalandOrganizationalConditions
Inallfourcountries(Jordan,Palestine,LebanonandEgypt),specificinstitutionalarrangements
havebeensettocarryonM&EtoleadandcoordinateM&Eactivitiesatalllevelsofmanagement.
However,theformandreportinglinesdifferfromcountrytocountry.
AlthoughJordanstartedsomekindoftrackingsystemearlyin2003,itwasonlyin2010thatthe
MinistryofEducationrestructuredthemaintasksandresponsibilitiesassociatedwiththe
developmentofpoliciesandstrategicplanningandestablishedtheM&EDivisionintheDepartment
ofPlanningandEducationalResearch,asapartofERfKEIIproject.Inadditiontothis,theexternal
M&EisassignedtotheNCHRDthatreportsindependentlytotheGovernmentCabinetand
disseminatesresultstothewholesociety.
InLebanon,theMEHEapprovedandestablishedanewunitin2010withintheEducationSector
DevelopmentSecretariat(ESDS).TheESDScoordinateswiththeMEHEdepartmentsandreportsto
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theMinister.ThemandateoftheESDSrevolvesaroundthemanagementandcoordinationofthe
EducationSectorDevelopmentPlan(ESDP),specificallytheprojectsfundedbyexternaldonors.
InPalestine,anM&EDepartmentwascreatedwithintheGeneralDirectorateforPlanning
encompassingtwodivisions:theMonitoringDivisionwhichmonitorstheimplementationof
operationalplans(inputsoutputs);andtheEvaluationDivisionwhichreportsontheachievementof
theoutcomesandresultsexpectedinthestrategicplan(outcomesimpact).Whilebothdivisionsare
jointlyconcernedwithprovidingthegeneralframeworkforthemonitoringandevaluationofthe
EDSP(5YearPlan)withaprimefocusonenhancingeducationalquality,theysharethetasks
betweendatacollection,ontheonehand,anddatainterpretationandreportingontheother.
InEgypt,theorganizationalstructureoftheMinistryofEducationisconfiguredinthesamewayas
otherservicesectorsandasoutlinedbythepublicadministrationofthecountrywhereeverythingis
controlledfromthecentre.Thesectorstructureconsistsofacentralbodyorheadquartersand
correspondinglocaladministrationsatgovernoratesanddistricts.Thesectormanagementis
supportedbysomeautonomousbodieswhichalsousuallyhavecentralandlocaladministrations.
ThecentralmanagementisbasedinCairoandconnectedtothelocalofficesviadifferentmodalities
ofcommunicationrangingfromsurfacemail,telephone,andfaxtointranetsandotherwebbased
communications.Poormodesofcommunicationsoftenneededtohandlealargetransferof
documents87havenegativeimplicationsontimelinessofinformationanddecisionmaking,especially
attheoperationallevel.
I.1.3 LeadershipandPublicEngagement
ResultsbasedM&Esystemsarefundamentallyrelatedtothepoliticalandpowersystemsof
government.SinceallfourofthesecountriesaresupportedbyexternaldonorstobuildtheirM&E
systems,theycanbeusedtohelppolicymakersdemonstratetheimpactandoutcomestotheir
respectivestakeholders,andtogainpublicsupport.Theyallhavepoliticalsupportfromleadersof
theMinistryofEducationandtechnicalandlogisticalsupportfromsomeinternationalactors.
Thedevelopmentofthesystem,inconjunctionwiththeStrategicPlanoftheMinistryandits
adoptionbyseniormanagementaswellasatalllevelsdowntheline,attractsgreatinterestinthe
M&Esystembyallpartnersandstakeholdersatvariouslevels,particularlythedonorcountries.
However,sincedifferentinternationaldonoragencieshaveprovidedgrantsandloansaswellas
technicalresourcesandexpertisetotheministriestoimplementdifferentpartsofthese
programmes,thesustainabilityoftheM&Esysteminthesecountriesdependsverymuchonthe
extentofcontinuousexternalbudgetarycommitmentsfromdonors(suchisthecaseinLebanonand
Palestine).ThecultureofM&Eisyettobeintegratedasaregularpartofthegovernmentbudgeting
process.
I.1.4 HumanResources
DesigningandbuildingaM&Esystemthatcanproducetrustworthy,timely,andrelevant
informationontheperformanceofgovernmentprojects,programmes,andpoliciesrequires
experience,skill,andrealinstitutionalcapacity.Althoughallthecountriesstudiedhaveestablished
administrativestructuresdedicatedtoM&Eactivities,theystillhavealongwaytogotostrengthen
theirhumanresourcescapacitytocopewiththeincreasingdemandonM&Eanalyzesandreporting.
TheM&Edivisionordepartmentconsistsofasmallnumberofstaffatthecentrallevelleadingall
theactivities(threecoordinatorsinadditiontotheDivisionsheadinJordan,oneM&Especialistin
Lebanon,andheadsoftheM&EDivisionsandtheDirectorGeneralofPlanninginPalestine).They
87
Hardcopiesneedtobesignedandstampedateverylevelbeforereachingheadquarters.
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relyonliaisonofficersforM&EintheMinistryofEducationdepartmentswhomanagevarious
databasesandmanagementfiles(EMIS,exams,inspectorate,andbudgetoperations),aswellasthe
DirectoratesofEducationinthefield,whoareseentobeactingonadhocassignmentsinparallelto
theirregularadministrativetasks.TheexampleofJordanisworthyofmentionasthequalifiedstaff
attheNCHRDthereprovidealltheneededtechnicalsupporttotheMOE.
I.1.5 UtilizationofTechnology
TechnologyisanessentialsupportformodernandeffectiveM&Esystems.Itreducesstafftimeand
administrativecostsdedicatedtoM&Eactivities,andaugmentsthesoundnessandaccuracyofdata
processingandanalysis.
Thecountriesstudiedareusingtechnologytoolstosomeextent,buttheirlevelsofdevelopmentare
notuniform.JordanhasseriouslyinvestedinenhancingtheuseofICTsinmanyaspectsofits
educationsystem,includingtheM&Esystem,throughthepublicationofM&Ereportsissuedbythe
M&EDivisionontheMOESwebsite.Italsofollowsuponprogrammesandprojectsthroughthe
electronicsysteminthemonitoringunit.

InLebanon,severaleducationITsystemsanddatabasesexistbuttheyarenotintegratedandthey
donotinterfaceforexchangeofdata.Thedatacollectedthroughthesurveysisuploadedmanually.
TheEducationalCentreforResearchandDevelopment(ECRD)managesEMIS,GISandthe
Examinationssystems,whereastheESDS,whichisresponsiblefortheoverallM&Eoftheeducation
strategy,operatesexcelapplicationsanddatabasesaccordingtoadhocinformationrequests.
ThePalestinesituationindicatesthatallquantitativedataforvariousindicatorsarecompiled
throughexistingdatabasesusingacomputerizedmatrixlinkedwiththecomputerizedfinancial
system.Thesecomputerizedcalculationmechanismsareusedintransformingqualitativeresultsto
quantitativemeasures.Themonitoringmechanismsfortheschoolinformationsystemare
computerizedandplacedonawebpagetolinkwithschoolsonanongoingbasisviatheinternet.
ThepublicationofthereportsonthewebpageoftheMOEconsolidatespublicawareness.
InEgypt,ICTapplicationsinplanning,M&Eanddecisionmakingsystemsatalllevelsarenot
effectivelyinterconnected.
I.1.6 EffectiveUses
TheultimateeffectivenessofM&Esystemsistheextenttowhichtheyareusedtoenhancethree
levelsofresultsbasedmanagement:evidencebasedpolicymaking,evidencebasedmanagement,
andevidencebasedaccountability.M&Ecanprovidegovernmentswithstrongevidenceto
deliberateaboutthemostcosteffectiveinterventionstorespondtohighpriorityeducational
challengesbasedontheavailableinformationandindicators.M&Ecanalsohelptheminmanaging
theplannedactivitiesatdifferentlevelsofgovernancebyidentifyingthemostefficientuseof
availableresourcesandputinplaceappropriatecorrectivemeasureswhereneededtomeetthe
targetsandtheexpectedoutcomes.M&Efinallyenhancestransparencyandaccountabilityby
revealingtheextenttowhichgovernmenthasattaineditsdesiredobjectives(withregularreporting
withinthegovernmentsectorsanddepartments,aswellastothepoliticiansandthecivilsociety).
Evidencebasedpolicymaking:M&Esystemscanhelpidentifypotentiallypromisingprogrammesor
practices.Theycanalsoidentifyunintendedbutperhapsusefulprojects,programmesandpolicy
results.Theyenablegovernmentsandorganizationstodevelopaknowledgebaseofthetypesof
interventionsthataresuccessful,ormoregenerally,whatworks,whatdoesnot,andwhy.Two
examplesshownintheindividualcountyreportsbelowprovideevidencetoshowthatgovernment
canbenefitfromagoodexperienceinM&Etobuildsolidplansandpolicies:Jordanhasusedthe
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resultsofERfKEItodevelopERfKEII,andPalestinehasusedEDSP1resultstodevelopEDSP2.The
annualreportsfromPalestinehavehadagreatimpactondrawingtheattentionofinterestedparties
withinandoutsidetheMinistrytotheweaknessesthathavepreventedtheachievementofthe
desiredresults.Themostsignificantimpactthatcouldbementionedisthegraduallyincreasing
awarenessoftheconjunctionbetweenplanningbasedontheevidenceandthelevelofthe
implementationoftheeducationalreform.
Evidencebasedmanagement:TheM&Esystemisacrucialmanagementtoolforthepublicsector
managertoachieveresultsandmeetspecifictargets.Informationonprogress,problems,and
performancearecriticaltoapublicmanagerstrivingtoachieveresults.M&Esystemscanhelp
managersidentifyprogrammeweaknessesandtakeactiontocorrectthem.Theycanalsoprovide
continuousfeedbackonthemanagementprocessofmonitoringandevaluatingprogresstowarda
givengoal.Generally,regularmeetingshavebeenfoundtobeorganizedatdifferentlevelsof
managementtopresentinterimprogressreportsandtakecorrectivemeasures.InPalestine,for
example,theM&EreportshavebeenofutmostimportanceforthePolicyCommitteeinthe
implementationoftheannualplansandtheirimpactonpoliciesandinstructionsfor
implementation.
Evidencebasedaccountability:TheinformationfromanM&Esystemisimportanttothoseoutside
thepublicsectorwhoexpectsresults,wanttoseedemonstrableimpactsofgovernmentactions,and
hopetobuildtrustingovernment.Externalandinternalstakeholdersneedtohaveaclearsenseof
thestatusofprojects,programmes,andpolicies.Theabilitytodemonstratepositiveresultscanalso
helpingaininggreaterpoliticalandpopularsupport.InJordan,M&Ereportsaredisseminatedto
decisionmakersandallstakeholders,includingpostingonthewebsiteoftheMinistry,andpaper
reportssentthroughofficialletterstostakeholders.InLebanon,accuratedataismadeavailable
throughtheECRDtothepublic.Officialexecutivelevelmeetingsareheldattheministrylevelfor
sharingthemainfindingsofM&Eoutcomes.Thereare,however,nofunctional/operational
accountabilitymeasuresinplacetoreinforceevidencebaseddecisionmaking,whichremains
limited,casedependent,andhighlyinfluencedbypoliticalconsiderations.TheM&Esystemin
Palestinehasprovidedstrongevidenceontheextentoftheexpectedachievementoftargetsacross
thethreestrategicgoals:access,qualityandmanagement.Progressreportsareavailabletothe
generalpublicontheMOEwebpageinJordanandPalestine.
I.1.7 ClarityofStrategicGoals
M&Eframeworkshavebeendevelopedtobealignedwiththeirrespectiveeducationdevelopment
strategy.Theclearerandbetterdefinedthestrategicgoalstobeachievedare,theeasieristheway
thattheywillbemonitoredandevaluated.
Thereareareasofcommonconcerntoallthecountries,includingeducationqualityandgovernance.
Qualityeducationcoverstraditionalpolicyissuessuchasteachersdevelopment,curriculumreview
andlearningassessmentwheredefinitionsaremoreorlessclearandperformanceindicatorsare
commonlyused.However,citizenshipisanemergingissueintroducedintheLebanonframework
thatmayposecertaindifficultiesindefiningitsscopeandmeasuringitsoutcomes.Asfor
governance,similarissuesareofconcerntoallthecountries,suchaspolicyandplanning,EMIS
development,monitoringandevaluation.JordanandLebanonhaveacommonconcernwithregard
toschooleffectiveness.Focusisbeingmadeonschoolplanningandmanagement,selfevaluation
andcommunityinvolvement.Jordanintendstobuildanationalschoolbaseddevelopmentsystem,
whichmeansdevelopingrelevantstandardsandguidelines.
InEgypt,theMinistryofEducationhasdevelopedanambitioussectorstrategyforpretertiary
education.ThegoalistoprovideEgyptianswithqualityandrelevanteducationtocopewiththe
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dynamicrequisitesofalearningbasedsocietyandknowledgebasedeconomy,andtoprovidefor
greateraccountabilityofoutcomes.
Finally,eachcountryhasitsspecificfocusareasforprioritydevelopment:ECD,SpecialEducation,
andTVETinJordan;ECDandICTsinLebanon;accessinprimaryandsecondaryeducationin
Palestine;andEgyptwithafocusonprovidingqualitypretertiaryeducation.
I.1.8 RelevanceofPerformanceIndicators
Performanceindicatorsarenecessarymeansforassessingthevariousaspectsofproject,
programmeorstrategydevelopmentinputs,processes,outputs,outcomesandimpacts.Whenthey
arebasedonsolidworkonthedatacollection,analysisanddisseminationofresults,theseindicators
enablemanagerstomonitortheprogressoftheimplementationofactivities,determinethe
shortcomingsandtakecorrectivemeasurestoimproveservicedelivery.Poorlydefinedindicators
arenotgoodmeasuresofprogress.Thetendencytoretaintoomanyindicators,orchoosing
indicatorsforwhichthereisnoaccesstodatasources,canmakethemcostlyanddifficultto
implement.Forinstance,theM&EFrameworkinJordandefined85indicatorstomonitorand
evaluatetheachievementofthefivestrategicgoals:2impact/longtermoutcomesindicators;37
intermediaryoutcomesindicators;and46outputsindicators.InLebanon,52indicatorshavebeen
selectedtomonitorandevaluatetheachievementofthefivestrategicgoals:23outcomes
indicators;and29outputsindicators.InPalestine,22keyperformanceindicatorstomonitorthe
threestrategicgaols.Inaddition,twoindicatorshavebeenidentifiedrelatedtoeducation
expenditureandperstudentcostinGeneralEducation,and11indicatorsformonitoringfragilityin
Palestine.
Desirably,thereneedstobeatradeoffbetweenidealandpossibleindicators,inorderto
settleontheoptimalindicatorsforwhichdataisaccessibleandwillpermitmeasurement.
I.1.9 IntegratedSourceofInformation
AlthoughallthesecountrieshavesetupM&Edivisionsordepartments,eitherwithintheir
directoratesofplanningorinseparatesecretariatsasinthecaseofLebanon,thesesystemsare
evolvingatanindependentstagewhereotherM&Esystemsarealsoestablishedandfunctioning,
butareoperatingasseparateentitiestoserveattheirparticularpurpose(EMIS,teachers
management,inspectorates,budgetmanagement,studentsassessment,etc.).Moreover,veryfew
indicatorsarecoveredbytheestablishedEMIS,whichneedscollectiveandcoordinatedeffortsin
ordertocollectallthenecessaryinformationforcoveringalltheindicatorsfromtherespective
managementdepartments.
InJordan,paralleltotheM&EDivisionintheDepartmentofPlanningandEducationalResearch,and
theNCHRD,arearangeofotherentitiesthatundertaketheirownseparateM&Eactivitiesatthe
ministrydepartments,directoratesorschoollevels.Althoughsomeofthemperformcloseto
monitoringandevaluationfunctions,theyoperateinindependentanduncorrelatedways(Division
ofMeasurementandEvaluationintheDepartmentofExaminationsandtests;Departmentof
CurriculaandTextbooks;DirectoratesofEducation;schools,etc.).
WhilsttheM&EinLebanonhasbeeninstitutionalizedbythecreationoftheEducationSector
DevelopmentSecretariat,theECRDremainsthemainsourceofinformationwithitslargerscopeof
competencies.Theseinclude,amongothers,undertakingeducationalresearchandconducting
evaluationsoftheLebaneseeducationalsystem.Theseevaluationsrevolveroundassessingand
analyzingtheperformanceofthestudentsandteachersinthepublicandtheprivatesectorsat
primaryandsecondarylevelswithinboththegeneralandthevocationalandtechnicaleducation
streams.Inaddition,theECRDissuesanannualindicatorsbrochurewhichincludesindicatorson
studentsperformanceinboththepublicandprivateschools,basedontheinformationcollected
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fromtheschoolsandtheresultsoftheyearlynationalexaminations.Otherdepartmentsalso
undertakesomekindofM&E(theDepartmentofPedagogicOrientationattheDirectorateGeneral
ofEducation;theNationalEvaluationBody[DispositifNationaldEvaluationDNE]).Thesesystems
feedintoeachotherinalimitedbutnotyetsystemized/standardizedmannerandonlyonpaper
basedrequests.
InPalestine,theGeneralDirectorateforPlanningoftheMEHEhousestheDepartmentofMonitoring
andEvaluationinchargeoftheoverallM&EofallaspectsoftheEDSP.Inaddition,theMinistryof
PlanningandAdministrativeDevelopment(MPAD)monitorseducationasasector,andthe
DirectorateGeneralofProjectsoftheMEHEhousestheDivisionforMonitoringandEvaluationof
Projects.BesidetheindicatorscoveredinEMISundertheresponsibilityoftheGeneralDirectorate
forPlanning,otherindicatorsarereportedbytheCurriculumCentre,theDepartmentofAssessment
andEvaluation,Supervisorsatthedistrictlevel,theDivisionofEducationalTechnology,theGeneral
DirectorateforAdministrativeAffairs,andtheDivisionofSchoolHealth,throughsurveysand
studies,reportsoffieldvisits,supervisorsreports,standardizedachievementtests,andschool
reports.
AsforEgypt,thegrowingICTlandscape,anddevotingapriorityprogrammeinthesectorstrategyfor
thedevelopmentoftheM&Esystemforthesectormaypavethewaytoreachthesynergeticstage
andcopingwiththepost15agendaby2017.
13. I.2 PolicyIssuesofM&ESystemsintheArabRegion
TheassessmentoftheEFAperiod20002015hasshownthatmanyArabStatesarelaggingbehindin
theachievementofEFAgoalsandsomeareontrackonlyregardingthequantitativegoals.Still,the
performanceoftherichGulfStatesarestartlingontheimprovementofeducationqualityas
evidencedbytheirstudentsperformanceininternationalassessment.TheArabregionincludesa
diversityofcountriesandarangeofapproachesandprogresstowardsM&Eofeducationina
practicalandsystemicway.Despitethewiderangeofcontextstherearesomecommonissues
including:
Mostofthecountriesarestillrelyingonmonitoringtoolsforthemanagementoftheinputsand
activities.Evaluationoftheoutcomesandmeasurementofimpactisyettobeestablished;
PublishingandmediatingtheresultsofM&Eintothedifferentpolicyandadvocacyspaces,
includingthepolicy,publicandresearchcommunitiesseemtowarrantbettertransparencyin
thedisseminationofresults,whichisstilltobedevelopedinordertoenhanceaccountabilityto
stakeholders;
Thereisaneedfordevelopingapracticalandintegratedsystemicapproachtocollectingand
makinguseofavailabledata.Thevariousdatacollectionmechanismsarestilloperating
independentlyfordifferentmanagementpurposes;and
ThereisaneedforbuildinginstitutionalandorganizationalcapacityforM&E,including
regulatoryframeworksandrelationshipswithotheragencies.
ThemostimportantchallengeofdesigningandbuildinganeffectiveM&Esystemintheregion,like
otherdevelopingcountries,istheincitationofthepoliticaldemandforsuchasystem.Lackof
demandisrootedintheabsenceofastrongevaluationculture,whichstemsfromtheabsenceof
performanceorientationinthepublicsector.ThedemandforestablishingeffectiveM&Einthe
selectedcountriesishoweverbeinggeneratedthankstoexternaldonorswhorequestregularfeed
backtoestablishthevalueofthemoneytheyinvest.Theexperiencecapitalizedfrommanaging
externalfundshasenabledthesecountriestodevelopandimprovetheirM&Esystems.
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Otherleverageforthisdevelopmentstemsfromthepoliticaltransitioninthewholeregionafterthe
ArabSpring,afterwhichmoreandmorevoicesarerisingandcallingforbettertransparencyand
accountabilityinmanagingpublicresources.Atthesametime,thereappearstoberesistanceto
changefromthefunctionaries,especiallybecausetheactivitiesofM&Ewillrequirethemtodomore
workandengagemoreproceduresforaccountability.
Capacitybuildingisalsoneededtodevelop,support,andsustainthesesystems.Managerialstaffare
experiencingdifficultyinidentifyingrealisticandpracticalinterventionstoovercomethe
shortcomingsoftheeducationsystem.Inparticular,thereisadisparityinthereadinessofthosein
chargeoftheimplementationoftheM&Esystemattheschoollevel.
Otherchallengesrelatedtologisticsandfinancialresourcesarealsotobeconsidered.Theseinclude,
forinstance,thelackofappropriateresourcestoimplementtheM&Esystem,particularlyfor
qualitativeactivitiesthattypicallyrequirehighcost;andweaknessincommunicationand
disseminationofinformationamongstakeholdersinthefieldtoenablethemtoidentifyspecific
targetsfordevelopment.
14. I.3 KeyFindingsandRecommendations
AvarietyoflessonslearnedhavebeengeneratedbythisregionalM&EreviewconductedinJordan,
Lebanon,PalestineandEgypt.Allofthesecountrieshaveaccumulatedsubstantialexperiencein
designing,developingandmanagingtheirrespectiveM&Esystems.Atthesametime,theystilllack
someinstitutional,human,andtechnicalcapacitytoeffectivelysustainthesesystems.Thisis,
however,notaninsurmountableobstacle.Trainingandtechnicalassistancecanbeprovidedto
remedythesedifficulties.Butnoamountoftrainingandtechnicalassistancecansubstitutefor
indigenouspoliticalwill.Oftenthepoliticalchallengesaremoredifficulttoovercomethanthe
technicalones.Highlyplacedpoliticalchampionsandstrong,sustainedpoliticalleadershiparethe
keyingredientsinaneffectiveM&Esystem.
I.3.1 PoliticalandInstitutionalLeverages
ThemostimportantchallengetodesigningandbuildinganeffectiveM&Esystemintheregion,
asinotherdevelopingcountries,istheincitationofthepoliticaldemandforsuchasystem.Lack
ofdemandisrootedintheabsenceofastrongevaluationculture,whichstemsfromthe
absenceofperformanceorientationinthepublicsector.
DespitearelativelyshortperiodoftimesincethecreationofdedicatedM&Eunitsinthe
respectiveministriesofeducation,manytoolshavebeendevelopedtofollowuponactivities,
projectsandprogrammes.However,thesetargetedactivities,projectsandprogrammesneed
furtherclarificationandawarenessaboutthestrategicimportanceofM&E.Theyalsoneedto
obtainrequiredsupportfromseniormanagementlevels.
Otherleverageforthisdevelopmentstemsfromthepoliticaltransitioninthewholeregionafter
theArabSpring,whichignitednewsocialdebatearoundyouth,socialjustice,employment,
etc.Highlyplacedchampionswhoarewillingtoassumethepoliticalrisksofadvocatingfor
resultsbasedM&Earethereforeneeded.Thisbecomesevenmorechallengingwiththe
emergingabstractivequalitydimensions,suchascitizenshipandsustainabledevelopmentthat
areyettobeclearlydefined,monitoredandevaluated.ThereisaneedfortheexistingM&E
systems,toadapttotheemergingchallenges,whereallmonitoringmechanismsareintegrated
intoasystemwideframeworktoleadtoaholisticevidencebaseddecisionmakingmechanism.
SubsequenttotheemergingissuesoftheSyriancrisis,togetherwithotherfactors,theM&Ein
theeducationsystemismovingtowardsanationalmultilevelscale,requiringclose
collaborationbetweenseveralentitiesofthegovernment.Institutionalizationofcross
ministerialM&Efunctionsishighlyneeded.
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I.3.3 HumanandFinancialResource
Capacitybuildingisalsoneededtodevelop,support,andsustainthesesystems.Officialsneedto
betrainedinmodernmethodsofdatacollection,monitoringandanalysis.Managerialstaff
experiencedifficultyinidentifyingrealisticandpracticalinterventionstoovercomethe
shortcomingsoftheeducationsystem.Inparticular,thereisadisparityinthelevelsofreadiness
ofthoseinchargeoftheimplementationoftheM&Esystemattheschoollevel.
Thereisaneedtoincreasethelevelofawarenessaboutthedeterminantsoftheoutputsand
resultsandtheirshortcomings.Promotingawarenessprovidestheopportunitytomakebetter
decisionsinrelationtothedesignandpreparationoftherightinterventionsthroughbetter
choiceofinstrumentsofdatacollection,andindepthresultsanalysis,therebyenhancingthe
qualityofmonitoringandevaluation.Inmostcases,dataanalysisfocusesmainlyonadding
numbersandcalculatingpercentages.Thereisaneedtoconductdeeperquantitativeand
qualitativeanalyzes,soastoextendtheanalysesbeyondoutputlevelandtoincludethelevelof
results,ensuringthatM&Esystemsaddresstheresultlevels(outcomesandimpacts),including
thosethatareessentiallyqualitative.
Otherchallengesrelatedtologisticsandfinancialresourcesarealsotobeconsidered.These
include,forinstance,alackofappropriateresourcestoimplementtheM&Esystem,particularly
forqualitativeactivitiesthattypicallyrequirehighcost;andweaknessincommunicationand
disseminationofinformationamongstakeholdersinthefieldtoidentifyspecifictargetsfor
development.Communicationandcoordinationwithinandbetweengovernmentagenciesand
departmentsandamongdonorsareequallyimportant.
15.
I.3.4 TechnicalToolsandMethods
TheEMISineachcountrygathersahugeamountofdata,butitcoversalimitednumberof
necessaryindicatorsdesignedbytheM&Eframeworks.Therefore,indepthreviewofEMISdata
andtoolsisrequired,asplannedinJordan,sothatitbecomesmoreresponsivetokey
performanceindicatorsdesignedintheM&Eframework.
Dataandinformationexchangebetweendifferentdepartmentsmanagingrespectivedatabases
arestillbeingoperatedthroughmanualtoolsoradhocapplications.Thereisaneedtobuildan
integratedM&Esystemlinkingallrequireddatasourcesinasystematicandautomatized
process.
AlargevolumeofdataisbeingmobilizedfromtheimplementationoftheM&Esystematall
levels.Itisnecessarytoprovideevidenceofthevalidityandreliabilityofthesedata.Thereisno
evidencetosupporttheaccuracyandqualityofthedata,whichpreventdeterminationofthe
extentofitsimportanceandusefulnessintheprocessofdecisionmakingorpolicyanalysis.
ThereisalimiteduseoftheresultsoftheM&Eforpolicydesignanddevelopment.Itcanbe
concludedthatthereisashortageinthecapacityofmonitoringandevaluationingeneralatthe
centrallevelaswellasatdistrictandschoollevels.Thisrequiresthecreationofsubsystemsfor
M&Einthedepartmentsoftheministryanddirectoratesofeducationandschools.Thesewill
supplementthenationalsystemofM&E.
Usageofthetimelyandreliableeducationstatistics,informationandindicatorsprovidedby
EMIStosupporteducationalplanningneedstobeimproved.M&E,decisionmaking,and
internationalcomparisonsneedtobemadesystemicandnotremainonanadhocbasis.
I.3.5 OtherEmergingIssues
Therearetwomajorcommonemergingissuestomanycountriesthatwouldshapethenecessary
adaptationoftheexistingM&Esystems.Thefirstisspecifictothoseaffectedbycontinuousornew
conflictsofvariousnatures(political,religious,andethnical).TheseinvolvePalestine,Lebanon,Iraq,
Syria,Libya,Yemen,Tunisia,Egypt,andtosomeextentJordan.Asaresult,theoverwhelming
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movementofpopulation(refugees,IDPs)mayaffectthedesignanddevelopmentofneweducation
strategiesandapproaches.Thesecondisrelatedtothenewpoliticalatmosphereinthewhole
regionbroughtaboutbytheArabSpring.Thismayalsorequireindepthcurriculumreviewto
integrateemergingeducationnotions,suchascitizenship,educationforpeace,culturaldialogueand
21stCenturyskills.
AnyeffectiveM&Esystemshouldintegrateallthesedimensionsinordertobeofusetopoliticiansin
designingresponsivepoliciesandinterventions,tomanagersformonitoringandevaluatingthe
plannedactivities,andtoallstakeholdersandthesocietyasawholeforprovidingevidencebased
accountabilityandtransparency.ThereisaneedthentofurtherstrengthentheM&Esystemto
provideadeeperevidencebaseformanagementanddecisionmakingandhelpbuildacultureof
evaluationacrossthewholeorganization.Systemwideregularevaluationsshouldbecarriedoutas
partofthenewM&Eapproach,basedonthemainevaluationcriteria:relevance,coherence,
sustainability,effectiveness,efficiencyandequity.
SubsequenttotheemergingissuesoftheSyriancrisistogetherwithotherfactors,theM&Einthe
educationsysteminLebanonandJordanisdevelopingtoanationalmultilevelscalerequiringclose
collaborationbetweenseveralentitiesofthegovernment.Institutionalizationofcrossministerial
M&Efunctionsishighlyneeded.Thus,therecommendationisthatanM&Efunction/unitbe
establishedatthegovernmentalleveltoberesponsibleforM&Ereportingondevelopmentprojects.
AcabinetlevelinterventiontoensurecomprehensiveM&Efunctionswillalsohavetheneeded
accesstotheconcernedministriesforeachmonitoringand/orevaluationcaseforrelevantand
comprehensivedatacollectionandanalysis.Thiswillsupportmoregoodgovernanceindecision
makingatthecabinetlevel,andwillcomplementthepreviouseffortstoestablishM&Eentities
withintheministries,includingtheMOE,usingatopdownapproachinitiatedasinLebanon..
InthecaseofEgypt,thereisaneedtoinstitutionalizeacountrylevelobservatoryhostedbyan
independentagencysuchNCERDorNAQAA,convenedofrepresentativesofM&Ssystemsandother
involvedagenciessuchCAPMAS,andMOF.SuchanobservatorywouldnotreplacetheexistingM&E
systems,butratherdevelopasystemicmechanismtoensurethatdifferentsystemsmutually
reinforceeachother,createsynergyandfacilitateperformanceoftheeducationsysteminaholistic
andcomprehensivemanner.
InEgypt,again,M&Eoftheeducationsectorwillnotbecompletedwithoutcapturingtheinteraction
ofthesupplysideofthereformformula.Suchinteractioncouldbemonitoredbythehousehold
surveysadministeredbytheCAMAPS.Unfortunately,thereisnosystemwithintheeducationsector
inchargeofintegratingtheresultsofsuchsurveyswiththeoutputsofothersystems,suchasschool
mappingorEMIS.However,therecommendedobservatorycouldtakecareofsuchatask.Similarly,
thereisneedforguaranteeinggoodgovernanceviacommunityparticipationandengagementofall
stakeholdersintheeducationalprocessandinthesupportofdecisionmakingwithinschools.88
ExpandingtheuseofICTapplicationsinplanning,M&Eanddecisionmakingsystemsatalllevels
needtobecomeinterconnectedandfunctioninacoordinatedandsynergeticmannerproviding
comprehensiveinformationinanoptimalandholisticmanner.
DevelopingthecapacityoftheM&Edepartmentstaffisalsoofhighpriorityinorderforthemtobe
abletomanagetheM&Esystemwithhighefficiency.Providingcapacitybuildingopportunities,
alongwithvariousincentivesisessential.TheMinistryofEducationinPalestineiscurrently
implementingacapacitybuildingplaninevaluationasafunction,whichmeansthatthe
evaluationprocessisarelativelynewpracticecarriedoutbytheministry.Theministryiscurrently
88
Sectorstrategy20132017
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seekingtodevelopaguideforevaluationandatrainingmodelwithsupportfromICONInstitute.In
othercountries,suchcapacitymaymeanskillsofdataanalysis,asinthecaseofEgyptwherethe
capacityofNCEEE/NCERDtoconductandanalyzenationaleducationalsurveysandmonitoring
evaluationprogrammesusingsophisticatedanalyticalmethodologiesneedsstrengthening.
CountryCaseStudies
Inthissection,indepthinformationfromfourselectedcountriesispresentedtodemonstrate
differentstagesofdevelopmentofanM&Esystemineducation.Thecountrieshavebeenselected
onthebasisof:(1)geographicaldistribution(threefromtheMiddleEastregionandonefromNorth
Africa);(2)recenttrendsineducationpolicydevelopmentrelatedtoM&E;and(3)theavailabilityof
literatureanddata.
16.
Jordan
TheStatusofM&ESystemsinEducationSector
Theextensionofthemonitoringandevaluationcapacityoftheeducationsystemhasemergedinthe
lastfewyearsasamajorpriorityfortheMinistryofEducationinJordan.Thisconcernandperceived
needareinextricablylinkedtotheessentialrequirementforawelldevelopedpolicyandstrategic
planningcapacityintheMinistrybasedondataandevidencefrombothquantitativeandqualitative
sources.
ExperienceoftheEducationReformfortheKnowledgeEconomyProgramme(ERfKEI)clearly
indicatesthatthereisaneedfordevelopinganinternalM&EsystemwithintheMOEdepartments
forthedailymonitoringofactivitiesandearlywarningontheimplementationtrack,andfor
strengtheningtheexternalM&Esystemtomakeitgrowfrombeinganindependentinstitutionto
onethatcanprovidemorestrategicfeedbackonoutcomesandimpactoftheeducationstrategy.
RegardlessofhowtheM&Eactivitieswereconductedinthepast,theMinistrynowrealizesthe
demandformoreM&Eactivities,particularlyinternalM&Eactivities,ascrucialtothe
implementationofthesecondphaseoftheERfKEProject.
TheorganizationalreviewoftheMinistryofEducationin2010restructuredthemaintasksand
responsibilitiesassociatedwiththedevelopmentofpoliciesandstrategicplanningunderthe
supervisionoftheDepartmentofPlanningandEducationalResearch.WithinthisDepartmentwas
createdaDivisionofMonitoringandEvaluation(M&E).
InternalM&EisundertakenbytheM&EDivision,whichseekstoinstitutionalizethemonitoringand
evaluationsysteminordertoachievethestrategicobjectivesoftheMinistryanditsplans,including
partnershipswitheducationaldepartmentsanddonorsthrough:
Followupandevaluationoftheschoolsdevelopmentprogrammeandpreparationofannual
reportsatalladministrativelevels(ministry,directorateandschool);
FollowupofERfKEprojectandpreparationofbiannualreports;
Implementationofselectedevaluationstudies;
FollowupoftheStrategicPlanoftheMinistryofEducationandpreparationofanannualreport;
and
Followupofalltheprogrammesandprojectsontheelectronicsystemandpreparationof
monthlyreports.
TheM&EDivisionconsistsofthreecoordinatorsinadditiontotheDivisionshead.Theyallhavethe
potentialtoconductmonitoringandevaluationactivitiesandtwoofthemhavereceivedintensive
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traininginmonitoringandevaluation(80hours).Thereare13liaisonofficersforM&Einthe
MinistryofEducationdepartmentsand45liaisonofficersin42DirectoratesofEducationinthefield.
ExternalM&EisundertakenbytheNCHRD(NationalCentreforHumanResourcesDevelopment),
whichhashighcapacitytoconductnationalM&Eactivities.Itbenefitsfromconsistentsupportfrom
theUSAIDforthedevelopmentofitsperformance.TheNCHRDhasconductedevaluationstudies
characterizedbyhighqualityrelatedtotheimplementationoftheEducationReformforKnowledge
Economy(ERfKE),andmanyoftheotherstudiesrelatedtohumanresourcesingeneral.The
MemorandumofUnderstandingbetweenthetwoparties(NCRDandtheMinistryofEducation)
confirmsthatthestaffatNCHRDarequalifiedtoworkasmentorsandtrainerstothestaffofthe
MinistryofEducationintheprocessofcapacitybuilding.
ParalleltotheM&EDivisionintheDepartmentofPlanningandEducationalResearch,andthe
NCHRD,therearearangeofotherentitiesthatundertaketheirseparateM&Eactivitiesatthe
ministrydepartment,directorateorschoollevels.Althoughsomeofthemarecloseinmonitoring
andevaluationfunctions,theyoperateinindependentanduncorrelatedways.Theseinclude:
DivisionofMeasurementandEvaluationintheDepartmentofExaminationsandTests:Itplays
animportantroleintheassessmentoflearningoutcomesandthedevelopmentofstandardsfor
thequalityoftheeducationsystem.Examplesofitsachievementincludethenationalexamto
assessthequalityofeducation;analysisoflearningskillsinbasiceducation;andlearning
achievementinArabic,English,mathematicsandscienceforeighthgradestudents.The
evaluationreportsprovideananalysisoftheevaluationoftheperformanceofeachdirectorate
andschool,andthencomparesthemwiththeperformanceoftherestofthecountry.
DepartmentofCurriculaandTextbooks:Gathersfeedbackfromstudents,teachers,schoolheads
andparentsabouttheprocessofcurriculumdevelopment.Feedbackisalsogatheredfrom
stakeholdersviaphone,fax,andemail.
DirectoratesofEducation:Directoratesorganizefieldvisitstoschools,andtakeadvantageofthe
visitreportsforschoolimprovementanddevelopment.
Schools:Evaluationofteachers(classroomobservation),followupofcurriculumplan,and
analysisofexamsresults,followupofteacherstrainingandschoolpartnershipswithlocal
environment.
AnM&EFrameworkwasdevelopedin2010forERfKEIIprovidingforthemeasurementof
compliancewithstatedoperatingmechanismswithintheMOEintermsofcurrentstructures,
functions,processes,rolesandresponsibilities.TheM&EsystemsintheMinistryofEducationof
Jordanhaveevolvedasfollows:
Since2000,theMOEhasadoptedtheapplicationofatrackingsystemthroughquality
managementISO9001,inordertoraisethelevelofadministrativeservicesandtheteaching
learningprocess,andtoconsolidatetheprinciplesofinstitutionalefficiencyindelivering
educationalservices.TheDirectorateofQualityAssurancehasbeengiventhechargetomonitor
theimplementationofthesystemattheMOEandtheDirectoratesofEducationlevels.
In2003,whentheMOEstartedtheimplementationoftheEducationDevelopmentReform
towardstheKnowledgebasedEconomy(ERfKEI),anagreementwasreachedwiththeNational
CentreforHumanResourcesDevelopment(NCHRD)forafollowupandevaluationofthe
projectandimplementationofrelatedstudies.
In2010,inadditiontoanunderstandingwiththeNCHRDformonitoringandevaluation
(external)withintheimplementationofthe(ERfKEII),M&Ehasbeenincludedinthesecond
componentoftheproject"policiesandmonitoringandevaluation"inordertoinstitutionalize
monitoringandinternalevaluationintheMinistryofEducation.
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TheM&EsystemisbecomingfullyfunctionalbythecreationofanM&EDivisionwithinthe
DepartmentofPlanningandEducationalResearch,andprovidedwithappropriatestaff.Thereis,
however,noharmonyandcoordinationbetweenthevariousbodiesmentionedaboveresponsible
fordatacollection.TheM&EDivisioninthePlanningDepartmentistheonlysourcethatprovides
effectiveandcrediblereports.
TheM&EsysteminteractspartlywiththeEducationalManagementInformationSystem(EMIS),
wheresomeoftherequireddataiscollectedthroughthissystem.AnOpenEMISisunder
development,withUNESCOassistance,whichwilllinkschooldatawithinformationsourceswithin
andoutsidetheMinistryofEducation.
Lebanon
TheStatusofM&ESystemsintheEducationSector
TheM&EsystemsinLebanon,aspertheirstatusupuntil2014,consistoffivemaintypes:
ThefirsttypefallswithintheM&ErolesundertakenbytheEducationalCentreforResearchand
Development(ECRD).TheECRDisanautonomousgovernmentalinstitutionthatfunctionsunder
thetrusteeshipoftheMinistryofEducationandHigherEducation(MEHE).ThetasksoftheECRD
include,amongothers,undertakingeducationalresearchandconductingevaluationsofthe
educationalsysteminLebanon.Theseevaluationsrevolvearoundassessingandanalyzingthe
performanceofthestudentsandtheteachersinthepublicandprivatesectorsatprimaryand
secondarylevelswithinboththeGeneralandtheVocationalandTechnicalEducationstreams.
TheECRDorganizationalstructureincludesaPedagogicalResearchOffice(PRO).WithinPRO,
operateunitsthatundertakeseveralM&Erelatedfunctions,suchasthePlanningUnit(includes
schoolmapping),theEvaluationUnitandtheStatisticsUnit.Theseunitscoordinatecloselywith
otherunitsoutsidethePRO,suchastheITUnit.TheM&Erelatedoutputsgeneratedbythese
unitsarebothquantitativeandqualitative.Theyincludetheyearlystatisticsreport,presenting
informationonstudents,teachers,schooladministrativestaffandschoolbuildings.Another
ECRDoutputistheyearlyschoolmappingreportwithrecommendationsmadetotheMinisterof
Educationontheneedfornewschoolsorforclosingexistingschoolsbasedonpupils
distributionintheeducationalzonesdefinedbyECRD,thatis,basedonschoolscatchmentareas
andothercriteria.Inaddition,theECRDissuesanannualindicatorsbrochureincluding
indicatorsonstudentsperformanceinboththepublicandprivateschoolsbasedonthe
informationcollectedfromtheschoolsandtheresultsoftheyearlynationalexaminations.
ThesecondtypeistheoneundertakenbytheDepartmentofPedagogicOrientationatthe
DirectorateGeneralofEducationwithintheMinistryofEducationandHigherEducation.The
tasksofthisdepartmentincludetheevaluationoftheteachersperformancewithintheGeneral
Educationstream.Theyhaveataskforceofteachersperformanceinspectors,whoseannual
mandateincludesvisitingallschoolsandmakingobservationsabouttheinstructionalmethods
usedbytheteachers.Theyfillpaperstandardformsinwhichtheyreflecttheirobservationsand
submitthemfortakingcorrectivemeasuresattheministrylevel.Theirtasksarenotautomated.
In20112012,theUSAIDfundedprojectDRASATIinitiatedtheworkonsupportingMEHEfor
developinganewtooltobeusedbytheobserversthatismoresophisticatedandmoreinline
withthenewlearnercentredmethodsofteaching.Asaresult,in2012aProfessionalGrowth
andReformsSupportSystem(ProgRESS)tool(StandardsbasedClassroomObservationfor
Lebanon)wasdevelopedandpiloted.Thistoolaimedatimprovingthewaythatteacher
professionalizationwasbeingframed,discussed,operationalizedandevaluated.Theactivity
includedcreatingadatabasetowhichtheinformationcollectedbytheobserverscouldbe
uploaded.Thistoolwasplannedforofficialadoption.
TheNationalEvaluationBody(DispositifNationaldEvaluationDNE)undertakesthethirdtype
ofM&E.ItisexternallyfundedthroughinternationalNGOsandismorefocusedintermsof
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scopeofoperations,whichcoordinateswithECRDtoconductspecificstudiesforevaluating
teachersandstudentsperformanceinspecificareas.Meansofcoordinationconsistof
bureaucraticrequestssentbytheDNEtotheECRDwheneverarequestoragreementisreached
forundertakingapedagogicalevaluationrelatedtospecificeducationalsubjects.
ThefourthtyperelatestothelevelofdevelopmentofLebanoninthefieldofInternational
LargeScaleAssessments(ILSA).Inthelasttenyears,Lebanonhasparticipatedinanumberof
ILSAexercises,includingPASEC(2009),andTIMSS(2003,2007,and2011).Lebanonistaking
concretestepstoparticipateinPISA2015andTIMS2015.
ThefifthtypeofM&Eisoneofthemostimportantbecauseitsetsthegroundforproper
developmentoftheabovementionedfourtypes.ThisM&Esystemisrelatedtothe
institutionalizationoftheM&Efunctionsaimingatmonitoringandevaluatingtheefficiency,
effectiveness,relevance,impactandsustainabilityofeducationdevelopmentprogrammesfor
strategicandprogrammaticevidencebasedplanningandbudgeting.In2010,theMinistryof
EducationandHigherEducationapprovedandestablishedanewunitforM&Ewithinthe
EducationSectorDevelopmentSecretariat(ESDS).Thisunitsstaffandprojectswerefundedby
externaldonorsanditwasenvisionedtobecomeintegratedwithintheministrystructureand
budget.TheESDScoordinateswiththeMEHEdepartmentsandreportstotheMinisterof
Education.ThemandateoftheESDSrevolvesroundthemanagementandcoordinationofthe
educationsectordevelopmentprojects,specificallytheprojectsfundedbyexternaldonors.
Inaddition,otherbodiesalsoundertakesomekindofM&E(generaleducation),including:
TheCentralInspectorate,apublicbodyreportingtotheGovernmentscabinet,holdssome
monitoringresponsibilitiesrelatedtotheeducationalandfinancialperformanceofthe
educationsector.Thisbodyperformsauditingfunctionsratherthanmonitoringandevaluation
functions.
TheVocationalandTechnicalEducation(VTE)streamismanagedthroughtheDirectorate
GeneralofVTE.Historically,aseparateministryusedtomanagethisstream.Subsequenttothe
cessationoftheCivilWarhostilitiesin1990,theresponsibilityforthedeliveryofeducation
servicesinLebanonwasassignedtoseveralgovernmentalagenciesandwastransferred,inthe
year2000,toasingleMinistryofEducationandHigherEducation(MEHE),whichisthecurrent
governingbodyforthesector.However,thisstream,duetothishistoricalbackground,isless
equippedatthelevelofMEHEandtheECRD,withlimitedexpertiseandmechanismsrelatedto
thissectoravailableattheMEHEheadquarters.
In2010,theLebanesecabinetendorsedtheNationalEducationStrategy(NES)whichwasdeveloped
andsubmittedbytheMinistryofEducationandHigherEducation.TheNESconsistsoffivemain
prioritiesunderwhichtendevelopmentprogrammeshavebeenidentified.Differentinternational
donoragenciesprovidegrantsandloanstotheministrytoimplementdifferentpartsofthese
programmes.ThefifthpriorityoftheNES,GovernanceofEducation,hasbeensupportedbyan
institutionaldevelopmentprogrammewhoseobjectives,asstatedinthestrategy,includeassessing
theeffectivenessofsectordevelopmentprogrammesthroughindicatorsandspecificdata.
UpontheendorsementoftheNationalEducationStrategyin2010,theUNESCOBeirutOffice
providedtechnicalsupporttotheMinistryofEducationandHigherEducationeffortsinimproving
thegovernancepriorityobjectivesbydevelopinganM&Eframeworkandtoolsforthe
implementationoftheEducationSectorDevelopmentPlan(ESDP).Asaresult,byFebruary2012an
M&EframeworkforthetenprogrammesfortheESDPhadbeendevelopedandapproved.It
included,whereapplicable,detailedimplementationreferencesheets,targetsandtrainingmaterials
asneededfortheoperationalizationofthisframework.
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InMarch2012,aWorldBankLoanforaSecondEducationDevelopmentProject(EDPII)was
approved.ItincludedacomponentforEducationSectorPolicyDevelopmentandManagement.This
componentaimedatorganizationalstrengtheningtostreamlinetheoperationsofMEHEinthe
managementofthereformprocessandineffectivedonorcoordination,aswellasthemeasurement
ofreformoutcomes,outputsandimpactatalllevelsthrougheffectivemonitoringandevaluationof
projectandreformactivities.ESDPIIgavespecialfocusoninstitutionalizationofM&Eactivitiesin
ordertoprovideamoreeffectivestructureforcarryingoutM&Efocusedonresultsofprogramme
deliveryandtimelyfeedbacktostakeholders,inadditiontothetranslationofdataintoinformation
forMEHEpolicyandplanning.InJanuary2014,theMinisterofEducationissuedadecisiontoforma
technicaltaskforcetoprepareanactionplanforimplementingtheM&EcomponentoftheESDPII.
EffortsforinstitutionalizationofM&Eofdevelopmentprojectsarestillongoing.
Palestine
StatusofM&ESystemsinEducationSector
TheMinistryofEducationandHigherEducationinPalestine(MEHE)hasadoptedtwolevelsofM&E
oftheplan:
Thefirstlevelconsistsofmonitoringtheimplementationofoperationalplansthroughthe
annualreportontheprogressintheexecutionoftheplannedactivities,theoutputs,andthe
budget.
ThesecondlevelofM&Ereportsontheachievementoftheoutcomesandresultsexpectedin
thestrategicplan.
Thesystemisconsideredtobeaneffectivetoolthatgivesanearlywarningincaseofanyshortfallin
theimplementationoftheplan.Thisallowsmanagerstohavetheopportunitytomodifythepathat
therighttime,throughtheassessmentofanumberofkeyperformanceindicatorsasoutlinedinthe
PerformanceAssessmentFramework(PAF)foreachoftheEducationDevelopmentStrategicPlan
(EDSP)goals.ThePAFwasdevelopedbytheMEHEwithfinancialandtechnicalassistancefrom
donorsandinternationalconsultancy,inconsultationwithdifferentdepartmentsoftheMinistry.
TheoverseeingandmanagementofitsimplementationaretheresponsibilityoftheDirectorate
GeneralforPlanningthroughtheDepartmentofMonitoringandEvaluation.
TheDepartmentofMonitoringandEvaluation,inadditiontoitstraditionalmandateformanaging
theEducationInformationSystem(EMIS),alsotakesthecentralcoordinatingroleinrespecttothe
overallM&EofallaspectsoftheEDSP.Wherereportingrequirementsforprojectsbasedonbilateral
agreementsbetweentheMEHEandindividualdonorcountriesrequirespecificreportingformats,
theseareannexedtoamainreportthatneedstofollowthereportingproceduresoftheMEHEand
theappropriatedonorcountrymechanisms.Itsmaintasksaretomonitorandevaluatethe
implementationoftheEDSP,toassesstowhatextentthegoalsandresultshavebeenachieved,and
toprovideguidanceonhowtoimprovefutureimplementation.Inparticular,ithastoprovideadvice
andguidancetothedepartmentinthefollowingareas:
implementandcontinuouslyrevisetheconceptsandpoliciesforM&EwithintheMEHE,
withaprimefocusonenhancingeducationalquality;
collect,process,interpretandevaluatedatavisvistimelinessandagreedupon
milestones;
measuretheachievementoftheKPIsvisvistheEDSP;
coordinateM&Eactivitiesundertakenbydifferentdepartmentsofthesubsectors;
provideinformationonM&Eoutcomesasreferencematerialsandadditionalresourcesfor
JointAnnualReviews(JARs)andforfuturedevelopmentinitiativesoftheeducationsector;
prepareperiodicreportsregardingtheimplementationoftheEDSP;and
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strengthentheframeworkoftheSectorwideApproach(SWAp)throughharmonization,
bothinternallyandexternally.
OtherministerialbodieshavetheirownM&Esystemsforeducation.TheMinistryofPlanningand
AdministrativeDevelopment(MPAD)monitorseducationasasector,withtheprimefocusbeingon
monitoringdisbursementoffunds(incomparisonwithothersectors)visvistheinvolvementof
donorcountriesandNGOs.TheMEHE,likeothersectors,reportsregularlytoMPADontheprogress
towardseachEDSPgoallinkedtoacategorizedexpenditure.MEHEprovidesasemiannualnarrative
reportabouttheimplementationofalloutputsoftheAWPB(AnnualWorkPlanandBudget),
identifyingprogressandchallenges.Everysixmonths,italsoprovidesprocurementprogressreports
onthebasisoftheProcurementPlan.Thisprocessenhancestheevidencebasedaccountability
towardstheuseofscarcefinancialresources.
TheDirectorateGeneralofProjectsoftheMEHEhousestheDivisionforMonitoringandEvaluation
ofProjects,whichhasspecificresponsibilitytomonitortheimplementationofprojectscarriedoutin
cooperationwithindividualdonors.
TheM&Esystemreliesmainlyontheexistingdatabasessubsystemstomonitorgoalsandresultsof
theEDSP2keyperformanceindicators,suchasEMISforaccessdata,theassessmentandevaluation
departmentforstudentachievementdata,andhumanresourcedatabaseforthequalificationof
teachers.
TheM&EreportsarepublishedannuallybothforthecentralMEHEcoveringthewholeeducation
system,aswellasforeachdistrict,withastrongfocusonschool,teacher,andstudentperformance.
EachannualreportisbrokendownintoadistrictlevelM&Ereport,andschoolsanddistrictsare
requestedtogivetheirfeedbackconcerningthetypeandsizeofinterventionstobeadoptedtoraise
theresultsonthequalityindicators.
SincethebeginningoftheEDSP20082012,theM&Esystemhasbeenprovidingstrongevidenceon
theextentofachievementoftheexpectedtargetsacrossthethreestrategicgoals:access,quality
andmanagement.Theimplementationprogressreportsplayaparticularlycrucialroleintheannual
planningandbudgetingcycleandconstituteanimportantsourceofinformationoutliningkey
challengesandpossibleresponsesintheformofnewinterventionsintheeducationsystem.The
annualreportshavehadagreatimpactindrawingtheattentionofinterestedpartieswithinand
outsidetheministrytotheweaknessesthathavepreventedtheachievementofthedesiredresults.
However,theachievementsinsomespecificareas,likeonquality,stillneedmorework.Suitable
mechanismshavebeenproposedtoensuretheintegrationoftheresultsandrecommendationsof
theM&Ereportsintheannualplanningprocessesatalllevels(bottomupandtopdown).The
ministryhasinstitutionalizeditsmainproceduresandoperationsintheformofthreeOperations
Manuals:ProgrammeBasedPlanningandBudgetingDevelopingAnnualWorkPlansandBudgets;
FinancialManagementandRelationswiththeMinistryofFinance;andEvaluation.Allthreemanuals
providestepbystepinstructionsonhowtoimplementandsequenceessentialinternaloperations,
includingworkinganddecisionmakingsteps.Themanualsareupdatedannuallyintermsofnew
guidelinesoradditionallessonslearned.Themanualsfurtherdeepentheprocessofbuildingamore
robustimplementationandaccountabilitysystemtodeliverbettereducationalresultsacrossallsub
sectors.
Themostsignificantimpactthatcouldbementionedisthegraduallyincreasingawarenessbeing
establishedinconjunctionwithplanningbasedontheevidenceandtheleveloftheimplementation
oftheeducationalreform.TheManagementandAdministrationcomponenthasmadesignificant
progressduringEDSP2.AhighpriorityisgiventothemanagementreforminEDSP3startingin2014
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tofullyalignandinstitutionalizethenewdirectservicedeliveryprogrammestructurewiththe
organizationalstructureandoperationsoftheMEHE.Yet,leadersandstakeholdersstillneeda
deeperunderstandingoftheactivitiesimplementationmechanismstobeabletoknowhow
effectivetheseactivitiesare,theirsustainabilityandtheirrelevancetotheeducationalneeds.
ThedevelopmentoftheM&Esystemhasbeensupportedbyinstitutionalandorganizational
measuresthathaveprovidedtheenablingconditionsforitssuccess.Thedevelopmentofthesystem
inconjunctionwiththeStrategicPlanoftheMinistryEDSP2isaresultofpoliticalcommitmentfor
resultsbasedmanagement.ThishasbeenoperationalizedbythecreationoftheDepartmentof
M&EwithintheGeneralDirectorateofPlanning,whichisinchargeofmonitoringthe
implementationofthestrategicplan.Thisdepartmenthasbeengivenfullindependenceand
authoritytodisseminatetheM&Ereportsandresultsintotaltransparency.
Egypt
TheStatusofM&ESystemsintheEducationSector
TheGovernmentofEgyptisexposedtosubstantialpressurefromexpectationsofthecommunity
aftertherevolutionofthe30thofJune2014.ThenewConstitution(2014)supportssuch
expectationsbyaffirmingtherightofeverycitizentohaveequitablechanceofqualityeducationand
byallocatingatleast4percentofGDPtoeducation.TheGovernmenthasrespondedbydeveloping
theSustainableDevelopmentStrategy(SDS),whichaimsatpromotinghumandevelopmentthrough
twomainpillars,namely,educationand health.By2030,highqualityeducation,accessibletoall
(withnodiscrimination)withinaneffective institutionalsystemandfocusingontechnologically
capablelearnersistargetedtobeprovided.Thiseducationsystem willcontributetobuildingan
integratedcitizen,encouragedtoreachhis/herpotential,andwhichwill produceanindividualwho
isconfident,enlightened,creative,responsible,pluralistic,andabletointeract competitivelywith
regionalandinternationalentities.89
ThecurrentreviewhasanalyzedthesituationoftheM&Epolicies,practicesanddifferentsub
systemstoexplorethestrengths,weaknesses,opportunities,andchallenges,andhasdescribed
specificimplementablerecommendationstocomplementthesectorstrategy,institutionalizingthe
M&Easanelementoftheorganizationalchart,orasastabilizedmechanismattopofthelistto
securethecapacitybuildingoftheM&Esystem.
RecommendationshavebeenmadetobreakthestatusquoandimprovetheM&Esystemtoenable
ittomovetowardthesynergeticstage,tomovefromtraditionalcompliancetoaperformance
basedM&Emodel.ReformingtheM&Esystemsfacesthetypicalchallenges,namely,rigidinherited
bureaucracy,resistancetochange,andlackofacompetentleadershiptoguideandmotivatesuch
reform.Otherspecificchallengeshavebeentakencareofinformulatingtherecommendationsto
makethemimplementable.
Thesectorperformance(20002013)intermsoftheEFAindictorswasassessedbytheNCERD
(NationalCenterforEducationalResearchandDevelopment),.90Thereportshowedthatthesector
experiencednoticeableachievementsexceptinthecasesofearlychildhoodandadulteducation,
whicharetargetedinthecurrentsectorstrategy.Thereporthasfurtherrevealedtheabsenceof
systematicmonitoringoftheEFAgoals.However,itpresentsagoodexampleofintegrationof
89
EgyptEconomicDevelopmentConference.Sustainabledevelopmentstrategy,Egyptsvision2030,andmediumterm
investmentframework2014/20152018/2019,2015SharmElShiekh,Egypt.
90
CommissionedbyCairoUNESCOOffice.
79

researchcapacities(NCERD)andtechnicalcapacitiesofMOEdepartmentsinproducingnational
monitoringreports.
TheneedoftheeducationsectortorestructuretheM&Ebodyismorecrucialthanever,notonlyas
anindispensablerequisiteofgoodgovernanceandaccountabilitywhichshapesthenewstrategy
but,alsotoensureeffectiveness,efficiencyandproperutilizationofinvestedresources.Stressing
theimportanceofqualityassessment,andmonitoringandevaluationsystemswasoneofthe
recommendationsforpost2015.91
AnOverallAppraisaloftheEducationSectorManagementandM&ESystems
Intermsofgovernanceandreporting,localadministrationsaretechnicallysupposetoreporttothe
MinistryofEducationwhichisinchargeofpolices,curricula,textbooks,teachingmaterial,training,
ICTinstallations,andrelatedmatters,whileadministrativeresponsibilities,suchasteacher
recruitmentanddeploymentaremanagedbytheGovernorwhobylawhasthesameauthorityof
thePresidentwithinhisGovernorate.Noseriouscoordinationproblemshavebeenobservedsofar
exceptinlateninetieswhentheMinisterofEducationdecidedtorestrictschoolentryagetonot
onedaylessthan6years,andoneofthegovernorsexercisedhisauthoritytoallowchildrenoffive
andhalfyearstojointhesystem.Thishadconsiderableimplicationsinequityandcreatedsome
inconsistenciesineducationstatisticalreporting.
Itisworthmentioningthateachgovernorateandautonomousbodynegotiates/receivesitsbudgets
andreportsexpendituresdirectlytoMOF,withnoinvolvementofMOEwhichcreatesanissuefor
monitoringthesector.
Asthecountryismovingtowarddecentralizationofadministration,theMinistryofEducationhas
adoptedthesamepoliciesinthesectorstrategieswhichhavebeenthetraditionalcoursefor
implementation.TheMinisterofEducationhasdelegatedsomeofhisresponsibilitiestothe
governors,suchas,managementofschoolfeeding,andtheinstallationandmaintenanceofICT
whicharechargedtothegovernorates.Mostoftheschoolfeesarereceivedandmanagedbythe
schools.However,therepercussionsofsuchdelegationsintermsofM&Eareissuestobeaddressed.
EvolutionofDifferentM&ESystemsforEducation
Statedbriefly,theM&EsysteminEgypt,initsevolution,haswitnessedstagesthathaveincludedan
inputorientedsystem(consistingofschoolrecordkeeping,EMIS,schoolmapping,technology
development,teachermanagementinformationandfinancialmanagementinformation),process
orientedsystems(consistingofschoolinspectionandevaluationsystems,teacherevaluationsystem
andteacherstrainingsystem)andanoutputorientedsystem(examinationsystem,student
assessmentsystemandqualityassuranceandaccreditationsystem).
SectorStrategicPlans
Asinseveralothercountries,M&EinEgypthasalwaysbeenpartofalmosteveryeducationsector
plan,initiative,projectandprogramme.Thepastsectorstrategyandthecurrentoneconsistof
specificpriorityprogrammestoimprovetheM&Eatpolicy,organizational,administrative,and
technicallevelsinordertoprovidefeedbackforfurtherdevelopmentofthereform,however,the
jobofimprovingtheM&Ehasyettomatureformanyreasons.
91
TheArabStatesRegionalConferenceonEducationPost2015,2729January,2015SharmElShiekh,Egypt,ConferenceReport
(DARFT).
80

Oneofthegoodpracticesderivedbythe20072012StrategicPlanwasthedevelopmentofNational
EducationIndicators(NEIs)frameworkwhichwascreatedthroughanationalcollaborativeeffortof
numerousindividualsandorganizationsaffiliatedtotheMinistryofEducationandwithinternational
technicalassistance.
KeyFactorsthathavecontributedtotheEffectivenessandEfficiencyoftheExistingM&ESystem
Institutionalandorganizationalconditions;
Theuseoftechnology;
Properuseofresources;
Interestandcommitmentofstakeholders;
Partnershipsincludinginvolvementofnonstateactorsanddevelopmentpartners;
Productionchain.
PossibleareasforimprovementinM&Eframeworkandcomponentswouldconsistofimprovingthe
effectivenessandefficiencyandsecuringthesustainabilityoftheM&Esystems.
OverallReviewoftheStatusofM&ESystemsinAfrica
17. I.1 Background
InallofthethreecasestudiesfromAfrica,namelyEthiopia,SouthAfricaandZimbabwe,itwas
foundthatthecapacitytoconducteffectiveM&Eactivitiesisweak.Thisfeatureiscommonacross
alleducationstakeholders,includingheadteachers,governmentofficials,parentsandstudents.
Attemptstostrengthenthissystemthroughtrainingonmonitoringandevaluationactivitiesareseen
ascommonoccurrences.Unfortunately,newlytrainedministryandschoolstaffaretargetedby
privatesectorplayerswhodesiretohirethemwithoffersofmoreattractiveremuneration.Insome
cases,wheretrainingdoesoccur,itisnotconsistentlyadministeredorevensustainable,especiallyin
caseswherethetrainingisfundedbyexternalpartners.
MonitoringandEvaluationactivitiesareincreasinglymovingtowardsrelianceonInformationand
CommunicationTechnologies(ICTs).Whilethisis,nodoubt,astepintherightdirectionof
modernity,itsuffersthedisadvantageofbeinganincompletestepbecausestillthereareministries
thatcannotaffordthecostofinvestinginICTsforM&Eacrossalltheiroffices.Eventhough,inthe
longrun,thepurchaseanduseofICTscanprovetosavefundsthroughefficiency,settingasidethe
initialoutlayneededisdiffiucltanddoingsomayprovetobeoflittleusetotheeducationsystemif
suchacquisitionanduseofICTsisnotsupportedsimultaneouslybytheprovisionoftheneeded
trainingtothestaffandintegrationacrossallsectors.Thisproblemofresourcesextendsfurtherto
thefundingneededforcontinuingtheM&Eactivities,andtherecurringexpendituresneededto
meettherequirementsforsalariesofM&Epersonnelandvehiclesfortravel,etc.
Finally,MonitoringandEvaluationareslowlystartingtogainimportanceasvitalpartsofthe
planninganddecisionmakingprocesses.Inthepast,thetendencyhasbeenforM&Eactivitiestobe
treatedasaroutinepartoftheplanoperationswiththesimpleexpectationofroutinelymonitoring
theinputsandoutputs.However,nowtheMinistryofEducation,aswellasthepublicatlarge,have
startedaskingformoreandmoredataaccountabilityandevidencebaseddecisionmaking.Hadit
notbeenforsuchademand,therewouldhavebeenverylittleunderstandingonthepartofpolicy
makersoftheimportanceofthebenefitsofMonitoringandEvaluationformakingtheright
decisions.StandaloneunitswithinMinistriesandwholedepartmentsarenowslowlybeing
dedicatedtomeetthisdemand.
18. I.2 RoleofM&ESysteminMonitoringthePerformanceoftheEducationSector
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ThisreviewattemptsatconceptualizationoftheM&Esystemineducationwithaholisticapproach
inordertoenableittomonitortheperformanceoftheeducationsystem.Thiswouldbewithbuilt
inmechanismsforensuringaccountabilityofinformation,andsupportedbyrobustevidence.Sucha
strongandreliablemechanismshouldhelppolicymakers,aswellasthepublic,tobringabout
improvementstotheeducationalprocessesandachievethedesiredresults.Thereviewfurther
looksatsomesystemicaspectsandsectorwideperspectivesofhowdifferentM&Esystemsand
componentsinteractamongthemselvesandtheextenttowhichtheyarealignedwithpolicyneeds
soastoprovidetherelevantinformationformakinginformedpolicydecisions.
ThebasicconceptualapproachhereisthatMonitoringandEvaluationisamultifacetedandhighly
iterativeprocessinvolvingwidespreadengagement,oftenwiththesamepeopleand/orsystems.It
maybeconstruedasanexerciseoncontinuouslearningandputtingintopracticewhatislearned.
Inotherwords,theresultsofanyMonitoringandEvaluationexerciseshouldfeedbackintotheM&E
processsoastomakeitbetter,morescientific,valid,moreresponsiveand,thus,moreusefultoall
thestakeholders.Inthequesttoassessanyprogrammeorproject,policyorplan,therearea
numberofthingsthatneedtobeconsidered.First,therearetheissuesofcapacity,rolesand
integration,andsecondtherearetheaspectsofculture,qualityofresultsobtained,comparison,
transparency,accountabilityandthereliabilityofinformation.Theseneedtobebalancedoptimally.
ParticularlyrelevantintheAfricancontextiscapacity.Theideaistofocusoncapacitywiththeintent
tobuild.Intheabsenceofsuchcapacity,theM&Eexerciserunstheriskofendingupmerelyasan
obfuscatingmassofdatawhichcannotbeputtoanypracticalusefortheimprovementofpolicyor
programmeimplementation.
Thus,thequalityofdatacollectionandtheresultsanalyzedtherefromgaincriticalityintheprocess
ofM&E.EffectivelyusingtheresultsofMonitoringandEvaluationinitiativesisoneofthemore
seriouschallengesintheAfricadebate.Astheinformationageonthecontinentcontinuesits
upwardtrajectory,theconceptofbigdataisbeginningtogaintractionasalreadyevidentinother
developingcountries.Africahasthepotentialtoleapfrogfromsimpledataprocessingactivitiesto
usinghighlevelanalyticstoprocessthevastamountofdatathatareavailable.Separatingpolitics
fromresultsisalsocrucialifthereistobeanyimpartialityintheacceptanceanduseoftheproducts
ofM&Eactivities.Makingresultswidelyavailablehelpstocreateacultureofaccountabilitywhichis
oneofthemaintasksofM&E.
19. I.3 InformationSystemssupportingM&EofEducation

I.3.1 Inputs
M&Esystemsthatintendtomonitormoreoftheinputrelatedfactorsintheeducationsectorare:
I.3.1.1 SchoolRecordKeeping
Schoolrecordsareaunifiedandcomprehensivecollectionofdocumentationconcerningallservices
providedtoastudentwhichmayincludeintakeinformation,evaluation(s),assessment(s),releaseof
informationforms,individuallearningplanandwrittennotesregardingthestudent.92Schoolrecord
keepingsystemisafirstpriorityareaforthefundamentalreasonthattheschoolisthesmallest
albeittheidealsourceforeducationstatistics.93Thesuccessorfailureofeducationstatisticsis
largelyareflectionofthestateofrecordkeepingsystemsattheschoollevel.Improvingtherecord
keepingsystemattheschoollevelimprovesthequalityofdatacollected,itsinterpretationandthe
reportssenttothehigherlevels.Thiswouldinturnhaveapositiveimpactontheeducational
planninganddecisionmakingatalllevelsofadministrativeunits.94
92
Hrach.2006.
93
NESIS.NoDate).RevitalizingtheSchoolRecordsManagementSysteminEthiopia.SummaryReport.
94
Ibid
82

InthecontextoftheAfricanscenario,thereisaneedtodevelopstandardizedschoolrecordforms
andtoaddresstheproblemofabsenceofsystematicallycompiledsourcedatafromwhichschools
caneasilyfillouttheAnnualEducationStatisticsQuestionnaire.Otherhurdlestoschoolrecords
managementarethelackoffacilitiesforkeepingschoolrecordsandthelackoffinancialand
materialresources(computers,registers,paper,electricityandstationery)toproducethevarious
schoolrecordforms.
I.3.1.2 EducationManagementInformationSystem(EMIS)95
EMISisdesignedtocollect,compile,collateandanalyzetheschoolleveldata(students,teachers,
facilities,finance,etc.)forpolicyandprogrammeformulation,implementationandmonitoringat
differentadministrativelevels.
Africancountriescontinuetofacechallengesinproducingregular,timelyandqualitystatisticaldata.
TheresponsehasbeentodevelopAfricandatawithcomprehensivedatabasesthatare
comparableacrosscountries.ItaimsatpromotingsustainableEMISatthecontinental,regional,and
nationallevels,ensuringthatrigorousmonitoringandevaluationofeducationactivitiesareinplace.
OneoftheimportantgoalsofthisEMISistoestablishanAfricanEducationObservatory,managed
bytheAUC,asavehicleforcoordinatingEMISactivities.Intheinterimperiod,mostoftheEMIS
revitalizationisledbyADEAWGEMPS,thesecretariatoftheAUEMISRestrictedTechnical
CommitteewhichadvisesonthemonitoringandevaluationsystemsofthePlanofActionfor
Education.InlinewiththedriveforAfricanledsolutions,aneducationindicatorsmanualforthe
continenthasbeendevelopedandiscurrentlybeingpiloted.Capacitybuildingactivitiesareongoing,
targetingregionalbodiesandMemberStates.AnAfricanUnionOutlookonEducationDatabase
whichhasover137datavariables96hascommitteditselftocollectingnationaldatadirectlyfrom
MemberStatestofeedintotheAfricancontinentaldatabase.
I.3.1.3 EMISinAfrica:TheChallenges
EMISinAfricafacesanumberofchallenges.Someofthemstemfromthelackofanappropriate
legalandinstitutionalframeworktoclearlylaydowntheobligationsanddefinethecollaboration
betweendataprovidersandusers.Somecountriesthathaveputinplacesuchaframeworkstillface
thechallengeoftheinadequacyornonenforcementoftheseexistinginstrumentstosupportthe
productionanddisseminationofstatisticalinformation.Thisoftenmanifestsitselfinlowresponse
ratesandgeneralabsenceofprivatesectorstatistics.
AnotherchallengefacingeffectiveEMISinAfricaisthefragmentationoftheeducationandtraining
sector,whichischaracterizedbyamultiplicityofministrieswhichhavestatisticsdirectoratesthat
areoftenpoorlystructuredandhaveweakinstitutionalframeworks.Thisfragmentationis
exacerbatedbythelackofclarityconcerningthemandateofthevariousministries.IntheIvory
Coast,forinstance,thepreprimaryeducationsubsectorisunderthecontroloftheMinistryof
NationalEducationandtheMinistryofSocialAffairsandFamily.Havingmultipleeducationand
trainingministriesleadstoaduplicationofinstitutionalandstructuralframeworkswithnumerous,
separateEMISsystemsoperating,withlimitedcollaborationandcoordination.Thisleadstolimited
interactionamongthevariousdataproducers,andthekeystakeholderswithinthesameministry
oftenfailtoshareinformationthatcouldbevitalforplanningpurposes.
95
SectiononEMISisasummaryof:ADEAWGEMPS.2014.AUOutlookonEducation,ContinentalReport.
96
ADEAWGEMPSoverthepastyears,astheleadtechnicalagentfortheAfricanUnion(AU)sHumanResourceScienceand
TechnologyDivisions(HRST)Observatory.
83

Themultiplicityofdatasources,withoutanappropriatestatisticalinformationsharingandexchange
mechanism,andwithoutprotocolinplaceundertheleadershipofNationalCentralStatisticsOffice,
ismainlytheresultofweakintersectoralcoordination,dialogueandconsultationmechanismswithin
theeducationandtrainingsectorsdataproducers.Thereisaneedtosetupauniquerepositoryof
allnationaleducationstatisticsforachievingincreasedconsistencyandcoherenceofdatathatcan
bevalidatedandreleased.Thesefactorswouldhaveahugeimpactondataqualityandcoverage
andconsequentlyontheoverallqualityandutilityofstatisticalproducts.
ThemajorityoftheministriesofeducationthroughoutAfricaareoftenweakintermsofadvocacy
forpromotingvisibilityofstatisticsasacriticalfunctionofthedevelopmentprocess.Strong
commitmentofgovernmentsinintegratingstatisticstosupportevidencebasedmonitoringand
evaluationwouldtriggerthedevelopmentofaccountabilitymechanismsofacceptablelevelsto
permitthedeliveryoffocusedandresponsiveservicestothetargetbeneficiaries.
Generally,acrossthecontinent,EMISdepartmentsareoperatingwithpersonnelwhoarenot
adequatelyskilled,andwhoarepronetohighturnoverandattritionrates.Obviously,itisnot
possibletoproducehighqualitystatisticswithouttherequisitecompetenciestoexecutestatistical
processesandcoordinatetheresultswithpolicymakers,plannersandtheotherstakeholders.
ThemajorityofMemberStateshavereportedexperiencinglimitedskilledhumanresourcesacross
theentirestatisticalchain,particularlyatthelowerlevels.Thelowlevelsofmotivationofthe
existingEMISstaffplanners,statisticiansandITspecialiststogetherwithinadequatecareer
developmentopportunities,leadtohighturnoverrates.TheseadverselyaffecttheEMISdivisions
capacitytoproducetheexpectedqualitystatisticalproducts,suchastheannualyearbookandother
relevantanalyses,intimeforpolicyandbudgetdiscussions.Thischallengeiscompoundedby
inadequateinformation,communicationandtechnologyequipment.Asaresult,avastnumberof
Africanministriesofeducation,suchasinGhana,Liberia,Mali,Namibia,SwazilandandZimbabwe,
havereliedonthetechnicalassistanceofconsultantstoperformsomeofthesecrucialEMIS
activities.
I.3.1.4 TeacherManagementInformationSystem(TMIS)
TMISisaninformationsystemdesignedtosupportthemanagementofteachersrecruitment,
deploymentandskillsdevelopment.Inalargenumberofcountries,teachingstaffplannersand
managersfacedifficultiesinthisregardbecausetheexistinginformationsystemsdonotgive
informationonteachersupply.Thisfrequentlyleadstoinefficienciesintherecruitmentand
distributionofteachers.97AsignificantnumberofAfricancountriesdonothavestandaloneTMIS.It
isthenormfortheEMIStohaveanumberofteacherspecificquestionsintegratedintothedata
collectioninstrument.TheweakavailabilityofdataisthusareflectionofweaknessesintheEMIS
system.Inothercountries,theonlyexistingandcomprehensivedatabaseforteachersisthepayroll
system.ThepayrolldatabasecanresideintheMinistryofEducationshumanresourcesdepartment,
theMinistryofFinanceoraseparatebodymandatedwithpublicservicestaffing.Themonitoringof
teacherattritionandnonqualifiedandnontenuredteachersisparticularlycomplexandoftenlies
outsidesuchdatabases.
Theemergingtrendistodevelopcomprehensivemanagementinformationsystemsthatarelinked
toEMIS,payrollsystemandcapacitydevelopmentrelatedtools.InRwanda,UgandaandZimbabwe
someformsofholisticTMISareunderdevelopmentorarealreadyinuse.Itiscommontohavethe
TMISlinkedtothedistrictofficesreflectingtherealtimechangestothestatusofteachersbeing
madeatlowerlevels.Planningoncapacitydevelopment,supplyanddemandareincreasinglybeing
97
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0017/001787/178721e.pdf
84

madebasedontheinformationgeneratedbytheTMIS.TheTMIScoversregistration,licensing,
teacherappointmentsandperformancemeasuresbasedonnewtermsandconditionsofservicefor
teachers.KeystaffhavebeentrainedtomaintainandsustaintheTMISandhavebeenprovidedwith
onlinesupportforsixmonthsduringtherollout.98InMalawiandNigeria,anRTIsupportedinitiative
isusedtotrackteachersduringtheirtraining.TheGovernmentofUgandahaspartneredwith
UNICEFtoproduceamobilebasedsystemwhich,amongotherthings,collectsinformationonsome
oftheteacherindicators.99
I.3.1.5 FinancialManagementInformationSystem(FMIS)
I.3.1.5.1 SchoolLevel
Aglaringlackofmutualaccountabilitybetweenprimaryschoolsandparents,poorfinancialrecord
keepingandbadmanagementarethreateningthequalityofbasiceducationinsevenAfrican
countries,includingUganda.AreportbyTransparencyInternational(TI)foundschoolsinUganda,
SierraLeone,Ghana,Senegal,Morocco,MadagascarandNigerashavingpoorgovernancesystems
andpractices.Theyhavelimitedavailabilityoffinancialdocumentationatthedistricteducation
officesandschools,whichhavebeenimpedingtheprogresstoachievingthesixaimsofthe
EducationForAll(EFA)initiativeandachievingtheMillenniumDevelopmentGoals(MDGs).The
surveyalsorevealedalackofinterestonthepartofparentsintheproperrunningofschools.
Decentralization,however,hasledtodevolutionoffinancialmanagementresponsibilitiesto
regionalordistrictlevelsandhasgivencommunitiesmoresayinhowschoolsarerun.100
I.3.1.5.2 NationalSystem
StrongPublicFinancialManagement(PFM)systemsareessentialforeffectiveandsustainable
economicmanagementandpublicservicedelivery.101Traditionally,systemsandprocessesthatdeal
withthevariousaspectsofpublicfinancehavebeenweak,nontransparent,andoftenincapableof
developingadequatebudgets,monitoringpublicexpenditures,assessingtheeffectivenessofpublic
investmentsandprovidingreliabledataformacroeconomicmodelling.102PFMreformisseen
helpingAfricangovernmentstoborrowmoreeasilyandcheaply.Itassiststheminattracting
investment,improvingaccountabilitytotheircitizensanddrivingefficiencygainswhichcanhelp
themtodelivermorewithlimitedfunds.103
I.3.1.6 DataQualityMechanisms
DataQualityAssessmentFramework(UNESCOInstituteforStatistics)
Theproductionofeducationstatisticsrequiresinstitutional,organizationalandtechnicalcapacityat
thenationalandsubnationallevels.TheUNESCOInstituteforStatistics(UIS)isthefocalpointat
UNESCOtodevelopandimplementevaluationframeworksthatassessthequalityofdataproduced
bytheeducationsector.CalledtheDataQualityAssessmentFramework(DQAF),theinstrument
incorporatescurrentinternationalstandardsforqualitydataintheeducationsector,withparticular
referencetotheAfricanreality.104
I.3.2 Processes
M&Esystemsthatintendtomonitormoreinputrelatedfactorsintheeducationsectorinclude:
I.3.2.1 SchoolInspectionandEvaluationSystem
98
http://efc.idnet.net/projects/project.jsp?webid=191
99
http://www.unicef.org/uganda/9903.html
100
http://www.theguardian.com/katine/2010/feb/23/primaryeducationafrica
101
http://www.oecd.org/dac/effectiveness/pfm.htm
102
http://www.worldbank.org/afr/wps/wp25.pdf
103
http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/EYTherewardofreform/$FILE/EYTherewardofreform.pdf
104
SADCRegionalView:SynthesisofSevenCountryAssessmentsOctober2009
85

Areviewoftheliteratureonschoolinspectionandevaluationsystemsacrossthecontinentseemsto
indicateafocusoncontrolandmonitoringratherthanonprovidingsupportandplanningforthe
developmentofthesector.Manyevaluationsystemsarestaffedbyschoolinspectorsandevaluators
fromministriesofeducation,whovisitschoolsperiodicallytocollectinformationandenforce
standards.ThissystemintroducedbyformercolonialbureaucraciesisstillusedinNigeriaandwas
formerlyusedinSouthAfrica.IthassinceevolvedtoincludeWholeSchoolEvaluationsystemsin
Botswana,Namibia,TanzaniaandZimbabwe.
MoreandmoreAfricancountriesarenowembracingtheconceptofinternalschoolinspectionsand
evaluations.Thisiseitherdoneonapeertopeerbasis,orbyschoolprincipalsandschool
managementcommitteesthatarecomposedofstaff,students,parentsandcommunitymembers.
Thissystemisinresponsetotheoldandheavyhandedtraditionalexternalschoolevaluationand
inspectionprocess.
I.3.2.2 TeacherEvaluationSystems
UnliketheSchoolInspectionandEvaluationprofileofAfrica,thereisnoonesizefitsallapproach
toteacherevaluationinthecontinent.Thehow,whatandwhyofthisapproacharedeterminedbya
multiplicityoffactors,suchasthematurityoftheeducationsystem,thegeographyofthecountry,
theresourcesatitsdisposalandtheinfluenceofteacherunions.Managingperformanceisoften
associatedwithnegativeconnotations.Needlesstosayitisacriticalbutanunderresourcedand
underdevelopedsystem.
SomeofthechallengesaffectingthesystemincludelimitedTeacherManagementInformation
Systems(TMIS)andlargenumbersofparaandunderqualifiedteachers.Theabsenceof
comprehensiveteacherregistersinmanyAfricancountrieslimitstheefficiencyofanyevaluation
process.TheDemocraticRepublicoftheCongoillustratesthispointperfectlywheretherearea
limitednumberofschoolinspectorswhoarepoorlytrained.Evenwhereteachermanagement
informationiscollected,itisnotcompliedintoonenationalreportforeasyreferencing.
I.3.3 OutputsandOutcomes
Thereisanincreasingrealizationthattheexpansiontoaccesstoeducationhasnothadthekindof
impactitshouldhavehadonchildrenintermsofoutcomes.Despitethelinkbetweenqualityof
educationandeconomicperformance,manylearnersinAfricancountriesleaveschoolwithout
masteringthebasiccompetenciesinliteracy,numeracyandlifeskills.105
I.3.3.1 ClassroomAssessment106
Studentlearningisalsoassessedintheclassroomasanintegralcomponentoftheteachinglearning
process.However,muchofthiskindofassessmentissubjective,informal,immediate,ongoingand
intuitive,asitinteractswithlearningwhereandasitoccurs,monitoringstudentbehaviour,
scholasticperformance,andresponsivenesstoinstruction.Inadditiontoongoingteacher
observation,itinvolvesclassroomquestioninganddialogue,themarkingofhomework,andtheuse
ofportfolios.Itsfunctionisprimarilyformative.Itoccursduringlearning(ratherthanwhenlearning
ispresumedtobecomplete)andisdesignedtoassistorimprovestudentsacquisitionofknowledge
andskills.Itsroleistodeterminestudentscurrentlevelsofknowledge,skillsorunderstanding,to
diagnoseproblemsthattheymaybeencountering,tomakedecisionsaboutthenextinstructional
stepstobetaken(toreviseortomoveon),andtoevaluatethelearningthathastakenplaceina
105
AUPlanofActionfortheSecondDecadeofEducation.
106
AdaptedandSummarizedfromKellaghanTandGreaneyV.2003.MonitoringPerformance:AssessmentandExaminationsin
Africa.AssociationfortheDevelopmentofEducationinAfrica.
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lesson.Classroomassessmentmayonoccasionsbemoreformal,aswhenteachersadministeraquiz
orendoftermexamination.
Thereisevidence,however,toshowthatthequalityofthesepracticesmaybedeficientinmany
ways.ObservationsofpracticesinAfricanclassroomsconfirmthis.Currentpracticesacrossthe
continenthavebeenfoundtobeoflowcognitivelevelandteacherdominated,whilethestudents
arepassive.Thisisfurthercompoundedbypoorlyqualifiedteachers,largeclasssizes,poorfacilities,
andashortageoflearningmaterials,allofwhicharecommonchallengesacrossthecontinent.
Reformshavealsobeenslowasclassroomassessmenthasreceivedlittleattentioninsuchreforms
whosepurposeistoimprovestudentlearning.
PromisingpracticesareemergingwithSouthAfricasAssessmentResourceBanks(ARB),which
compriseasetoftasksdesignedtoassessspecificlearningoutcomesandareprovidedtoschoolsin
areasservingpupilshailingfromlowsocioeconomiccommunities.InSwaziland,materialsprovided
toschoolsincludegeneralinformationaboutclassroomassessment,itembanks,tests,item
specifications,andremediationandenrichmentmaterials.
I.3.3.2 PublicExaminations107
ExaminationsinAfricaserveanumberofimportantfunctionswhichreflectthesocialand
educationalcontextsinwhichtheyareadministered.First,theycontrolthedisparateelementsof
theeducationsystem,helpingtoensurethatallschoolsteachtothesamestandards,something
thatwasespeciallynecessaryincolonialtimeswhenmostschoolswereunderprivatemanagement.
Second,theyareusedtoselectstudentsinpyramidaleducationsystemsinwhichthenumberof
placesdiminishesateachsuccessivelevel.Third,theexaminationshaveacertificationfunction,
thoughthisisoftenlostsightofbecauseoftheemphasisontheiruseforselection.Formal
certificationofacademicachievements,however,canbeimportantforsomestudentsingaining
accesstoemploymentorfurthertrainingalthoughlowerlevelcertificatesarelosingtheircurrencyin
thelabourmarketasthenumberspossessingthemhasincreased.Finally,publicexaminationsmay
serveanaccountabilityfunctionforteachersandschools.Thiswillespeciallybethecasewhenthe
resultsofstudentsperformanceonexaminationsarepublished.
ThecontinuedexistenceandcentralimportanceofpublicexaminationsinAfricacanbeattributedto
anumberoffactors.Theyareperceivedtoallocatescarceeducationalbenefitsinanobjectiveand
unbiasedway,thoughconcernhassometimesbeenexpressedthattheymaydiscriminateagainst
minorities,ruralpopulations,girls,andstudentswhosefirstlanguagediffersfromthatofthe
examination.Theyprovideaspecificationofcleargoalsandstandardsforteachersandstudents.
Theycanbeusedtounderpinchangesincurriculumandteachingmethods,andtomaintain
nationalstandards.Finally,especiallyattheendofsecondaryschooling,theylegitimizemembership
intheinternationalglobalsocietyandfacilitateinternationalmobility.
I.3.3.3 NationalAssessments
Nationalassessmentsarelargescalesurveysdesignedtodescribetheachievementofstudentsina
curriculumarea,andtoprovideanestimateoftheachievementlevelintheeducationsystemasa
wholeataparticularageorgradelevel.Thisnormallyinvolvestheadministrationoftestseithertoa
sampleortotheentirepopulationofstudents.
107
AdaptedandSummarizedfromKellaghanTandGreaneyV.2003.MonitoringPerformance:AssessmentandExaminationsin
Africa.AssociationfortheDevelopmentofEducationinAfrica.
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Thegoalofsuchmeasurementsistoreviewthecurriculumandpedagogysoastostrengthen
teacherprofessionaldevelopmentandbringinotherpolicychangesaimedatimprovingstudent
performance.AnumberofAfricancountrieshavesomesystemofnationalassessmentwhich,
however,variesinitscomplexity,purposeandintheenduseofthedatagathered.Formerly,
evaluationandassessmentfocusedmainlyonstudentassessment,butitsscopenowhasbecome
broaderandincludesgreateruseofexternalschoolevaluations,appraisalsofteachersandschool
leaders,andexpandeduseofperformancedata.108
I.3.3.4 InternationalLearnerAssessments
Africangovernmentsareincreasinglyrecognizingthevalueofevaluation,andareincreasingly
lookingatthepossibilitiesofutilizinginternationalassessments.Internationalassessmentsarelarge
scaleassessmentstudies,wherebydataarecollectedfromanumberofcountries.International
assessmentshavebecomeimportantsourcesofinformationformonitoringstudentlearning
outcomes.Inparticular,theseassessmentsallowcrosscountrycomparisonsbasedoninternational
benchmarkswhichhelpindividualcountriestoevaluatethestrengthsandweaknessesoftheirown
educationsystemsfromabroadercontext.109
20. I.4 Conclusions
Itmaybeseenfromtheabovedigressionthatthedominantfourformsofassessmentshavehad
negligiblechangesinthecontinentinthelastthreedecades,especiallyintermsofhowtheyhave
beenimplemented.Theassessmenttoolshave,however,riseninprominence,particularlythe
nationalassessment,anditisanticipatedthatmovingforwardmoreAfricancountriesmayjoin
internationalassessments,astheyseemtofeelthatthevaluederivedfromthebenchmarking
exerciseandthefeedbackobtainedinthisformaretoovaluabletobeignored.
Thewayforwardistostrengthentherolethattheassessmentsplay,particularlythenationaland
theinternationalassessments,inadequatelydescribinglearneroutcomes.Thedetaileddata
obtainedfromtheevaluationsshouldbeusedtoadvocateforexertingagreaterinfluenceonpolicy
making,curriculumdesignandresourceallocation.Therealvalueoftheseexerciseswillbeobtained
onlybyestablishingabuiltinmechanismfortheevidencebasedoutcomestofeedintothe
processesofpolicymakingandprogrammeimplementationresultinginsubstantial,qualitativeand
visibleimprovementstotheeducationsystem.
I.4.1 PolicyIssues
PolicyIssueNo.1:HolisticApproachtoEducationM&ESystems
Themulticountryanalysisclearlyexposesthecurrentapproachtomonitoringandevaluationas
beinghighlyfragmented.Thereisanurgentneedforproperlycoordinatingandintegratingthe
educationalMonitoringandEvaluationsystems.Todothis,aholisticapproachiswarrantedasitwill
allowfortheconsiderationofcomplexissueswhichwouldotherwisecontinuetooperatein
isolationandnotaspartofacomprehensiveandwidersystem.110Suchcomplexissueswillinclude
thesocial,economic,political,cultural,technologicalandenvironmentalcontextsthatmayinfluence
andsuitablymouldthelargerstructuralissuesatplayinthefunctioningoftheeducationsector.
Giventhattheeducationsystemitselfismadeupofdifferentparts,itonlymakessensetohavea
multifacetedframeworkforM&E.Educationsystemsoperateatseverallevels,international,
regional,government,localauthorities,schoolsandcommunities.Interspersedwithintheselevels
108
http://www.oecd.org/edu/school/Synergies%20for%20Better%20Learning_Summary.pdf
109
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002178/217816e.pdf
110
Burns.2007.
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arestudentassessments,teacherappraisals,teachermanagementsystems,schoolevaluations,
schoolheadsappraisalsandevaluationoftheeducationsystem.Theusersoftheinformationatthe
otherendofthesystemsuchasclients,studentsandparents/guardiansalsocontributetothe
structureofthisholisticframework.Thereisalsoastrongcaseforparticipatoryandflexible
approachestoevaluationbasedonsystemsthinkingandactionresearchasthesewillallowforthe
considerationofmultiplepathsinrelationtothemacroandmicrocontexts.111
PolicyIssueNo2:AdoptaPolicyofSystematicApproachtoEvaluationCapacityDevelopment
Therearemanyplayersengagedincapacitydevelopment,oftenpushingdifferentmodels.Africa
wouldbenefitfromacomprehensive,systemicandlongtermperspectiveonthedevelopmentof
evaluationcapacity.Suchaperspectivewouldaddressissuessuchasstaffturnover,the
sustainabilityofevaluationsystemsandcapacitieswithinorganizationsandstakeholdergroups.It
willalsosuitablyfitintothevariedcontextsthatonefindsacrossthecontinent.Further,itwilladapt
itselfovertimetosuittheenvironmentwithinwhichithastooperate.Itisgermaneinthiscontext
tonotethatwhentheevaluationofdevelopmentinitiativesusesaholisticapproachwithcritical
reflectionandlearning,thereisashiftawayfrommeasuringandproving,towardsunderstanding
andimproving(Burns,2008).
PolicyIssueno.3:AdoptaPolicyofIndigenousApproachtoMonitoringandEvaluationACase
forMadeinAfricaEvaluation
TheAfricaEvaluationAssociation(AfrEA)hascommitteditselftodevelopingauniquelyAfrican
approachtoevaluation.Theemphasisisonhowcontext,culture,historyandbeliefsshapethe
natureofevaluations,specificallyinthediverseandoftencomplexAfricanreality.112TheseAfrican
evaluationguidelinesproducedbyAfrEAin2007guideevaluationspractisedinAfricatoday.They
wereproducedafteraprocessofseriousconsideration,contextualizationandadaptationofthe
JointCommitteeStandardsforProgrammeEvaluation.Besides,otheractivitiesaretakingplacein
thecontinent,suchastheAfricanUnionsPlanofActionfortheSecondDecadeofEducationfor
Africa.Since2006,thecontinenthasbeenpursuingasetofeightpriorityareasintheeducation
system.ThishasledtoanumberofM&EinitiativessuchastheAfricanUnionOutlookonEducation
reportspreparedfortheannualCOMEDAFmeetings.AsetofindicatorstomonitortheSecond
DecadePlanofActionprocesshasbeendevelopedandiscurrentlybeingpiloted.Theprocessof
datacollectionandanalysishasrevealedalargenumberofstructuralchallengestothesuccessful
monitoringandevaluationoftheplanofaction.Ataregionallevel,communitiesdesignedfor
regionalintegration,suchastheEastAfricanCommunityandtheSouthernAfricanDevelopment
Community,havealsoputinplaceM&Esystems.Therehasbeensomeattempttointegratethese
intothewiderAfricanplanthroughcommonreportingmeasures.However,acrosscommunities,
M&Esystemsdonotspeaktoeachotherandtherenotanyreallearningandinformationsharing
platformbetweenthem.ThisresponsibilitymayhavetobeunderpinnedfortheoverarchingAfrican
Union.
PolicyIssueNo.4:StrengthenEMISSysteminPreparationforPost2015Agenda
Thepost2015debatehasgeneratednumerousdiscussionsontheprogressontheachievementof
internationalgoals,suchastheMillenniumDevelopmentGoalsandthePlanofActionforthe
SecondDecadeofEducationinAfrica,whosedeadlineisalso2015.Thefindingsofthevarious
evaluationsusedinthesediscussionsindicatethattherehavebeenvarieddegreesofprogressinthe
achievementofthegoals.Suchvariationsreflectthevaryingcontextsinwhichthepursuitofthese
111
UnitedNationsInteragencyResourcePackonResearch,MonitoringandEvaluationinCommunicationforDevelopment.
2011.
112
http://www.afrea.org/?page=MadeinAfrican
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goalshasoccurred.Thisrealizationhasledtosuggestionsthatthepost2015agendaoughttobe
craftedwiththeunderstandingthatcontextualdifferencesdoinfluenceperformance.
ItmaybepertinenttonoteinthiscontextthattheevolutionofM&EinAfrica,asinmanyother
developingcountries,hasbeenstronglyinfluencedbyexternalfactors.Thedisciplinehasevolved
mainlyasatoolusedindevelopmentworkandmostlyintroducedbydonororpartner
organizations.Naturally,theemphasiswasandstillistoalargeextentonmeetingdonor
requirements.PorterandGoldman(2013)notethatthesupplysideofM&Ehastoalargeextent
beeninfluencedbydonordemands.Theliteraturesuggeststhatthesourceoftheinformation
generatedwillhaveabearingonhowitisused.Inanidealpost2015scenario,theuseofthe
productsofM&Emayneedtobefullyinternalizedandinstitutionalizedforroutinedecisionmaking
bybothinternalandexternaluserscreatingabalancebetweentheneedsofthehostcountryandits
operatingpartners.DatafromUNICEFmetaanalysisinsevenregionswhereitimplements
programmeshaveshownthatthequalityofevaluationanditsusetendtobehighwhenitis
countryledandmanaged.113Themainissueinsuchcaseshasbeentheextentofinternalizationof
suchsystemsintotheregularM&Eoftheeducationsectorofthesecountries.Therefore,thepost
2015M&EagendainAfricaneedstoaddressthisissue.
Anotherissuetobeconsideredforthepost2015agendaisthelackofsynchronizationofthe
demandforandsupplyoftheneededinformationovertheentiretimeperiodoftheplanningand
implementationoftheprogrammecycle.
Bagele(2012)114hasarguedforabroaderandmoreintegratedapproachtoMonitoringand
Evaluation,onewhichconsiderstheindividualsroleinsocietyaswellashowwerelatetoall
participantsinresearch.AnexpandedAfricanMonitoringandEvaluationparadigmintheEducation
2030contextmayconsiderviewingtheevaluatorand/orresearcherasahealer,lookingatdata
aboutknowledgeasrelationalandholistic,particularlydatasourcessuchasfolktales,counter
narratives,proverbs,storiesandspiritualaccounts.Inthecontextsofthemultiethniccommunities
ofAfrica,datasourcesmaybedominatedbytraditionallocalculturalcontexts.Theymaybeinthe
formoffolknarratives,folkarts,useoffolkidioms,symbolsandproverbsincommunication,folk
legendsandtales.Itisimportanttogiveadequaterepresentationtosuchsourcesofkeyinformants
inthedatacollectionwork.Itisimportanttokeepinmindthepointthatsuchkeyinformantsmay
alsobethelocalopinionleadersrepresentingthelocaltraditionalbeliefsystemsandhencemaybe
instrumentalininfluencingbehaviourchangesintheirownlocalcommunities.Doingdatacollection
insuchcontextsproperlywouldcallfortheemploymentofwelltrainedprofessionalswhocould
deviseandusesuitablemethodologiestocaptureessentialinformationfromsuchsources,asthese
wouldbeusefulforplanningbehaviourchangeprogrammesintheeducationplan.Suchinformation
whichwouldbenormallyqualitativeinnatureshouldalsobeprofessionallyintegratedintotheM&E
informationsothattheirimportanceisnotlostsightofinprogrammeplanningandimplementation.
AnotheranchorintheAfricanperceptionistheconceptofUbuntu,115anditsimplicationsforM&E
systems,whichsomecountriesintegrateintovariousaspectsofeducationrangingfromcurriculum
toM&Esystems.Theseandothersources,suchasexperiencedkeyinformants,maybeconsidered
toconstitutewhatisbroadlydefinedasqualitydatasources.
113
CommentaryonCountryledMonitoringandEvaluationSystems,BetterEvidence,BetterPolicy,BetterDevelopmentResults.
UNICEF.http://www.unicef.org/ceecis/resources_10597.htmlwww.unicef.org/ceecis/resources_10597
114VanderWesthuizen,G.2013.ReviewofIndigenousResearchMethodologiesbyBageleChilisa.AfricanEvaluationJournal
1(1),Art.#44,1page.http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/aej.v1i1.44
115TheconceptUbuntureferstofreetouseandshare,athomeandinbusiness.UbuntuisanancientAfricanwordmeaning
humanitytoothers.ItalsomeansIamwhatIambecauseofwhoweallare.TheUbuntuoperatingsystembringsthespiritof
Ubuntutotheworldofcomputersandtheworldofopensourcesoftware.
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ThegrowingdemandforaccountabilityhasencounteredalowcapacitytodeliveronMonitoringand
Evaluationdemandsacrossthecountriesofthecontinent.Thismaypartlybearesultofthetop
downapproachtoM&E,wheregovernmentsimposesystemswithlittleregardfortherealitieson
theground,andusuallyatthebehestofdonors.Nevertheless,effortsareunderwaytoincrease
capacity,continentwide.TheAfricanEvaluationAssociationhasspearheadedthisgrowthwiththe
inceptionofregionalchaptersspanningCentral,Eastern,Western,NorthernandSouthernAfrica.In
additiontothese,countrychapters,thenewestofwhichisinZimbabwe,havealsobeenestablished.
Further,AfrEAhasalsodevelopedasetofAfricanEvaluationGuidelines(2002)whichcanbeusedto
assessandimprovethequalityofevaluations.WiththelaunchoftheAfricanEvaluationJournaland
regularAfrEAconferences,thereisalotofroomforthemodificationoftheseguidelinesinlinewith
thepost2015agenda.116
TheAfricanEvaluationAssociation,whichhaswitnessedsteadygrowth,isanorganizationtowatch
andsupport.Givenitsmandateandreach,aswellasitsgrassrootsorigins,AfrEAhasthepotentialto
addressthechallengesofthelackofintegrationinM&EsystemsinAfricancountries,thetopdown
approach,thelackofcapacityandthelackofcoordination.
Thepost2015horizondemandsasmarterapproachtowardsMonitoringandEvaluation.Inapaper
producedbytheWorldBankonevaluationcapacitydevelopment,ithasbeennotedthatwhilesome
Africancountriesunderstandtheimportanceofregularevaluation,suchactivitiestendtogenerate
poorqualitydata,alargeamountofunderutilizeddataiscollectedandthereareanumberof
uncoordinatedsectordatasystemsusingdifferentdefinitionsanddatacollectionperiods.117Some
Africangovernments,suchasSouthAfricaandUganda,haverespondedtothesesituationsby
establishinggovernmentwidemonitoringandevaluationsystems.OftenAfricancountriescannot
affordthecostofcomprehensiveM&Eactivitiesandasaresultareforcedtorelyondonors.The
newconsensusonthedatarevolutionmayservetoaddressthisandotherchallenges.Inrecognition
ofthefactthatthequalityofdataonwhichmanydevelopmentinitiativesarebasedispoor,andthe
factthattherehavebeenwidegapsindatacoverage,astrongmovementtowardsnew,cheaper
andbettermeansofcollecting,analyzinganddisseminatingdataisbeingpropounded.Toolssuchas
SMSsurveys,directbeneficiaryfeedbackandarangeofbigdatacanbepartoftherevolution.This
paradigmshiftrecognizesthatdatacollectionprocessesshouldbuildoncountrysystemsand
improvealignmentbetweenglobalmonitoringneedsandstrengtheningnationalcapacities.118
21.
22. I.4.2 KeyRecommendations
Ethiopia
1. Thedatacollection,processingandexchangemechanismamongdifferentM&E
systemswhicharerelatedtoinputs,processesandoutcomesneedtobeintegrated.
Accesstodatabyvariouscentralgovernmentunits,aswellastheeducational
authoritiesatvariouslevelsrightdowntotheschools,hastobeimproved.
2. TheEMISdatabaseneedstoberevisedtoincludecomprehensivedataonhuman
resourcesandinformationonthestateofinfrastructureandassets.Currently,
performancemeasurementdataisweakatthedistrictandschoollevels,and
financialmanagementinformationshouldbemorecomprehensive,particularlyin
relationtothecashflowofschoolfinances,expenditurereports,implementationof
schoolplansandschoolcontributions.
116Patel,M.2013.AfricanEvaluationGuidelines,AfricanEvaluationJournal1(1),Art.#51,5page.http://dx.doi.
org/10.4102/aej.v1i1.51
117
https://ieg.worldbankgroup.org/Data/reports/monitoring_evaluation_psm.pdf
118
file:///F:/M&E%20Framework/PARIS21%20helps%20engineer%20a%20data%20revolution%20%20%20paris21.org.html
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3. EMIScapacitybuildingisneededatthelowerlevelsofthesystem,atdistrictsand
schools.
4. Themonitoringandevaluationsystemcouldalsobeenrichedbytheestablishment
ofmechanismstodevelopandmaintainsustainablecapacityattheschoollevelto
organize,keepandusedataonfinancialtransactions,enrolmentflow,inspection
resultsandfeedbacks,examinationandlearningassessmentresultsandother
schoolactivitieslikepurchasing,andthehandlinganddistributionofschool
materials.
SouthAfrica
1. ArevisedsectorM&Eframeworkshouldencompassacapacitybuildingstrategyatalllevelsof
thebasiceducationsystem,especiallyattheprovincialanddistrictlevels.Thiscouldinclude
trainingintheuseofthenationaltemplateforthedistrictwideANAreport(asenvisagedinthe
ActionPlanto2014).TheDepartmentofBasicEducation(DBE)shouldplayamoreactiverolein
ensuringtheutilizationofANAreportsfordiagnosticandimprovementpurposes.
2. Principalsandschoolmanagementteamsshouldbeempoweredtodobetterselfevaluationand
linkthistoschoolimprovementplansusingavailabledata,suchasattendanceregisters,mark
sheetsandtheforthcomingdistrictANAreports.Teachersandadministrativestaffshouldbe
trainedonwhythecollectionofaccurateinformationisimportant.
3. Recruitmentofevaluatorsshouldlayemphasisonselectingpeoplewiththerelevantskillsand
experiencebyProvincialEducationDepartments(PEDs;e.g.forWSE)andongoingprofessional
developmentofstaffengaginginevaluations.
4. AsectorlearningnetworkshouldbeestablishedtofosteracommunityofgoodM&E
practitionersthroughinteractionwithexistingprovincialM&Eandotherrelevantstructures.
5. LiaisonshouldbeestablishedwithM&Eserviceproviders,likePalama,toensurethattheir
trainingprovidesintegratedskillsdevelopmentonintegrateddistrictandprogrammeplanning,
projectmanagementandM&E.
Zimbabwe
23. PromotetheuseofstatisticalinformationthroughouttheMOEandotherstakeholdersfrom
theschoolstothemainoffice.
24. TheskilledpersonnelandotherresourcesfortheEMISunitneedtobeincreasedintermsof
qualityandquantityandrightskillsachievedthroughstructuredandcontinuoustraining
programmes.Headsofschoolsandteachers,districtandprovincialofficers,andofficersinthe
mainoffice,needtobetrainedtovaluestatisticalinformationanduseitforplanningatthe
schoollevel.
25. AlthoughtheMinistryofEducationhasawebsite,thereishardlyanyessentialinformationonit
foruse.ThisreviewstronglyrecommendsthattheMinistryprovidesessentialinformationonits
websiteforitsprovincialoffices,districtofficesandschoolstoaccessinformationwithout
necessarilyhavingtotraveltotheconcernedofficestoobtainit.
26. EnhancetheM&EsectionoftheMOEandensureclosecooperationbetweentheEMISsection
andthesectionforsupervisiontoworktogetherforgettingbetterresults.
27. SynergiesbetweenthedifferentdepartmentsintheMinistryofPrimaryandSecondary
Educationwillhavetobeimprovedthroughplanningactivitiesandfinancingofallprocesses.
Thesepartnershipsshouldalsolookatotherrelevantministries,civilsocietiesandvarious
administrativelevelsrightdowntoschoolsandcommunities.Strongcoordinationisof
paramountimportanceinenhancingstrongsynergies.
28. Thenationalexaminationscouncil,ZIMSEC,shouldprocuresufficientvehiclestodeliver
examinationpaperstoeachoftheschoolsusedasexaminationcentres.Actuallyshortageof
vehiclesisseeninalldepartmentsanddistrictsandprovincesnotonlyzimsec.
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29. Thenumberofreportstobewrittenperinspectorpermonthshouldbereducedtofiveinorder
toallowforamorethoroughanalysis,andtopermittheirexecutingotherduties.
CountryCaseStudies
Inthissection,indepthinformationfromthethreeselectedcountriesinAfrica,namely,Ethiopia,
SouthAfricaandZimbabwe,ispresentedtodemonstratedifferentstagesofdevelopmentofan
M&Esystemineducation.Thecountrieshavebeenselectedonthebasisof:(1)geographical
distribution;(2)recenttrendsineducationpolicydevelopmentrelatedtoM&E;and(3)availability
ofliteratureanddata.
Ethiopia
Background
AccordingtotheEducationandTrainingPolicy(MOE2002),moderneducationwasintroducedto
Ethiopianearlyacenturyago.However,theeducationandtrainingofferedduringtheselongyears
havehadlimitedpositiveimpactonthelivesofthepeopleandonnationaldevelopment.The
countrysskillseducationandgeneraleducationstillneedtobereformedfurtherinordertomeet
thecountryscontemporarychallengesineducationandoveralldevelopment.
Duringboththeinitialphase,andthemoreplannedandcoordinatedexpansionphaseofmodern
educationafter1941,theprimaryobjectiveofeducationinthecountryhasbeentoproducea
trainedworkforcethatcanruntheemergentgovernmentbureaucracy.Limitedvocational
educationwasintroducedbothathighschoolandcollegelevelsduringthe1950sand1960s.The
educationofthetimenonethelessdidlittletochangethestudentsoutlookorhelpthembreakthe
cycleofdependenceonthegovernmentforemploymentbydevelopingtheneededcapacityinthem
tocreatetheirownjobsintheprivatesector.Moreover,throughoutthesemanyyears,therehas
neverbeenaclearpolicybywhichtoevaluateandaccordinglyshapethedirectionofeducationand
traininginEthiopia.
Beyondhavinglimitedpolicydirection,thepreviouseducationalsystemhadchallengesintermsof
accessandqualitymakingitnecessarytorevieweducationandtrainingpolicyin1994.Accordingly,
theeducationsectorsvisiontoseeallschoolagechildrengetaccesstoqualityprimaryeducation
bytheyear2015wasintroduced.Thepolicyseekstorealizethecreationoftrainedandskilled
humanpoweratalllevelswhowillbethedrivingforcesinthepromotionofdemocracyand
developmentofthecountry.Itfurtherseekstoensurethateducationalestablishmentsbecome
teachinglearningcentresforshapingwellrounded,competent,disciplinedandeducatedpeople
throughtheinclusionofcivicandethicaleducationwiththehelpofwelltrained,competentand
committedteachers.Itisalsoexpectedtoensureequityoffemaleparticipation,pastoralandagro
pastoralpeopleandthosewithspecialneeds,inalleducationandtrainingprogrammes,thereby
increasingtheirroleandparticipationindevelopment(ESDPIII,MOE,2005).
MonitoringandEvaluationintheEducationSector
TheMOEisresponsiblefortheoverallmonitoringandevaluationoftheeducationsystemtogether
withtheREBs.TheMOEDepartmentofPlanningandPolicyAnalysisconsolidatesinformation
providedbyimplementingdepartments,theREBs/WEOsandteachertraininginstitutionsinorderto
trackprogressandevaluateachievements.BothESDPandGEQIPrequiretheinstitutionalizationofa
widerrangeofmonitoringandevaluationapproachestocontributetoaplanningculturethat
focusesonprocesses,outputsandoutcomesaswellasontrackingthedeliveryofinputsbythe
targetedtimelines.Schoolplanshavelargelyspecifiedmonitoringprocessesforspecificactivities,
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butthedegreetowhichtheyhavebeenabletospecifyappropriateproceduresfortheactivityin
questionisvariable.
Standardworeda,119(traditionaldistrictsinEthiopia),andregionalplanshavewelldeveloped
systemsformonitoringphysicalandfinancialimplementationofthemostsignificantinputs,but
thereappearstobeverylittlemonitoringofprocesses,includingclassroomsandtextbook
distribution.Supervisorsareresponsiblefortheformer,butlackskillsinclassroomobservationand
feedback.RegionslackaframeworkforassessingtheperformanceofCollegesofTeachers
Education(CTEs),andarethereforeconstrainedintheirmonitoringofLAMP.Woredashavelearning
achievementdata,butdonotmakeuseofthemwhileformulatingtheirplans.
DifferentM&Esystemscontributetothewholefunctioningoftheeducationsystemandprovide
informationforpolicydevelopmentandimplementation.
Coverage
Accesstodatabyvariouscentralgovernmentunits,aswellastheeducationalauthoritiesatvarious
levelsrightdowntotheschools,needstobeimproved.TheEMISdatabaseneedstoberevisedto
includecomprehensivedataonhumanresourcesandinformationonthestateofinfrastructureand
assets.Currently,performancemeasurementdataareweakatthedistrictandschoollevels,and
financialmanagementinformationcouldbemademorecomprehensive,particularly,inrelationto
thecashflowofschoolfinances,expenditurereports,implementationofschoolplansandschool
contributions.
CapacityStrengthening
EMIScapacitybuildingisneededatalllevels,especiallyatthelowerlevelsofthesystem,namely,
districtsandschools.PersonnelcouldbenefitfromtrainingontheentireEMIScycle.Thiscoupled
withimprovedresources,suitablecapacitydevelopmentprogrammes,ICTequipmentandfinancial
support,couldimprovethequalityofreportingonstatisticalinformation.
Inadequatehumancapacitytocollectandprocessdataatschoolandworedalevelshasreducedthe
accuracyoftheinformation.SomeschoolsandWoredaEducationOffices(WEOs)donotkeeptimely
andproperrecords.Theyalsolacktraining,whichmakesitdifficultforthemtofillinthedataforms
correctly.Thishasadirectnegativeimpactonthequalityofdataaggregatedatworeda,regionaland
nationallevels,whichinturn,affectspolicydecisionsandsubsequentplanning.Besides,
disseminationofinformationfromnationalandregionallevelsdownwardstoworedasandschools,
andeffectiveutilizationofdataattheselevelsarefarbelowtherequirements.
EMIScapacitybuildingattheworedalevellackspersonneltraining,especiallyinstatistics,data
entry,storage,processingandreporting,andtheprovisionofthenecessaryequipment.Networking
ofallschoolswithWEOs,REBsandtheMOEwillensuretimelinessofdataexchangeandfacilitate
theflowofdatainalltheneededdirections.Attheschoollevel,thereisneedtofocusonsuitable
capacitybuildingtounderstandanduserelevantschooldata.
SchoolManagementInformation
Theschoolrecordkeepingsystemformsthebasisforkeepingtrackofschoollevelstatistical
information.ThepracticeofschoolrecordskeepinginEthiopiaishighlyfragmentedlargelydueto
limitedknowhowandweakappreciationoftheimplicationofgoodrecordkeepingsystemsonthe
generationofusefulstatisticaldata.Propertrainingandmotivationofstaffshouldachievethe
expectedresults.
119
DistrictsinEthiopia.
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SouthAfrica
Background
Withtheadventofindependencein1994,theemphasisoneducationpolicyinthecountryhasbeen
onprovidingequitableaccesstoeducationforall.M&Eplaysacrucialroleinassessingthecoverage,
timelinessandqualityofprogrammesthatareimplementedaccordingly.
In2009,theDepartmentofEducationwassplitintotheDepartmentofBasicEducationandthe
DepartmentofHigherEducationandTraining.TheNationalDepartmentofBasicEducationis
responsibleforformulatingpolicy,settingnormsandstandardsandmonitoringandevaluatingall
levelsofeducation.ThenationaldepartmentsharesaconcurrentrolewiththeProvincialEducation
Departments(PED)forschooleducation.ThesePEDsareguidedbytheoverarchingnational
policies,withinwhichtheyhavetosettheirownprioritiesandimplementationprogrammes.The
roleofthenationaldepartmentistotranslatetheeducationandtrainingpoliciesofgovernmentand
theprovisionsoftheConstitutionintoanationaleducationpolicyandtoprovidetheneeded
legislativeframework.
TheOfficeofthePresidencyintroducedaNationalDevelopmentPlan(NDP)in2012,withinthe
countryslongtermstrategicvisionfor2030.Similarly,theGovernmentsMediumTermStrategic
FrameworksectiononeducationwasproducedbytheOfficeofthePresidencyandtheDBE.In
2009,aDepartmentofMonitoringandEvaluationwascreatedintheOfficeofthePresidency.As
partofitsworkithasidentifiedtwelvepriorityoutcomestobeachievedbytheGovernment,on
whichtheperformanceofministersanddepartmentswillbeassessed.Thefirstoftheseoutcomes
relatestoeducationwhichhasimprovedqualityofbasiceducation.
CurrentOverallAppraisalofM&ESystemsintheEducationSector
TheDBEisresponsibleforeducationatthepolicylevel.Operationalresponsibilityisassignedto
ProvincialandDistrictDepartmentsofBasicEducation.TheDOEcameupwithacomprehensivelist
andmapofschoolsandtheirphysicalcharacteristics.Thesedatawerecompiledintoalarge
databaseknownastheSchoolRegisterofNeeds(SRN).
Arevenuesharingformulaallocatedtotheeducationsectorwasalsodevelopedbythecentral
governmentwhichgaveblocksoffundingtoprovincestobeusedattheirdiscretion.Thisformula
wascriticizedfornottakingeducationbacklogsintoaccount,andby1998thenationalMinistryof
Financeconsentedtochangingtheblockgrantformulatoaddweightforhealthandeducation
backlogs.Inordertoimplementthisformula,regularupdatingoftheSRNdatabasebecameamust.
Thisnewformulacreatedanawarenessoftheneedtoreviseandimprovetheregisteranddevelopa
SchoolFundingandPublicSchoolNormsandStandards,basedonwhichfundingpatternscouldbe
evaluated.
Bothofthedepartmentsofeducationhavespecificdirectoratesformonitoringandevaluation,and
theseareknownastheDirectoratesforResearch,Coordination,MonitoringandEvaluation(RCME).
TheDepartmentofBasicEducationhasanadequatelyresourcedMonitoringandEvaluationunit
undertheDirectorateofResearchCoordinationMonitoringandEvaluation,aswellasanewly
establishedNationalEducationEvaluationandDevelopmentUnit.
SeniormanagersintheDepartmentsofBasicEducationandHigherEducationandTraininghavea
fairunderstandingofthemeaningandrequirementsofM&E.Theseunitsaresupportedbythe
DepartmentofMonitoringandEvaluationofthePresidentsOfficeandtheNationalEducation
EvaluationDevelopmentUnit(NEEDU).
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In2007,theDOEproducedanM&EFramework,whichwasreviewedfollowingtheseparationofthe
departmentsintobasicandhighereducation.Assessmentoftheframeworkhashighlightedits
weaknessinspellingoutclearlythemonitoringandevaluationresponsibilitiesofPEDs,andatthe
districtlevel.Ithasbeenrecommendedthattherevisionstotheframeworkimprovetheguidance
providedtoprovincialM&Edepartments.Thesereformsarestilltobeimplemented,withthedelay
beinginpartduetoabroaderrestructuringattheDBE.
WhiletheDirectorateforResearchCoordinationMonitoringandEvaluationcoordinatesresearch
andholdstheM&Efunctionwithinthedepartment,sixotherunitsinthedepartmentconducttheir
ownevaluations.However,theredoesnotseemtobeanM&Eplaninplaceastheframework.The
diagnosticreviewoftheM&Esystemdoes,however,recommendthedraftingofdetailedM&Eplans
toaddressthisgap.AdetailedMonitoringandReportingPlancouldperformthisfunctionby
consolidatingindividualprogrammeandpolicymonitoringandreporting.Thereviewalso
recommendsthattheM&EplanforgeacloserlinkwithNationalTreasury'sFrameworkforthe
ManagementofProgrammePerformanceInformation.
MonitoringandEvaluationintheDBEisdonethroughtheSchoolAdministrationandManagement
System(SASAMS)forschoolandeducatorinformation.Recordsareuploadedattheschoollevel
andupdatedinrealtime.RecordsonlearnersformpartoftheLURITS.Evaluationssuchasthe
WholeSchoolEvaluationsareconductedwiththeparticipationofsupervisorsfromthedepartment,
schoolheads,andSchoolGoverningBodies.Incidentally,theNEEDUisalsoresponsibleforschool
assessmentlookingmostlyatevaluationofwhytheschoolperformsthewayitdoesratherthan
howithasperformed.TheDBEthroughitsProvincialEducationDepartmentsconductstwo
specializedsurveysannually.TheseareknownastheSnapandAnnualSurveysforOrdinaryand
SpecialNeedsEducationSchools.Inordertoensuredataaccuracy,onceinstitutionmanagersat
theseeducationinstitutionscompletebothsurveysinstruments,thesearepassedontocircuitand
districtofficialswhoarerequiredtoauthenticatethedatabeforepassingthemontothenextlevel.
Theoverallimpressiongiventothisstudyisthattherearetoomanyrequirementstobemonitored
andimplemented,andtoomanymultiplelevelsandorgansfortheMonitoringandEvaluationofthe
educationsectorinthecountry.AtthehighestlevelistheDepartmentofPerformanceMonitoring
andEvaluationunderwhichfallstheNationalDevelopmentPlanthatincludesaMediumTerms
StrategicFramework.SeparatefromthisaretheDeliveryAgreementssignedbetweenthePresident
andhisMinisters,theActionPlanto2019andtheAnnualPerformancePlans,aswellasthelonger
termTowardsSchooling2030document.
ProvincialEducationDepartmentsdevelopAnnualPerformancePlanswhichcoverdistrictlevel
operations.TheDHETDirectorateofResearchCoordinationMonitoringandEvaluation(DRCME)
haveoversight.ThenewDepartmentofHigherEducationandTraining(DHET)isresponsiblefor
highereducationinstitutions(HEIs),furthereducationandtraining(FET)collegesandadultlearning
centres.Itisalsoresponsibleforthesystemofworkforceskillsdevelopment,includingtheNational
SkillsAuthority,theSectorEducationandTrainingAuthorities(SETAs),tradetestingcentresand
skillsdevelopmentinstitutesthathadpreviouslybeendevelopedandmanagedbytheDepartment
ofLabour,allofwhichneedtobemonitoredorevaluated.
Overthecourseofoneyear,theDBEstillhastodealwithmanyreports:AnnualPerformancePlans;
WholeSchoolEvaluations;NEEDUReports;AnnualNationalAssessments;EMISdataandBudgets.
MonitoringandEvaluationhastypicallybeenfragmentedwiththeresponsibilitybeingsharedacross
thevariousunitsoftheDBE,andsimilarlyintheDHETanditsaffiliates.Thereisamovetowards
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centralization.TheDRCMEinBasicEducationistherepositoryofresearchandevaluationsand
shouldanydepartmentwanttodoanevaluationithasfirsttocheckwhetherthedataitneedsare
alreadyinthepossessionoftheDRCME.
TheintroductionofNormsandStandardsforschoolinfrastructureandtheexperienceoftheDQAF
exerciseinSouthAfricashouldhopefullybeabletomonitorandevaluatethisfacetinamore
coordinatedmanner.TheAcceleratedSchoolsInfrastructureDevelopmentInitiativewillbeeasierto
evaluate.Whilesurveydatacollectinformationonoutcomes,outputsandinputs,weakschool
managementsystemsmeansthattherearegapsinprocess/operationaldata.Unfortunately,
administrativecapacityinschoolsanddistrictsfordatacaptureisoftenlimitedandthiscould
underminethequalityofdataevenwithsophisticatedelectronicsystems,suchasSASAMSand
LURITS.
SouthAfricanSchoolsAdministrationManagementSystem(SAM)hasbeenintroducedandis
expectedtoeventuallyreplacedatacollectionthroughsurveys.Itmaybeadvantageoustoextend
theseapplicationstoalleducationalinstitutionsgovernmentandprivatealike.
TheIntegratedQualityManagementSystem(IQMS),graduallyexpandedandstrengthenedsinceits
inceptionin2003,hasbeencloselymonitoredinrecentyears,partlythroughnationallyemployed
IQMSmonitors,givenitsimportanceforacknowledgingteacherprofessionalism.
Automatedsystemsbringwiththemtheirownchallenges,mostlyrelatedtoalackofcapacityand
cost.The2012reportontheprogresstodateoftheContinuingProfessionalTeacherDevelopment
(CPTD)ManagementSystem120pointstoseriousdifficultiestoovercome,intermsofbudgetsand
humancapacity,iftheoriginallyenvisagedonlinesystemistobepursued.Lessonscanbelearned
fromparalleldevelopmentsinthemedicalprofessionwhichhassuccessfullymanagedtoimplement
automatedsystemsacrossthecountry.121
ThediagnosticreviewreportrecommendsthattheMonitoringandEvaluationofteacher
professionaldevelopmentmustbestrengthenedthroughcloserlinkswiththeSouthAfricanCouncil
forEducators(SACE).
Thenewindividualstudentsandteacherstrackingcomputersystemsneedskilledpersonneltouse
them.Thesesystemswillhavetobeupdatedfromtimetotimetoreflectnewdevelopmentsand
catertochangingneeds.Therearetwoissuesofcoordination.Oneisthecentralcoordinationof
activitiesatlowerlevels:schools,districtsandprovinces,andplanningattheselevelsalignedwith
thecentralplanningandmonitoringsystem.Theotheriseffectivecoordinationbetweenline
ministries,especiallythedepartmentsofhighereducation.
Zimbabwe
Background
TheneedtoensurequalityandefficiencyinthepublicsectorhaspropelledtheGovernmentof
ZimbabwetoadoptsuitableMonitoringandEvaluationframeworks.Initially,thefocuswason
PerformanceManagement,whichwassubsequentlyreplacedbyResultsBasedManagement.The
uptakeofRBMhasbeenslowandriddledbysomechallenges.Indicationsarethatthereislittle
enthusiasmforthemodelwithinthepublicsector.TheMinistriesofEducation(MOE)areno
exception.AkeyfeatureofRBMisitsfocusonperformanceindicators,whichastheirnameimplies,
120
ThestatusoftheCPTDmanagementsystem,availableontheSACEwebsite.
121
ActionPlan
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areusedtogaugeperformanceagainstbenchmarks.Developingaccurateandreliableperformance
indicatorshasprovedtobeproblematic.Educationstakeholderssuchasteachershavechallenged
theuseofpassratesasaperformancemeasurefortheirworkarguingthatthepassingofpupilsis
influencedbymanyvariablesandnotnecessarilyrestrictedonlytotheirinstruction.Thisresistance
haslimitedtheacceptanceandutilityofRBM.
AplethoraofeconomicblueprintsinthecountryhasalsoaffectedtheMonitoringandEvaluation
policyenvironment.ThefirstofthesewastheEconomicStructuralAdjustmentProgramme(ESAP)
whichdictatedaleanerpublicsectorandtheintroductionofschoolfees.Thisimpactednegatively
ontheeducationandotherservicedeliverysectors.ThegovernmentsoonabandonedESAPandit
wasfollowedinquicksuccessionbyeconomicblueprintprogrammes,forexample,theZimbabwe
ProgrammeforEconomicandSocialTransformation(ZIMPREST)in1998.Twoyearslater,the
countryintroducedtheMillenniumEconomicRecoveryProgramme(MERP)whichwassoon
replacedbyaneweconomicblueprint.Thecurrentdominanteconomicmodel,despitenotbeingan
officialgovernmentdocument,istheZimbabweAgendaforSustainableSocioEconomic
Transformation(ZIMASSET).Throughthisblueprint,thecountryhopestoimprovethequalityand
increaseaccesstoeducationandtrainingatalllevelsandrevieweducationandtrainingpolicies
(ZIMASSET,2013).Itremainstobeseenhowthiswillbeachieved.
Intheeducationsector,theMinistryofPrimaryandSecondaryEducationhasadoptedaquasi
decentralizededucationsystemuptotheprovinciallevel.Amostlytopdownapproachisused
whereofficialsfromtheheadofficemonitorsschoolsthroughareviewofannualandmonthly
reports.Thetrajectoryofthesereportsbeginsattheschoollevelandpassesthroughthedistrict,
provincesandheadoffice,tothePermanentSecretary,thenontotheMinisterandfinallytothe
Cabinet.Weekly,monthlyandannualplansarealsousedbytheMinistry,allguidedatpresentby
theMediumTermEducationStrategicPlan20112015.Meetingsandminutesofmeetingsare
mostlyusedtomonitorprogress.Thechallengeliesintryingtothoroughlyanalyzethelargevolume
ofreportsthattheheadofficereceivesonamonthlybasis.Thisprocessisunlikelytoflagcritical
pointseitherforremedialactionorforfurtherstudiesandanalyses.Thereislimitedcapacityinthe
districtsandprovincestodothis.Thegovernmenthasmovedtoaddressthisweaknessbyproviding
trainingonRBMthroughtheCivilServiceCommissiontostaffmembers.Entryintoatraining
programmeisbyreferralfromasuperiorofficer.
TheMinistryofPrimaryandSecondaryEducationhasmultiplestakeholders.Theseincludeteacher
unions,theZimbabweSchoolsExaminationCouncil(ZIMSEC),donors,nongovernmental
organizations,parentsandstudents.Thefirstthreegroupsarewellrepresentedinthediscourse
aroundeducationandtrainingwithseveralteacherunions,anationalexaminationscounciland
multipleexternalpartners.Theseentitiesoperateautonomously,butengageregularly,withthe
MinistriesofEducation,alongwithconsultationonatermlybasisbetweenteacherunionsandthe
PermanentSecretary,andalsomonthlydonorengagementsandongoingconsultationwiththe
examinationscouncil.Parentsandstudentgroupscanonlycontributeattheschoollevelasthere
arenoparentorprimaryandsecondaryschoolstudentorganizationsatpresent.Vibrant
engagementwiththedirectbeneficiariesoftheeducationsector,asisthecaseinKenya,needsto
begivenconsideration.
Thisstudyhasfoundthatdespitethecountrysmanychallenges,thereisahealthyappetitefor
lookingforrobustevidencefordecisionmaking,bothwithintheMinistriesofEducationandthe
publicdomain.Existingsystemsrecognizethisandhavebeenemployedtomeetthisdemand.Inthe
absenceofcoherentandeffectiveadoptionofMonitoringandEvaluationframeworks,thisdemand
maynotbemet.Itis,therefore,incumbentontheMinistryofPrimaryandSecondaryEducationto
leadtheparadigmshifttowardsacultureofmonitoringand,moreparticularly,ofevaluation.The
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recommendationscomingoutofthisstudyincludethetimelydisseminationofstatisticalreports
producedbyEMIStoallstakeholdersandincreasedinvestmentinhiring,retainingandtrainingstaff
withM&Ecapabilitiesateverylevel.Headsofschools,inparticular,needtobetrainedinthiscrucial
areaastheyaretheprimaryproducersofdataonwhichalldecisionswillbebased.Intermsof
coordination,thesynergiesamongthedifferentdepartmentsintheMinistryofPrimaryand
SecondaryEducationshouldbeimprovedthroughplanningactivitiesandfinancingofallprocesses
together.
CurrentM&ESystem
TheMTSP(20112015)aimsatrevitalizingtheprovisionofrelevant,quality,inclusiveandholistic
informationoneducation,sports,artsandculture122forallZimbabweans.Itsetsouttorestorethe
professionalstatusofteachersinordertoprovideahighlymotivatedandcompetentprofessional
teachingcadrewhocanprovidehighqualitylearningopportunitiesforalllearnersinthecountry.In
termsofcurriculum,thesystemaimsatrevitalizinglearningqualityandrelevanceandputinplacea
renewedandwellintegratedcurriculuminprimaryandsecondaryschools,supportedbyasystemof
effectivelearningassessmentalongwiththeprovisionofthenecessarylearningmaterials.The
Ministryhasalsodevelopedamonitoringandevaluationplanwhichinvolvessupervizingthe
plannedactivitiesandassessingperformance,usinginstrumentssuchasthereportingformats
developedbytheQualityAssuranceDepartment.Thisplanismeantformonitoringimplementation
oftheMTSP,ensuringqualityandaccess,assessprogrammes,documentgoodpractices,asalso
assessthestrengthsandweaknessesofthesystem.TheM&Eplanfurtherstrivestocoordinate
reportssoastofacilitateevidencebasedpolicyformulation.TheM&Eplanisbasedonseveral
assumptionsincluding1)financeswillbeavailable,2)humanresourceswillbeappropriatelyplaced
tocarryouttheassignmentsand3)materialresourcesandotherfacilitieswillbeavailablein
sufficientquantities.Unfortunately,theMinistryofEducationhasexperiencedresourcechallenges
almostfromitsinception.OthersourcesofinformationforM&EwithintheMinistryincludeEMIS
reports,schoolsupervisionreportsonlearningandteachingprocesses,financialreports,quarterly
reportsandreportsonteacherestablishment.However,duemainlytolackofhumanresources
(bothinquantityandquality)theimplementationoftheplanhasnotbeenfoundtobeeffective.
ChallengesofEMIS
TheMinistryofEducationneedstocloselycoordinatethefunctionsofM&EatProvincialandHead
Officelevels.ItremainsapolicyimperativethatMinistryofEducationstaffcontinuetoreceive
trainingonhowtocollateandsummarizethedata.Theproperstorageandpresentationofthedata
remainkeyissuesbeingaddressedbytheAssociationfortheDevelopmentofEducationinAfricas
(ADEA)WorkingGrouponEducationManagementandPolicySupport(WGEMPS),whichhas,in
recentyears,assistedtheMinistryofEducationwithtechnicalaspectsrelatedtocollecting,
processing,analyzingandpresentingstatisticaldata.Theseneedtobeinternalizedbythestaffof
theMinistry.
TheEMISsystemfacesanotherchallenge,namely,inadequacyofskilledpersonnelwithintheEMIS
unittomanageinformationfrom8,065schoolsinthecountry.Inadditiontothishugenumberof
schools,therearealsosomeinstitutionsprovidingearlychildhooddevelopment,nonformal
education,privateschoolsandotherskillsdevelopmentandtechnicalandvocationalschools,which
thesystemisnotabletocoverinitsdatacollectionprocesses.TheED46formisnotusedtocollect
datafromthenonformalsystemandyetthisisalargesectorwhichisalsoundertheMOEand
whichcaterstochildrenwhofailtoenrolintheformalsector.Intherecentpast,theutilityofthe
122
TobeincompliancewithMDGs2and3,HolisticcoversSport,ArtsandCulture,SNE,NonFormal.Basiceducationincludes
ECD,PrimaryandSecondary(IIV)education.
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dataproducedhasbeenlowbecausetheanalysisanddisseminationhavenotbeendoneontime
duetolackofadequatelyskilledpersonnel.Attitudestowardsstatisticalinformationaregenerally
poorandthismakesthecollectionofdatainaccurateaswell.
However,withsupportfrompartners,theMOEhasembarkeduponlinkingHeadOffice,Provincial
anddistrictsofficesthroughinternet,butduetolimitedfinancestheprocesshasbeenslowandalot
oftheinformationmanagementsystemprocessesarestillbeingdonemanually.
EstablishmentofProperLinks
TheoverallsupervisionofMonitoringandEvaluationcomesundertheDepartmentofPlanning
withintheMinistryofEducationwhichisexpectedtoensuretheprovisionofatleastoneplanning
officerattheprovinciallevel.Theschoolsupervisionandinspectionsystemhascontinuedtoevolve
overtheyears.TheMOEhas,inthepast,providedvehicleswiththeassistanceofpartners,foreasy
accesstoschools.Eachoftheseventythreedistrictsinthecountryhasatleastonevehiclefor
schoolsupervision.SchoolDevelopmentCommittees,whicharemadeupofparentsandcommunity
members,havealsoprovideddistrictswithvehiclesforsuchsupervision.Thishasbeenfacilitatedby
theBetterSchoolsProgrammeofZimbabwe.
TheMinistryofEducationhasappointedSchoolsInspectorsatthedistrictleveltosuperviseschools.
Thoughnotadequateinnumbers,theystillsuperviseheads,ICTteachersandwritereportsonthe
institutions.SupervisioniscoordinatedbytheDistrictEducationOfficers,whoanalyzethereports,
writecoveringnotesandminutes,andsubmitthereportstoprovincialoffices.Theprovincesdo
similaranalysisandpassthemontothemainoffice.
TheQualityAssuranceDepartmentisresponsibleforbothprimaryandsecondarysupervision,
monitoringandevaluationoftheschoolsystem.
Atprovincialoffices,deputydirectorsanalyzethereportstoidentifythemainissuesraisedafter
whichcopiesarereturnedtotheschoolsforfurtheractiononanyimprovementssuggested.
Insummary,evaluationremainsaweaknessintheMOEbothduetoinadequatefundingandlackof
capacity.
CapacityStrengthening
Thecapacitytoanalyzeandusestatisticaldataandinformationisessentialinacomplexsystemlike
theMinistryofEducation.Theabilitytoidentifyusersandthetypeofinformationtheyrequire,and
toshareexperienceisneeded.Theabilitytocoordinateinformationfromdifferentsourceswithin
thesectorministryandotherlineministriesandothernationalandinternationalpartnersisalso
needed.Thisrequiresstrongmanagementprofessionalsandothersupportstaffbothintermsof
adequacyandcompetence.
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OverallReviewoftheStatusofM&ESystemsinLatinAmerica
30. I.1 Background
I.1.1 StatusofM&ESysteminEducationinLatinAmerica
ThecurrentmovementtodevelopM&EsystemsinLatinAmericahasemergedoutofadesirefor
greatertransparencyandarecognizedneedformeasuringperformanceinthepublicsector.In
mostLatinAmericancountries,afterthereturnofdemocracyinthelate1980sandearly1990s,this
movementseemstohavealignedwellwithbroadercitizendemandsforbettergovernanceand
moreaccountability.Internationaldevelopmentagenciesalsohavebeenadvocatingformore
evidencebaseddecisionmakingintheeducationsector.ThecurrentemphasisonM&Einthe
continentcanalsobeattributedtoanaspiration,particularlyseeninthenewlydemocratically
electedgovernmentsoftheregionandalsoadvocatedbytheUnitedNations,towardsestablishinga
resultsbasedfocusonthemanagementofeducation.Inotherwords,itmaybestatedthat
governmentsintheregionhavebeguntoendorsetheideaofdevelopingastrategytoensuremore
efficientuseofscarceresourcesinordertoachievethedesirededucationalgoals.
Thepolicyagendasimplementedinmanycountriesoftheregionalsorequiremoreaccurateand
coordinateddatasystemsthatcanbesupportiveoftheirdevelopmentefforts.Forinstance,central
governmentshavestartedfeelingtheneedtobeabletotrackresourcestransferredtolowertiersof
government.Countriesthathadearliertiededucationresourcestoenrolmentshavestartedfeeling
theneedformoreefficientschoolrecordkeepingsystems.Studentandschoolleveldatasetswith
multiplevariablesarealsoseentobeessentialtothedesignandimplementationofnational
accountabilitysystems.
ThisoverviewofLatinAmericaprovidescomparativeinformationontheexistingpoliciesand
practicesofM&Eineducation,basedontheUNESCOanalyticalframework.Informationhasbeen
gatheredforthisstudyfromthe15countriesthatparticipatedinUNESCOscomparativeassessment
(TERCE):Argentina,Brazil,Chile,Colombia,CostaRica,Ecuador,Guatemala,Honduras,Mexico,
Nicaragua,Panama,Peru,Paraguay,DominicanRepublic,andUruguay.Further,informationhas
alsobeencollectedonM&EsystemsineducationfromBoliviaandElSalvador.Table1describesthe
M&Esystemsin17LatinAmericancountries.Thisoffersanalysisoftheinformationcollectedonthe
M&Esystemswhichmonitortheinput,process,andoutcomerelatedfactorsineducation.The
followinginputrelatedM&Esystemsareconsidered:schoolrecordkeepingsystems(SRKS),
educationmanagementinformationsystems(EMIS),andteachermanagementinformationsystems
(TMIS).InformationhasalsobeencollectedfromtheregionpertainingtotwoprocessrelatedM&E
systems:studentinspectionandevaluationsystems(SIES)andteacherevaluationsystems(TE).
Similarly,informationhasalsobeengatheredonthefollowingtwooutputrelatedM&Esystemsin
LatinAmericancountries:examinationsystems(ES)andstudentassessmentsystems(SAS).
Overall,thereiswidevariationacrosstheregioninthedevelopmentandimplementationofM&E
systems.Whilemostcountrieshaveschoolrecordkeepingsystemsandeducationmanagement
informationsystems,onlyonethirdofthemhaveteachermanagementinformationsystems,and
justonecountryChilehasafinancialmanagementinformationsystem.Whilefewerthanhalfof
LatinAmericancountrieshaveschoolandteacherevaluationsystems,thisappearstobeagrowing
trendacrossthecontinent.Onlytwocountriesintheregioncarryoutendofcycleexaminations.
However,15outof17countrieshavenationalstudentassessmentsandagrowingnumberof
countriesparticipateininternationalevaluations.
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Table1:OverviewofM&EinLatinAmericancountries
Country M&ESystems
INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT
SRKS EMIS TMIS FMIS SIES TES ES SAS
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
CostaRica
Dominican
Republic
Ecuador
ElSalvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Peru
Paraguay
Uruguay
SRKS:SchoolRecordKeepingSystem;EMIS:EducationManagementInformationSystem;TMIS:
TeacherManagementInformationSystem;FMIS:FinancialManagementInformationSystem;SIES:
SchoolInspectionandEvaluationSystem;TES:TeacherEvaluationSystem;ES:ExaminationSystem:
SAS:StudentAssessmentSystem
(Source:Datacollectedaspartofthisstudy)
TherangeofthelevelofdevelopmentandtheconsolidationofM&Esystemswithintheregionis
substantial.Forexample,whilesomecountries,suchasBrazil,Chile,ColombiaandMexico,have
establishedandlongrunningschoolrecordkeepingsystemsandeducationmanagement
informationsystemsthatareeasilyaccessibletodifferentstakeholders,othercountries,including
CostaRica,Ecuador,Guatemala,Paraguay,andPeru,haveonlyrecentlydevelopedM&Esystems
andtheyarestilllessconsolidatedintheaboveaspects.Yet,othercountrieshavemoreprecarious
schoolrecordkeepingsystemswhicharealsonotupdatedfrequently(e.g.Bolivia,ElSalvador,
HondurasandDominicanRepublic).Theyarealsooftendifficulttoaccess.Insomeschoolsystems,
thetechnologytovisualizethedata(e.g.GISmappingsystems)isaheadofthequantityandquality
ofinformationavailableonschoolsandtheschoolingsystem.However,overthelasttwodecades,
governmentsacrossthecontinenthavemademajoreffortstomakeschoolleveldatamore
accessibletoprincipals,teachers,andparents.
Thegrowingbodyofevidencethatconfirmsthatteachersarethesinglemostimportantschoollevel
determinersoflearningoutcomeshashadtheeffectofintensifyingthefocusofpolicymakersand
internationaldevelopmentagenciesontheaspectteacherqualitypolicyreforms.Areviewof
teachersandteachingpolicyhasidentifiedthreeemergingareasofteacherreformsinLatin
America:teacherrecruitment,teachertrainingandteacherincentives.Thefirststepintheprocess
ofsuchreformstowardsconceptualization,designandimplementationofeffectiveteacherpolicies,
istodevelopacomprehensivemonitoringandevaluationsystem.
Severalcountrieshavedevelopedproperteachermanagementsystemsinordertomanageteacher
recruitmentanddeployment.Policymakersandresearchershavealsousedthisinformationto
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betterunderstandissuesofteachermobilityanddropoutrates,andtodesigneffectiveinduction
andprofessionaldevelopmentprogrammes.Thisincludesactiontoformulatepoliciesinorderto
attractandretainteachersinthemostdisadvantagedschools.Currently,6outof17LatinAmerican
countrieshaveteacherinformationmanagementsystemsinplace,whichareaccessibletothe
differentstakeholders.
Theabundantevidenceontheimportanceofteacherqualityinthedeliveryofeducationservices
hasalsomotivatedresearchersandpolicymakerstodevelopsuitableevaluationswhichmayallow
themtoidentifyeffectiveandineffectiveteachers.Overthelasttenyears,sixcountriesintheregion
haveinvestedheavilyontheevaluationofteacherperformance.WhileMexicoandColombia
introducedtheirteacherevaluationsystemsinthelate1990s,certainimplementationissueshave
underminedtheireffectiveness.Mexicoiscurrentlyrevampingtheirteacherevaluationsystemto
remedythisdeficiency.Colombiassystemthoughislaggingbehindinthisregard.Chiles2003
DocenteMasremainsthemosteffectivesysteminthecontinent.ParaguayandEcuadorhavebeen
implementingteacherevaluationsoverthelastsevenyearsandPeruisdevelopingasimilar
comprehensivesystemasthatofChile.Whilemostofthesesystemsarestillformativeinnature,
theyareoftenusedasdeterminantsforprovidingincentivesforbetterperformers,aswellasforthe
dismissaloflowperformingteachers.
Overthelastdecade,therehasalsobeenatrendinLatinAmericatowardincreasingschool
autonomy,devolvingresponsibilityandencouragingresponsivenesstoparentandotherstakeholder
needs.Forexample,somecountriesrequireschoolstodevelopimprovementplanswithconcrete
learningtargetsalongwithactionplanswhichdescribehowtheywillachievethem.Othershave
implementedschoolbasedmanagementsystemsbydecentralizingdecisionmakingauthorityfrom
thegovernmenttotheschoollevel.
Somegovernmentsintheregionhaveintroducedschoolinspectionandsupervisionsystems,
supportiveofsuchdecentralizationandschoolmanagementreforms.Aspartofthissupportsystem,
forexample,schoolinspectorsprovidetechnicalassistancetoschoolsinthedevelopmentoftheir
plansandmonitorsuitabilityandadequacyofresourceallocation.Currently6outof17countries
havesuchschoolinspectionandevaluationsystems.However,onepersistingprobleminmostof
thesecountriesisthelackofneededresourcesandtheavailabilityofonlyalimitednumberof
qualifiedsupervisorswhocansoassessandmonitorasufficientnumberofschools.
RecentdecadeshavealsoseenanexponentialgrowthinLatinAmericancountrieswhichcan
accommodatenational,regionalandinternationalstudentassessments.Bytheendofthe1990s,
mostcountriesintheregionhadsomeformofnationaltestingsysteminplace,asevidencedin
Table1.However,theimplementationofnationalstudentassessmentshasshownvariationsacross
theLatinAmericancountries.Insomecountries,studenttestinghasamountedtonomorethan
samplebasedteststoassesstheoverallqualityoftheeducationsystem.Forexample,inCostaRica,
Nicaragua,Panama,ParaguayandtheDominicanRepublic,samplebasedassessmentsare
conductedsystematicallyeveryyearoreveryfewyears.TheotherLatinAmericancountrieshave
censusbasednationalassessmentsinplace.
Similarly,theimplementationofschoolaccountabilitysystemsvarieswidelyacrosscountries.
Thoughthesearecensusbasedassessments,thedegreetowhichlowperformingschoolsreceive
anyassistancefromtheirgovernmentsvariessignificantly.Forexample,ArgentinaandUruguay
publishonlyaggregatetestscores,andtheydonotpublishschoollevelresults.Colombia,Ecuador,
Guatemala,Honduras,MexicoandPerupublishaveragetestperformanceforeachschool,whichare
alsohighlyaccessible,withparentsandthepressusingthemonaregularbasis.Brazilusesa
schoolsaveragetestscoreandgraderepetitionratestoconstructtheIndexforBasicEducation
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Development.ThefederalgovernmentusesIDEBscorestosetnationaleducationgoalsandto
identifylowperformingstates,municipalitiesandschools.States,municipalitiesandschoolsusethe
informationinordertosettargetsanddevelopsuitableimprovementplanstoachievethem.The
governmentalsowidelydisseminatestheIDEBscorestoparentsandthepublic.
In2008,Chileimplementedacomprehensiveandsystematicsystemofschoolaccountability.
SimilartoaccountabilitysystemsintheUnitedStates,theUnitedKingdom,andtheNetherlands,
Chilessystemsetsminimumperformancestandardsandranksschoolsaccordingtotheiroverall
performanceandprogressasmeasuredbythenationalassessmentandothermeasuresof
outcomes.Italsoenvisagessanctionsagainstlowperformingschools,includingclosurewhena
schooldoesnotshowadequateimprovement.Informationonaschoolsranking,averagetest
scores,andotherindicatorsarealsowidelydisseminatedtofamiliesandthepublic.
Overthelastfewdecades,severalcountriesoftheregionhavemadesuitableinstitutionalchanges
toaccommodatetheirdifferentM&Esystems.Anumberofcountrieshavecreatedautonomousor
semiautonomousgovernmentagencieswhichspecializeinevaluationandstatisticstomanageM&E
systems.Forexample,Brazil,Chile,Colombia,andMexicohavecreatedindependentorsemi
independentevaluationagenciesthatimplementandmanagestudentassessmentsandevaluations.
Panamahasalsorecentlyestablishedasemiautonomousnationalevaluationinstitutethatconducts
studentassessmentsanddisseminatestheresults.However,inmostofthesecases,theschool
recordkeepingsystem,theeducationmanagementinformationsystemandtheteacher
managementandevaluationsystemarestilllocatedindifferentdivisionswithintheMinistryof
Education.Theadvantageofseparatingthefunctionsasmentionedaboveisthatitmayshieldthe
studentassessmentsandotherevaluationsfrompossiblepoliticalpressures.However,such
advantagesmaybeoffsetbythelackofpropercoordinationofinformationtoenableformulationof
suitableandfocusedpublicpolicies.
I.1.2 PolicyIssuesofM&ESystemsinLatinAmerica
M&Esystemsineducationareatdifferentstagesofevolutionindifferentcountriesacrossthe
continent.InsomecountriesBolivia,theDominicanRepublic,ElSalvadorandNicaraguaM&E
systemsarefragmented,functioninginthedifferentdivisionsoftheMinistryofEducation.Such
systemswereoftensetuptosupportdifferentprogrammesandwereapparentlynotdesignedtobe
sustainableovertime.Thedataarenotcollectedsystematicallyandareusuallynotfoundusefulfor
policyformulationorforshapinginformedpublicopinion.Whileafewofthesecountrieshave
madeeffortstoimprovetheaccessibilityoftheinformationtodifferentstakeholdersthroughthe
useofdatavisualizationsoftware,thelackofupdatedinformationrenderssuchinformationless
useful.Astheyare,thesesystemscouldbeclassifiedasbeingintheprematurestageof
development.
SomeothercountriesintheregionCostaRica,Ecuador,Guatemala,Panama,Peru,andParaguay
havedevelopedtheinstitutionalandorganizationalconditionsconducivetothesettingupof
functionalM&Esystemsintheeducationsector.Thesecountriessystematicallycollectdataand
transformsthemintousefulinformationforpolicymakers,schools,teachers,andparents.Someof
thesecountriesEcuador,Guatemala,Peru,andParaguayusetechnologytomaketheinformation
readilyaccessiblefordifferentstakeholders.WhilePanamahasbeenaleaderinthecreationofa
semiindependentinstitutiontomanageitsM&Esystems,itlagsbehindothercountriesinmaking
theinformationavailabletothepublic.Ecuador,ParaguayandPeruhaveexpandedtheirM&E
systemstoincludeteacherevaluations.However,thesesystemsarestillintheearlystagesof
development.TheM&Esystemsinthesecountriesdonotnecessarilyfunctioninacoordinated
manneranddonotformpartofacomprehensiveinformationsystem.Thus,theyshouldbe
classifiedasbeinginthefragmentarystageofdevelopment.
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Overthelastfewdecades,agroupofLatinAmericancountries,namely,Argentina,Colombia,
MexicoandUruguay,haveconsolidatedM&Esystemsthatarefunctioning,butoftennotina
coordinatedmanner,inordertoproviderelevantandqualityinformationforpolicymakersand
otherstakeholders.Thesecountrieswouldbeclassifiedintheindependentdevelopmentstage.For
example,ArgentinaandUruguayhavewellestablishedschoolrecordkeepingandeducational
managementsystems,andlongrunningstudentassessments.Argentinaalsohasateacher
managementinformationsystem.Bothofthesecountrieshavethenecessaryinstitutionaland
organizationalsystemsandtechnicalcapacitytomaintainsustainableM&Esystemsandprovide
qualityinformationtodifferenteducationstakeholders.However,forpoliticalreasons,both
countriesmainlypublishaggregateleveldata;andschoolleveldataarenoteasilyaccessible.
ColombiaandMexicoweretwoofthepioneeringcountriestoestablishcomprehensiveM&E
systemsinthe1990s.However,certainimplementationissues,oftenassociatedwithexternal
factors(e.g.civilwarinColombia)underminedtheirimpact.Bothcountriesarenowredesigning
theirM&Esystemssothattheycanbecomemoreinterconnectedandresponsivetopolicyneeds.
ColombiaandMexicohavethetechnicalcapacityandsemiindependentevaluationinstitutions
(ICFESinColombiaandINEEinMexico)inplacetomanagetheirM&Esystemsinamoresynergetic
manner.
BrazilandChilesM&Esystemsintheeducationsectoraretheregionsbestpracticestodate.
BrazilsM&Esystem,whilelimitedinscope,functionsinacoordinatedmannerandprovides
efficientandeffectiveinformationtodifferenteducationstakeholders.Brazilssuccessispartlydue
tothetechnicalandcoordinatingcapacityofINEP,whichcollects,managesanddisseminatesthe
informationprovidedbytheschoolrecordkeepingsystem,themanagementinformationsystem
andthestudentassessments.WhilesomeBrazilianstatesandmunicipalitieshavedeveloped
teachermanagementinformationsystems,theydonotoperateinacoordinatedmanner.Chiles
M&Esystemiscomprehensiveandcoversalloftheinput,process,andoutputrelatedfactorsinthe
educationsectorconsideredinthisreview.In2011,theChileanCongressenactedalawthat
createdaNationalQualityAssuranceSystem,whichcreatedaQualityAgency,responsiblefor
managingstudentassessmentsandthesupervisionofschools.Thelawhasclearlydefinedtheroles
andresponsibilitiesofeachnationalinstitutionandthecoordinatingroleoftheMinistryof
Education,includingitsM&Esystem.Thisnewinstitutionalarrangementhasfurthersustainedand
coordinatedinamoreoptimalwayChilesM&Esystem,withtheexceptionoftheteacher
evaluationandincentivessystems,whichcontinuetooperateindependently.
ThereareseveralreasonsforthesubstantialvariationinthedevelopmentstagesofM&Esystems
acrosscountriesinLatinAmerica.First,somecountrieshavehadwellestablishedandfunctioning
M&Eevaluationsystemsinotherareasbeforetheyweredevelopedineducation.Thesecountries
hadtheinstitutionalandorganizationalcapacitytocollectdata,constructtheM&Esystemsand
disseminatetheinformation.Second,andmorerecently,internationaldevelopmentagencieshave
beguntoprovideincentivesandresourcestobuildgoodM&Esystems.Somecountriesdeveloped
plansandtookadvantageoftheseresourcestodesignandimplementtheirM&Esystems.Third,in
someothercountries,theM&Esystemsweredevelopedinresponsetocertainemergingpolicy
needs.Forexample,inBrazilianstatesandmunicipalities,federalresourceswereallocatedbased
onstudentenrolments.Thispolicyrequiredthefederalgovernmenttobuildanefficientstudent
recordkeepingsystem.Chilesperpupilvoucherprogramme,whichisnowbeingweightedbyeach
studentsfamilybackground,isanotherexampleofhowpolicydrivestheneedtobuildefficient
M&Esystems.Fourth,somecountries,especiallythoseintheprematureandfragmentarystages,
havefacedobstacles,includingalackoftechnicalcapacity,andresourcesandfundingrestrictions.
Fifth,thegovernmentsinsomecountries(e.g.Argentina,PanamaandUruguay)alsofacepolitical
pressuresbyteacherunionsandothereducationstakeholdersagainstthepublicationoftheschool
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levelinformation.Regardlessofthesevariations,mostLatinAmericancountriesaremovingtowards
thedevelopmentofmorecomprehensiveandcoordinatedM&Esystems.
ThemostimportantpolicyissuesfortheLatinAmericanCountriesregardingtheirM&Eeducation
systemsareidentifiedbelow.
I.1.2.1 LegalFrameworkforM&E
SomeLatinAmericancountrieshaveestablisheddifferentlegalframeworksforthemaintenanceof
sustainableM&Esystemsthatwouldgeneratetheneededqualityinformationfordecisionmaking
bydifferentstakeholders.SomecountrieshavenationalandeducationM&Elaws(e.g.Braziland
Colombia)andQualityAssuranceLaws(e.g.Chile,Colombia)whichdefinetherolesand
responsibilitiesofthedifferentinstitutions.Othercountrieshaveenactedtransparencylaws(e.g.
Brazil,Chile,andMexico)whichrequiredifferentagenciestomakethedifferentcomponentsof
M&Esystemspublic,whichisconducivetothedevelopmentofacultureoftransparencyand
evidencebasedpolicymaking.However,itmustbenotedthatmostcountriesintheregionstilllack
aproperandwelldefinedlegalframeworktosupportanddulymandatetheproperdevelopment
andsustainabilityofanM&Esystem.
I.1.2.2 InstitutionalDesign
Somecountrieshavecreatedautonomousorsemiautonomousagenciestoprovidedirectiontoand
coordinationoftheM&Esystems.Forexample,Chilehascreatedtwoautonomousagencies
(EducationQualityAgencyandEducationSuperintendence)tomonitorschoolqualityandtoaudit
theuseofpublicresources.Othercountries(e.g.Argentina,Brazil,Colombia,MexicoandUruguay)
haveestablishedsemiautonomousagencies.Panamahascreatedaqualityagencywhichisa
branchoftheMinistryofEducation.Theindependenceoftheagenciescanfostertrustinthedata
qualityandtherebyensuremorepublicsupportforevidencebasedpolicyactions.TheMinistryof
EducationplaysakeyroleinotherLatinAmericancountriesindevelopingandcoordinatingM&E
systems.Coordinationandcoherence,however,stillposeachallengeinmostcountriesofthe
region,especiallythosewithmorecomprehensivesystemsofM&E(ChileandColombia),andalso
thosewithfederalsystems(BrazilandMexico).Politicalinfluenceisstillanissueinsomecountries
withlessautonomousagencies(e.g.Argentina,Brazil,Mexico,PanamaandUruguay).
I.1.2.3 TechnicalCapacity
ThetechnicalcapacityofdifferentstakeholderstogenerateM&Esystems,craftandmonitorpolicy,
improvepracticeandmonitorschoolperformanceremainsamajorchallengeinLatinAmerica.
WhilemanycountriesarestillintheearlystagesofcreatingM&Esystems(Bolivia,theDominican
Republic,ElSalvador,andNicaragua),mostothershavedevelopedthetechnicalcapacityand
institutionalconditionsconducivetothesettingupoffunctionalM&Esystems.Theselatter
countriessystematicallycollectdataandtransformthemintousefulinformationforpolicymakers,
schools,teachers,andparents.BrazilsandChilesM&EsystemsineducationareLatinAmericas
bestpracticestodate.Mostcountries,includingBrazilandChile,havedevelopedcapacitymorefor
usingM&Esystemstodesignandmonitorpolicyandconductresearchthanforimprovingpractice
andmonitoringschoolperformance.Alackofadequateresourcesoftenhindersthecountries
abilitytobuildinternalcapacityandspecialization.Theseissuesneedspecialattentionofpolicy
makers.
Dissemination
WhilemostcountriesinLatinAmericahavemademajorprogresstowardsimprovingthe
disseminationofinformationgeneratedbyM&Esystems(e.g.studentassessments)todifferent
stakeholders(policymakers,researchers,schoolsandparents),furthereffortsareneededto
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improvethepublicationanddistributionoftheinformation.Somecountries(e.g.Brazil,Chile,
Colombia,MexicoandPeru)disseminateschoolleveldataandusetheM&Esystemsforpolicy
research.Othercountriesintheregion(e.g.Ecuador,GuatemalaandParaguay)publishschoollevel
data,buttheinformationisrarelyusedforpolicyresearch.Thegovernmentsdonotpublishschool
levelresultsinArgentinaandUruguay,butmicroleveldatageneratedfromM&Esystemsareused
forpolicyresearch.ThereislimitedinformationavailableinBolivia,ElSalvador,andHonduras.The
technologytosuitablyvisualizedataisoftennotmatchedwiththequantityandqualityof
informationpublished.Thechallengeformanycountriesishowtopushforthepublicationofuseful
dataforschoolsandparents.Theselimitationsareoftenpoliticallymotivated.Forinstance,thereis
theapprehensionthattheteachersunionsmaypressurethegovernmentsnottopublishschool
leveltestscores.
I.1.2.4 EvidencebasedPolicymaking
InLatinAmerica,manyeducationpoliciesandprogrammesarestillbeingconceptualized,designed,
andimplementedwithoutasolid,supportingempiricalfoundation.Thisisoftenduetoalackof
technicalcapacityontheonehandforproducingevidencebaseddata,andontheotherhandtoa
lackofacultureoflookingforsuchevidenceforpolicyformulation,whichisoftendoneeveninthe
absenceofsuchsupportingevidence.Manycountriesnowgenerateabundantdatathatstilldonot
informpolicymaking.Moreover,lessdevelopednationsintheregionusuallylacktheneeded
resourcesandtechnicalteamswiththeneededcapacitiestogenerateandusetheinformation
broughtoutofM&Esystemstoinformdecisionstaken.
I.1.3 RecommendationsforLatinAmerica
Thefollowingpointsareconsideredasimportantrecommendationsforthedevelopmentand
implementationofeffectiveandpolicyfriendlyM&EsystemsfortheLatinAmericancountries.
I.1.3.1 CreateaLegalFrameworkforM&EinEducation:
Theevidenceonthebestpracticesintheregionsuggeststhatdevelopmentandimplementationofa
properandwelldefinedlegalframeworkisanimportantfoundationforbuildingM&Esystems.This
wouldgreatlyhelpgeneratestabilitybyclearlymandatingthedefinedrolesandresponsibilitiesof
thedifferentfunctionaries,andalsothetypeandextentofinformationtobepublished.Thereare
severalwaysofdoingthis.Eachcountrymayhavetodevelopitsownlegalframeworkformandating
M&Ethatmaybestsuititsownindividualandspecialrequirements.Again,thismaybedonefroma
closestudyoftheavailablealternatives(e.g.,transparencylaws,nationalM&Elaws,educationM&E
laws,etc.).
I.1.3.2 DevelopanEffectiveInstitutionalDesign:
TheexpansionoftheM&EsystemsinLatinAmericawilldependuponstronginstitutional
mechanismstoimprovethecoordinationbetweentherelatedfunctionsofsuchsystems.Thereare
alreadysomebestpracticesintheregionwhichshowhowinstitutionaldesignisakeycomponent
forthedevelopmentofawellcoordinatedandcoherentM&Esystem.Forexample,somecountries
havecreatedautonomousinstitutions,whichhaveprovedeffectiveinbuildingtrustinthedata
produced.However,mostcountriescontinuetolackcoordinationbetweenthedifferent
componentsofM&Eandthereisoftensignificantoverlapacrosssystemsandindicators,whichin
turngeneratesconfusionforstakeholders,especiallytheschools.
I.1.3.3 BuildTechnicalCapacity:
Whilesomecountrieshaveformedhighlyspecializedteamsandusestateofthearttechnologyto
collect,process,anddisseminateinformation,otherslacktheabilitytoattractandretainqualified
professionalstoperformthesekindsoftaskswell.Countriesneedadequatebudgetsand
incorporationoftheneededrecruitmentrulesinordertopaycompetitivesalariesandoffer
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attractiveworkingconditionsandcareerdevelopmentopportunitiestoenabletheprocessof
properlyrecruitingandeffectivelyretainingqualifiedteamsforperformingsuchtasks.Thereisalso
aneedtoinvestinbuildingcapacityfordifferentstakeholderswhomayuseM&Esystems:policy
makers,researchers,principals,teachers,andparents.Somecountrieshavedevelopedcompetitive
researchfundstofostertheuseofM&E(e.g.Argentina,Brazil,Chile,andMexico).Countriesmay
alsoincorporateM&Etrainingaspartofcurrentprofessionaldevelopmentprogrammesforpolicy
makers,principals,andteachers.MultilateraldevelopmentagenciessuchasUNESCOmayalso
considerpublishingtechnicalmanualsforbestpracticesforthedevelopmentanduseofM&E
systems.Somecountries(e.g.BrazilandColombia)havealsoinvestedinprovidingtrainingforthe
mediaintheproperappreciationanduseofM&Einformationwithaviewtoimprovingthequality
andusefulnessofeducationalreporting.Countriesmaybeencouragedtoparticipateincreasinglyin
internationalassessments,informationsystemsandnationalassessments,whichagainwillgoalong
waytowardimprovingtheirtechnicalcapacitiesforcarryingoutproperM&Eactivitiesovertime.
I.1.3.4 ImproveDissemination:
M&Esystemsarefoundtobewidelydisseminatedandusedbynationalpolicymakersand
researchersinseveralcountriesoftheregion.However,theinformationislesslikelytobeusedby
otherkeystakeholders,suchaslocalpolicymakers,principals,teachers,andparents.Thisisdue
mainlytothewayinwhichsuchdataarepresentedanddisseminated.Theuseofthemostsuitable
datavisualizationtechnology,andsimplepaperandelectronicschoolreportcards,couldhelp
presentthedatainamoreuserfriendlyformtohelpthedifferentstakeholderswhoseeksuchdata.
I.1.3.5 DevelopPoliticalAdvocacy:
AnyM&Esystemwillattaincredibilityonlytotheextenttowhichitsevidenceissoughtandusedby
policymakersandprogrammeimplementers.Wherethisdoesnothappen,suchsystemswillonly
endupasmerelyroutinerituals.Forachievingcredibility,itmaybenecessarytoprovidetheneeded
capacitywithinthesystemstocarryoutpolicyresearch,preparepolicypapers,policynotesand
carryouteffectiveadvocacyexercisesusingadvocacychampionssothatthelattercouldconvince
thepolicymakersonthepointsadvocated.Evenastheproofofthepuddingliesintheeating,the
proofsuchadvocacyeffortswilllieintheirresultantpolicychanges.Theneededtechnicalexpertise
forcarryingoutthesetasksmaybeprovidedbyUNESCObydevelopingandimplementingsuitable
capacitydevelopmentprogrammesinpartnershipwiththecountriesconcerned.Suchcapacities
mayincourseoftimebeinternalizedbythecountriesconcernedsothattheybecomesustained
overtime.Thethoroughnesswithwhichsuchexercisesaredonewillensuresensitizationofpolicy
makersandotherkeystakeholdersonhowtheevidencesoadvocatedcanbeusedandwhytheyare
relevant.
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CountryCaseStudies
Inthissection,indepthinformationfromthreeselectedcountries,namely,Brazil,Chileand
Colombia,ispresentedtodemonstratedifferentstagesofdevelopmentofanM&Esystemin
education.Thecountrieshavebeenselectedonthebasisof:(1)geographicaldistribution;(2)recent
trendsineducationpolicydevelopmentrelatedtoM&E;and(3)availabilityofliteratureanddata.
Brazil
TheStatusofM&ESysteminBrazil
ThedevelopmentofanM&Esystemhasplayedafundamentalroleintheeducationalreforms
introducedduringrecentyearsinBrazil.ItisalsoimportanttomentionthattheBrazilianM&E
systemoperatesinafederalsetup,inwhichthe27statesandthe5,570municipalitieshavethe
autonomytoimplementtheirownM&Esystems.ThedesignoftheM&Esystemisintendedto
fosterintegrationbetweenthefederalministriesandthestateandmunicipalsecretaries.The
challengeistoachieveinpracticeeffectiveintegrationbetweenthethreetiersofgovernment.
TheM&Esystemineducationhasalegalbasis.Inarticle9oftheNationalEducationGuidelinesand
BasesLaw(LDB),thefederalgovernment,interalia,Vcollects,analyzesanddisseminates
informationoneducation;[and]VIensuringanationalevaluationprocessofschoolperformance
inprimary,secondary,andhighereducation,incollaborationwiththeeducationsystem,withthe
goalofsettingprioritiesandimprovingthequalityofeducation.Itisimportanttonotethatthe
NationalInstituteofEducationalStudies(INEP)managesandpublishesallthereportsoftheM&E
systemsineducation.
Today,BrazilhasoneofthemostcompleteandcomplexM&Esystemsineducationintheworld.
Thesystemisusedtoformulate,implementandevaluatepoliciesandprogrammesinthethreetiers
ofgovernment.Thesystemcomprisesallthelevelsofeducationfromearlychildhoodtopost
graduationandhasgoodrecordkeepingsystems,theproductionofeducationalindicatorsatall
levels,studentassessmentsandanaccountabilitysystem.Technicalchangeshavebeenmadeover
timetoimprovetheM&Esystemineducationinordertomeetnotonlythepoliticalneedsforthe
implementationofpolicydecisionsandprogrammes,butalsotopromotegreaterintegrationofthe
differentcomponentsoftheM&Esystem.
EducationInputsM&ESystems
SchoolRecordKeepingSystem(SRKS)
TheSRKSinbasiceducationisayearlyreportwithstatisticalinformationonschoolsandthe
schoolingsystempublishedbytheMinistryofEducationandINEPjointlywiththestateand
municipalsecretariesofeducation.TheSRKSpublishesinformationonschoolfacilities,teachers,
enrolments,schoolschedule(e.g.extendedschoolday,morningschedule,eveningschedule),and
studentmobility.TheprincipalusersoftheSRKSaretheMinistryofEducation,stateandmunicipal
departmentsofeducation,theNationalBoardofEducation,stateandlocalschoolboards,education
programmecouncils,civilsociety,themedia,internationalorganizations,researchers,school
principals,teachers,andparents.
In2005,thegovernmentbeganamajoroverhauloftheSchoolCensus,whichstartedtocollect
informationbyunitsofinformation,namely,schools,teachers,andstudents.TheSRKSisavailable
fordownloadingfromINEPswebsite.TheformatoftheSRKSisstilltootechnicalforthegeneral
publictoaccess,whichexplainswhyresearchersarethemostfrequentusersofthedata.INEPalso
publishesanannualsynopsisoftheschoolcensuswithinformationdisaggregateduptothestate
andmunicipallevels.
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EducationManagementInformationSystem(EMIS)
TheEMISsystemisacompilationofalltheeducationalindicatorsproducedintheSRKS.Someof
thecurrentindicatorspublishedare:therateofpromotion,theagegradegap,schoolaverageclass
size,andschoolaverageclasstime.ThisinformationisavailableonINEPswebsite.TheEMISalso
receivesinformationoneducationalindicators(e.g.yearsofschooling,adultliteracyrate,etc.)from
theBrazilianInstituteofGeographyandStatistics(IBGE),adivisionoftheMinistryofPlanning,
ManagementandBudget.TheDemographicCensusandtheNationalHouseholdSurveyalso
provideinformationtoEMISonnetratesofcoverage,yearsofschoolingbygender,ageandrace,
andindicatorsrelatedtochildlabour,schoolmeals,andaccesstoprogrammes,suchasBolsa
Familia123.TheseindicatorsarepresentedforBrazil,majorregions,andthestates.IBGEalsohasa
datavisualizationsystemfortheeducationandsocialindicatorsforBrazilianstatesand
municipalities.
FinancialManagementInformationSystem(FMIS)
TheFinancialManagementInformationSystem(FMIS)ofBrazilislimitedtotheaggregationof
indicatorsatthecountrylevel.TheFMISisaninitiativeofINEPincollaborationwithseveralother
institutionssuchasIBGEandtheNationalTreasurySecretariat(STN)intheMinistryofFinance.The
FMISpublishesthefollowingindicators:educationspendingasapercentageofGDP;
educationspendingasapercentageofpublicspending;perpupilspendingbylevelofeducation;per
pupilspendingasapercentageofGDPpercapitaandpublicspendingbylevelofeducation.
EducationOutcomesM&ESystem
StudentAssessmentSystem
TheNationalEvaluationSystemofPrimaryEducation(SAEB)wascreatedin1995.Thediverse
experienceswithstudentassessmentsinthepasthavehelpedinshapingtheneededorganizational
capacity(physicalinfrastructure,technicalcapacity,economicandpoliticalconditions)for
establishingtheSAEB.Thelatterhasappliedcognitivetestsandbackgroundquestionnairestoa
nationalsampleof5thand9thgradeprimaryschoolstudents,andstudentsinthethirdyearofhigh
schooleveryalternateyear.Thissystemhasbeendesignedtoprovideinformationtothefederal,
state,andmunicipalgovernments.Initially,theSAEBdidnotgeneratespecificschoolandstudent
levelinformation.In2005,thegovernmentexpandedthenationalassessmentbytestingallpublic
schoolstudentsinthe5thand9thgradeseverytwoyears(ProvaBrasil).Thegovernmentcontinued
totestasampleof11thgradepublicschoolstudentsandsamplesofprivateschoolstudentsin5th,
9th,and11thgrades.Theschoollevelassessmentresultsweremadeavailabletothepublicforthe
firsttimein2005.Thechangeinthedesignofthenationalstandardizedstudentassessmenthas
createdawindowofopportunitytointroduceschoolaccountabilitymeasures.
123
BolsaFamiliaisacompensatorysocialprogrammeofBrazil,withaconditionalcashtransfersystemtobenefitthepoorfamilies.Bolsa
familiaBrazilsflagshipsocialprogramprovidedlowincomefamilieswithcashtransfersinreturnforkeepingtheirchildreninschool
and attending health care visits. Advocates maintain that the program contributed to reducing poverty and income inequality. Bolsa
familiaalsoincreasedschoolattendance,reduceddropoutratesinprimaryandsecondaryschool,andgraderepetitioninbothlevelsof
schooling. The program also increased health care visits, immunization coverage, and child mortality. It has further been noted that
economic growth combined with effective targeted social policies (e.g. Bolsa familia) helped move nearly 40 million Brazilians out of
poverty.ThepovertyrateinBrazilwascutinhalf(from50%to25%)andextremepovertydeclinedfrom16%in1990tolessthan4%in
2012.
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TheschoollevelstudentassessmentsarealsoavailablefordownloadingfromtheINEPwebsite.
Researchersneedtoformallyrequestthestudentleveldata.INEPpublishedayearlyreportwiththe
mainresultsupto2003.Since2005,INEPhasonlypublishedreportswiththeaggregatedataby
statesandmunicipalities.In2013,theNationalLiteracyAssessment(ANA)wasestablished,whichis
anannualcensusbasedPortugueseandMathematicsliteracyevaluationof3rdgradestudents
enrolledinpublicschools.ANAalsorequiresteachersandschoolprincipalstofilloutbackground
questionnaires.TheresultsoftheANAareavailableonlytoschoolswhichhaveparticipatedinthe
test.
SchoolAccountabilitySystem
TheEducationDevelopmentPlan(PDE)legislation,enactedin2007,includedanewdefinitionof
qualityandthedevelopmentofimprovementplansinlowperformingschools.ThePDEestablished
anewschoolqualityindicator:TheIndexforBasicEducationDevelopment(IDEB).TheIDEB
constructsanindexonascalefrom0to10usingschoolnationalassessmentresultsandgrade
repetitionrates.ThefederalgovernmentusedIDEBtosetnationaleducationgoalsandproposedto
improvethenationalIDEBfrom3.9to6by2022.ThiscalculationisbasedonwhatINEPhas
estimatedwouldbetheIDEBscoreofthe20highestrankingOECDcountriesonPISA.Thefederal
governmenthasalsousedIDEBtoidentifylowperformingstates,municipalities,andschools.The
latterinturnhaveusedtheinformationtoestablishqualitygoalsanddevelopimprovementplans.
TheIDEBandthePDEhavebecomethefulcrumoftheagendaoftheMinistryofEducation.TheIDEB
hasintroducedtransparencyinitsgoalsexpectedandtheresultsachievedbyschoolsatdifferent
levelsofeducation.
ThetransformationofIDEBintoacrucialcomponentoftheM&Eaccountabilitysystemhascreated
theneedforthefederalgovernmenttomakepublictheschoollevelIDEBresults.Different
strategieshavebeenusedtodisseminatetheresults.Atfirst,individualschoolreportcardsthat
includedIDEBscoresandinformationfromtheSRKSwerepublished.Thereportsweredeliveredto
schoolsandalsomadeavailableontheinternet.Later,thefederalgovernmentreplacedthe
reportswithexcelworksheetswiththevariablesusedtoconstructtheIDEB(assessmentresultsand
studentpromotion)bothforschoolsandforthemoreaggregatedlevelsofinformation(statesand
municipalities).Thespreadsheetsalsopublishthelongitudinalinformation.
Chile
TheStatusofM&ESysteminChile
Chilehasbeennoexceptiontothedesireofmanynationstoimprovethequalityimpactoftheir
publicspendingoneducation.TheMinistryofEducationhasovertheyearsdevelopedanM&E
systemconsistentwiththenationalM&Eframework,whichemphasizesdeliveryandperformance.
Inthe1950s,theMinistryofEducationbegantodevelopaschoolrecordkeepingsystem,akey
inputofM&Eintheeducationsector.Thiswasdonemainlyinresponsetotheperpupilsubsidy
introducedintheprivatesectorduringthesametimeperiodandanincreasedroleforinspection.
ChilesM&Esystemwasfurtherdevelopedandimprovedinthe1980sand1990sinresponsetothe
universalperpupilvoucherinstitutedin1981andthenationalcensusbasedstudentassessmentsin
theearly1990s.Chilethenintroducedaschoolevaluationsystemandstudentassessmentsin4th,
8th,and10thgrades.TheM&Esystembecamemorecomprehensiveinthe2000swiththe
developmentofteacherevaluationsandteacherandschoolincentives,andby2010withthe
introductionofaqualityassurancesystemthatincludedamoresystematicpedagogicalsupervision
system.Schoolswererankedaccordingtotheirrelativeadjustedperformanceandimprovement
overtime.
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TherearefourarmsthatoperateChilesM&Esystemineducation:theMinistryofEducation,the
CentreforTeacherTrainingandResearch(CPEIP),theEducationQualityAgency,andtheEducation
Superintendence.TheResearchDivisionintheMinistryofEducation,locatedintheMinistrys
DivisionofPlanning,collects,manages,andpublishestheM&Einputrelatedcomponents.The
CentreforPedagogicalTraining,ExperimentationandResearch(CPEIP)managestheteacher
evaluationprogrammes.ThetechnicaldesignandimplementationisoutsourcedtotheCentreof
MeasurementMIDEUCatthePUCinChile.TheEducationQualityAgencyisresponsiblefor
conductingandmanagingthestudentassessments,theschoolevaluationsystem,andtheschool
accountabilityrankingsystem.TheEducationSuperintendenceauditstheuseofpublicfundingat
schools.
ChilesM&Esystemineducation,whichfitsintothenationalM&Eframeworkdevelopedbythe
MinistryofFinance,isoneofthemostcomprehensivesystemsinLatinAmerica.TheChileansystem
hasthreedimensionspertainingtotheeducationfunction:inputs,processes,andoutcomes.The
inputrelatedfactorsare:schoolrecordkeepingsystems,educationmanagementsystemsand
teachermanagementinformationsystems.Theprocessrelatedfactorsare:theschoolinspection
andevaluationsystemandtheteacherevaluationsystem.Theoutcomesrelatedfactoristhe
nationalstudentassessmentsystem.TheprimaryfunctionoftheMinistryofEducationisto
coordinatethedifferentcomponentsoftheM&Esystemandtointegratetheinformationinto
analyticalprocessesandtousethatinformation,togetherwithotherfinancialinformationand
policypriorities,tosupportdecisionmakinginthesector.AnimportantroleofthePMCOinthe
BudgetOfficeattheMinistryofFinancewithregardtotheM&Esystemsintheeducationsectoris
toprovidetechnicalsupporttodevelopprocessandperformanceindicators.TheMinistryofthe
Presidentisresponsibleformonitoringtheprioritiesoftheeducationsectorandcoordinatingthe
samewiththeM&Esystemsinothersectors.
EducationInputsM&ESystems
Sincethereturnofdemocracyin1990,theResearchDivisionattheMinistryofEducationhas
collected,processedandpublisheddataonschools(enrolment,demographics,academic
achievement,address,schooltype(public,religious,forprofit),facilities,classrooms,lengthof
schoolday,etc.),teachersandschoolleaders(profileofteachersandprincipals),students
(demographics,attendance,grades,etc.),programmes(technology,textbooks,schoolmeals,etc.)
andeducationfinance(schoolandsystembudgetinformation).Thisinformationispublishedinraw
formandcanbedownloadedfromtheMinistryofEducationswebsite.Theinformationisalso
consolidatedandfedintotheEMIS.
Sincethe1960s,theMinistryofEducationhadbeenpublishingaggregateindicatorsontheschool
systeminChile(e.g.coverage,educationlevels,promotionrates,urban/ruralclassifications,
modalitiesandliteracyrates).Inthe1980s,thegovernmentbegantopublishschoollevel
informationonschooltype(municipalandprivate).Sincethereturntodemocracy,theResearch
DivisionattheMinistryofEducationhasconstructedandpublishedsystemandschoollevel
indicatorsusingtheschoolrecordkeepingsystemdataandtheotherM&Esystemdataforpolicy
conceptualization,design,implementation,andmonitoring.Thefollowingaresomeexamplesof
educationindicatorspublishedintheMOEsannualpublication:coverage,dropoutrates,retention
rates,spendingasapercentageofGDP,perpupilspending,classsize,schoolsize,graduationrates,
literacyrates,accesstotheinternet,targetedprogrammes,schoolachievement,SNEDresults,
teacherevaluationresults,schoolmissionandstudentdemographics.EMISalsoincorporates
informationfromotherM&Esystems,forexample,theNationalDemographicCensusandthe
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NationalHouseholdSurveyswhichcollectinformationontheaverageyearsofschoolingoftheadult
population.
TeacherManagementInformationSystem(TMIS)
Since2003,theResearchDivisionattheMinistryofEducationhasbeengatheringandpublishing
teacherlevelinformation(withspecificcodes)onteachereducation(typeofinstitution),teacher
specialization(typeofprogramme),teachertrainingandprofessionaldevelopment,yearsof
experience,rewards(teacherincentives,AVDI,AEP),teacherevaluationresults,competency
evaluationresults,typeofcontract,workschedule(halfday,parttime,fulltime),andemployers.
TMISalsocollectsandpublishesinformationonteacherassistants.Thissystemalsoconsolidates
informationfromtheteacherevaluationsystems.
FinancialManagementSystem(FMS)
Sincethe1960s,thegovernmenthasbeenpublishingaggregatesystemlevelinformationonstate
expenditureoneducation.TheFMScurrentlyprovidesaggregateandschoollevelinformationon
theschools(systems)budgetandresourcesreceivedviatheperpupilvoucher,preferential
voucher(weightedvoucher),andsharedfinancing(tuition).TheFMSalsogathersinformationon
howresourcesareinvestedinschools,forexample,howmuchisinvestedintheschool
improvementplan,teachersalaries,facilities,andhowmuchiscollectedasprofitfortheschool
owner.ThisinformationiscollectedandpublishedbytheResearchDivisionattheMinistryof
EducationandsharedwiththeEducationSuperintendencewhichmonitorstheuseofpublic
resources.TheEducationSuperintendencealsopublishesdetailedschoolbudgetandinvestment
informationontheinstitutionalwebsite.
EducationProcessM&ESystems
SchoolInspectionandEvaluationSystem
Since2014,theEducationQualityAgency,Chilespublicindependenteducationevaluationagency,
hasbeencoordinatingtheeducationqualityevaluationsystemtosupportlowperformingschools,
enhanceinstitutionalcapacitiesandguideschoolsinthedevelopmentofeducationalimprovement
plans.Twotofoursupervisorsvisitschoolsclassifiedinthelowesttwocategoriesinthenational
accountabilitysystembytheEducationQualityAgency.Thefrequencyofthevisitsisdeterminedby
theschoolsrankinginthenationalaccountabilitysystem.TheQualityAgencypublishestheschool
reportswhichincludesinformationonstrengthsandweaknessesandrecommendationsfor
improvementontheinstitutionalwebsite.
TeacherEvaluationSystem
Acomprehensiveandmandatoryteacherevaluationisorganizedthroughthenationalsystemof
teacherevaluation(DocenteMs)andconsistsofaformalsystemofexternalteacherevaluationin
themunicipalschoolsector.Thissystemiscomplementedbyarangeofrewardsystems,which
involveteacherevaluation,namely,theProgramfortheVariableIndividualPerformanceAllowance
(AVDI));theProgramfortheAccreditationofPedagogicalExcellenceAllowance(AEP);andthe
NationalSystemofPerformanceEvaluation(SNED),whichisacollectiveincentiveforsubsidized
schools.
CPEIPcoordinatesDocenteMs,AVDIandAEPincludingthedefinitionofobjectives,thevalidation
ofinstruments,andthedisseminationofresults.Despitethesinglecoordinatinginstitution,thereis
considerableoverlapacrosscomponentsofthethreeteacherevaluationsandlittlearticulation
betweenthem.Forexample,AEPandAVDIusesimilarcompetencytestsandDocenteMsandAEP
usesimilarportfolios.Hence,teachersarerewardedfortheresultsofdifferentinstruments
measuringsimilarresults,throughdifferentchannels.TheMinistryofEducationcoordinatesthe
113

technicalimplementationoftheSNEDprogram.Thereseemstobesomeduplicationofefforts
betweentheSNEDindexandtheschoolrankingconductedbytheEducationQualityAgency.
Educationoutcomesaremeasuredbythefollowingassessments:
In1988,theNationalEducationLaw,whichwasenactedthedaybeforedemocracywasrestored,
providedthelegalfoundationandimplementationdetailsforSIMCE.SIMCEwastomeasure
achievementofthefundamentalcurricularobjectivesandminimumcontentssetbytheMinistryof
Educationandtogettheschoollevelresultswidelydisseminated.Sinceitsinceptionin1988,SIMCE
hasundergoneaseriesofchanges.SIMCEwasadministeredtofourthandeighthgradersin
alternateyearsbetween1988and1994,and,in1994,tenthgraderswereincludedinthetesting
cycle.In1995,forthefirsttime,thegovernmentbegantopublishschoolleveltestscores.In1997,
thegovernmentmadestudentleveltestscoredataavailabletoresearchers.TheIRTmethodology
implementedbySIMCEin1998allowedforthecomparabilityoftestscoresovertime.TheSIMCE
Commissionin2003reviewedtheSIMCEassessmentandaddressedquestions,suchaswhetherthe
testsweremeasuringtherightareas,thefrequencyoftheassessments,andwhethertheyshouldbe
samplebasedorcensusbased.Since2006,studentsin4thgradehavebeenassessedeveryyear,
whilestudentsin8thand10thgradesareassessedevery2years.Studentsaretestedinlanguage,
mathematics,andscience(naturalandsocialsciences).In2010,abiennialcensusbasedtestin
Englishfor11thgraderswasincludedandanannualsamplebasedphysicaleducationassessment
wasintroduced.In2012,newtestsfor2ndgradeinreadingand6thgradeinlanguage,writingand
mathematicswereintroduced.Since2009,theEducationQualityAgencyhascoordinatedand
implementedtheSIMCEassessments.AnewSIMCECommissionwasestablishedin2014torevisit
someofthesamequestionsasthoseofthe2003Commission.
SchoolAccountability
TheAdjustedVoucherlaw(LeySEP)wasthefirstinitiativethatintroducedexplicitschool
accountabilitymechanismsinChile.Thelaw,enactedin2008,introducedaweightedvoucher(50
percentoverthebasevoucher)fordisadvantagedstudentswhoattendedpubliclyfundedschools.
Schoolsthatreceivedtheweightedvoucherwereheldaccountablefortheiroutcomesandprogress
onSIMCE.TheLeySEPaccountabilitysystemrankedschoolsintothreecategories:1)autonomous
(highperformingschools);2)emerging(averageschools);and3)recovering(lowperforming
schools).Therankinghadconsequencesforemergingandrecoveringschools.Emergingschools
wererequiredtodevelopandimplementanimprovementplanandspendhalfoftheLeySEP
resourcesontheplan.Recoveringschoolswererequiredtospend100percentofLeySEPresources
ontheimprovementplanandiftheseschoolsdidnotmanagetoimproveoverfouryears,theMOE
couldrevoketheirlicensetooperateandreceivepublicfunding.Theschoolrankingsystemwas
widelydisseminatedtoschools,familiesandthepublic.In2011,CongressenactedtheQuality
AssuranceLaw,whichestablishedthattheEducationQualityAgencywouldrankschoolsintofour
categories.Thenewaccountabilitysystem,whichwillbepilotedin2015andimplementedin2016,
hassimilarconsequencesforlowperformingschoolsandwillreplacetheLeySEPranking.
Colombia
TheStatusofM&ESystemsinColombia
TheMinistryofEducationhasanM&Esystemforprogrammesandprojects,whereeachdivision
preparesmonthlyprogressreportsontheindicatorsassociatedwiththeprogrammestarget.This
informationisusedforpolicyformulationandtodevelopaccountabilitysystemsthatinclude
performance,challengesandopportunitiesforimprovement.
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EducationInputM&ESystems
TheEnrolmentInformationSystem(SIMAT)wasimplementedin2003withtheobjectiveof
improvingthequalityofinformationreportedbythesecretariesofeducationandschools,andthen
fedintothesystem.In2009,SIMATbegantoincludeallschoolsundertheresponsibilitiesofthe
secretariesofeducation.In2012,theMinistryofEducationstartedusingacensusbasedsystem
underthe94secretariesofeducationinordertobeabletoreachlocalauthoritiesandschoolsthat
hadnotbeenpreviouslyincludedintotheSIMAT.Thedatacollectionprocessisimplementedevery
yearanditcollectsdataonallstudentsinpublicschoolsaswellassomeprivateinstitutionsand
tracksschoolchangesovertime.
Theeffortstoimprovethequalityofdatacollectionhavemadetheenrolmentinformationmore
reliableforthepurposeofdesigningpoliciesandallocatingpublicresources.Theimprovements
madeinthedatacollectionprocessexplainthechangesinthetrendsofstudentenrolmentsandthe
ratesofcoverageobservedsince2010.
TheindividualleveldatamakesitpossibletomonitorthetrendseachyearandallowstheMinistryof
Educationtomonitorthenumberofnonexistentstudentsincludedbythesecretariesofeducation
inordertogetincreasedfunds.Thisisapparentfromtheexamplethatgrosscoveragedeclined
from104percentin2010to98.6percentin2011aftertheadjustmentswereincorporated.
Similarly,thetotalnetcoveragedeclinedfrom89.8percentin2010,to85.4percentthefollowing
year.
Thegovernmentalsousesamethodology(SICIE)toquantifyandevaluatethestandardof
educationalfacilities.In2006,theMOEprovidedspecializedsoftwaretothesecretariesof
educationandlocalauthoritiestocreateinventoriesofschoolfacilities.Thesoftwarealsohelpsin
consolidatingthehistoricaldataavailableonthequantityandqualityofschoolfacilities,aswellas
anyremodellingandconstructioneffortscarriedout.
ColombiasEMISconsolidatesinformationfromtheM&Esystemstoconstructthefollowing
aggregateandschoollevelindicators:studentachievement,graduationratesandteacherevaluation
results.EachsecretaryofeducationandmunicipalitymanagesanEMISsystemandregularly
updatestheinformation.TheEMISalsoprovidestheinformationtodetermineschoolcoverageby
eachdepartmentandmunicipality.Thisinformationismadepublicandwidelydisseminatedto
differenteducationstakeholders.
OneimportantobjectiveoftheEMISistoestimatethecostsandidentifythesourcesofpublic
educationfunding.Thisallowsthegovernmenttodistributeresourcesinamoreeffectiveway
amongthedepartmentsandmunicipalitiesbasedonthenumberofstudentsserved.
EducationProcessM&ESystems
SchoolInspectionandEvaluationSystem
Since2012,schoolprincipalsaremandatedundertheSharingLaw(leydeConvivencial)toconducta
selfevaluationofthequalityoftheirschoolprogrammesandfinancesandsubmitareportapproved
bytheschoolcounciltothelocalSecretaryofEducation.TheSecretaryofEducationcomplements
theseselfevaluationswithschoolvisitsandinstitutionalevaluations.Eachschoolisrankedintoone
ofthreecategories,namely,HighPerforming(LibertadRegulada),IntermediatePerforming(Libertad
Vigilada)andLowPerforming,basedonacombinationofresultsonschoolinginputs(e.g.complying
withhealthstandards,internetconnection,etc.),processes(resultsofteacherandprincipal
evaluations),andoutcomes(resultsonSABER).Theschoolsrankingisadeterminantofthe
115

quantumofallocationofresourcesfromtheSchoolParticipationProgrammetotheschoolinthe
followingyear.Schoolsarerequiredtousetheresultsoftheinstitutionalevaluationtodevelop
improvementplansthatwouldfocusonfourcomponents:1)schoolmanagement;2)budget
administration;3)academicactivities;and4)communityparticipation.Theimprovementplansare
monitoredbytheinstitutionalevaluationsystem.
TeacherEvaluationSystem
Colombiassweepingteacherpolicyreform(EstatutodeProfesionalizacinDocenteLaw1278
EPD),enactedin2002,isoneofthemostambitiouseffortsinLatinAmericatoimproveteacher
qualitythroughhigherentrancestandards,teacherevaluations,andprofessionaldevelopment.The
NationalCivilServiceAgencyconductstheassessments,andICFESoverseesallthelogisticsof
printing,distribution,application,andprocessingofthetests.Thesystemisvoluntaryforteachers
hiredpriorto2002,andmandatoryforotherteachers.About38percentofColombias295,000
teachersparticipateintheprogramme.ThefollowingM&Esystemshavebeenintroducedto
implementtheteachercompetencybasedpromotionsystem:
EntranceExams:Everyyear,theNationalCivilServiceAgencyadministersacompetitivepublic
schoolteacherrecruitmentprocessforallcandidates.Theprocessincludes,amongothercriteria
(e.g.interviews),anentranceexamthatmeasurescontentmastery,corecompetencies,experience,
aptitudes,andinterpersonalrelationships.Teacherswhoscore60percentorhighervaluesinthe
entranceexamarehired(aboutonethirdpassmostyears)foratwoyearprobationaryperiod.The
schoolprincipalmustformallyconfirmtheteacherscapacityafterthetrialperiod.
AnnualPerformanceEvaluation:Schoolprincipalsassesstheperformanceofeveryteacheratthe
endofeachschoolyear.Teacherswhoscoreabove60percentmaycontinueinservice.Teachers
rated60percentorlowerfortwoconsecutiveyearsaredismissed.Somecriticshavepointedout
thattheprincipalevaluationsareweakindicatorsofteachereffectivenessbecausemostColombian
teachersreceivealmostperfectscoreseveryyear(Bruns,2014).
PromotionBasedCompetencyTest:Thepromotionbasedcompetencytestisanationalassessment
carriedoutbytheNationalCivilServiceAgencyandtakenvoluntarilybyteachersandschool
principalswhohaveaminimumofthreeyearsexperienceinoneoftheteachersfourpayscale
levels.Thescaleplacesteachersandprincipalsin3levelsbasedontheirlevelofeducation
(vocationaldegreeorless,professionaldegree,graduatedegree).Currently,almost85percentof
teachersareconcentratedinlevel2with15percentinlevel1and1percentinlevel3.Promotions
tothenextpayscalewithintheeducationlevelarebasedonateachersscoreonthisassessment,
whichmeasuresteachingskills,disciplinespecificcompetencies,andcontentknowledge.Teachers
whoscoreabove80percentareeligibletomovetothenextsalarylevel.Salaryincreasesare
substantialforthenextlevel(over80percent).However,promotioniscontingentontheresources
availableinthenationalbudget.Asaresult,currentlymostteachers(over90percent)are
concentratedinthelowestwagelevelwithintheirdegreelevel.Onaverage,onlyonethirdof
teacherstakethepromotiontestinagivenyear.
TheColombianInstitutefortheEvaluationofSchooling(ICFES),foundedin1968,isoneoftheoldest
studentevaluationagenciesinLatinAmerica.In2009,ICFESbecameanindependentagency(Law
1324),undertheauthorityoftheMinistryofEducation,whichmanagesitsownbudgetandis
responsibleforthedevelopmentanddesignofstudentassessmentsatalllevelsandtheapplication
ofteacherandprincipalcompetencytests.ICFEScurrentlyassessesthequalityofbasiceducation
throughtheSABERtestsin3rd,5th,and9thgrades.TheInstitutealsoevaluatessecondary
116

schooling(SABER11)andhighereducation(SABERPRO).ICFESalsocoordinatestheinternational
assessments.
Since2009,ICFEShasbeenimprovingthedesign(specificationdesign)anddatacollectionprocessof
thestudentassessments.Currently,thetestsarecomparableovertimeandthecompetencylevels
areclearlydefinedineachgradelevel.TheSABER5thand9thgradetestshaveevolvedfroma
samplebasedtestappliedeverythreeyearstocensusbasedassessmentimplementedeveryyear
beginningin2012.TheSABER3rdgradeyearlycensusbasedassessmentwascreatedand
implementedforthefirsttimein2012.In2014,SABER11wasrevampedtomaketheresults
comparabletotheSABER3rd,5th,and9thgradeassessments.Themainchangesintroducedwere
thereductioninthenumberoftestsfromeighttofive(mathematics,reading,sciences,social
sciencesandEnglish)andtheinclusionofopenendedquestions.Theschoollevelandaggregate
SABERtestresultsarewidelydisseminatedandareavailablefordownloadingonICFESswebsite.
Researcherscanalsorequeststudentleveldata.
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Designing

effective monitoring and evaluation of education

UNESCO Education Sector

For further information of the difference between the two types of

monitoring system , please see FukudaParr, Lopes, and Malik 2002, p.

In conclusion, the purpose of this review is to support Member States in designing/strengthening

As countries have moved towards decentralization oftheir education systems,demandhas grown

Inaddition,dissemination mechanismstosubnational levelareoftenpoorin manycountries.For

Despite increasing levels of participation of local stakeholders in the provision of

warranttheallocationof adequateresourcesforinstallingtheneededhardware andsoftware

12. I.1 StatusofM&ESystemsinEducationintheArabStates

13. I.2 PolicyIssuesofM&ESystemsintheArabRegion

14. I.3 KeyFindingsandRecommendations

17. I.1 Background

18. I.2 RoleofM&ESysteminMonitoringthePerformanceoftheEducationSector

19. I.3 InformationSystemssupportingM&EofEducation

20. I.4 Conclusions

30. I.1 Background

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