ADEA leads a Peer Review on Education Management Information Systems in Zimbabwe
Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, 25 September 2019 – The Task Force on Education Management and Policy Support (TFEMPS) of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) in collaboration with the Government of Zimbabwe through its line ministries responsible for education and training, successfully peer reviewed the country’s Education Management Information System (EMIS). The peer review took place from 16th to 20th September 2019 in Harare and it utilized the Southern African Development Community (SADC) EMIS Norms and Standards Assessment Framework developed conjointly with ADEA in 2010.
The Peer Review meeting endorsed, among others the following 3 main recommendations:
- Strengthen inter-ministerial linkages and stakeholder partnerships to enhance the quality and sharing of national educational statistical data;
- Establish an adequately staffed structure for EMIS and allocate more financial support, material and training resources;
- Develop a peer review assessment report and a plan of action/roadmap with a proposed budget for EMIS improvements by end of October 2019.
The technical team which led the EMIS Peer Review, comprised 2 senior ADEA Resource Persons with extensive EMIS expertise from Zambia and Namibia and a 15-expert EMIS National Technical Team from the Ministries of Primary and Secondary Education; Youth, Sport, Art and Recreation; Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development; and Finance and Economic Development. A representative of the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency joined the technical team as well.
The ADEA Executive Secretary, Mr. Albert Nsengiyumva, emphasised – in a message read on his behalf by Mr. Simbarashe Dzinoreva – the important role of EMIS in assisting countries to align their education and training policies and systems with the current continental and global education blueprints. These include the African Union Agenda 2063, the Continental Education Strategy for Africa 2016-2025 (CESA 16-25), the 2030 Agenda and the countries’ own national socio-economic and education plans/strategies. He noted the importance ADEA places on EMIS as illustrated by the fourth Strategic Objective (i.e. Data collection and diagnostic tools) of the Association’s Strategic Plan 2018-2022 that highlights the necessity of continuing to support the strengthening of EMIS at national, regional and continental levels.
In her closing speech, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education of Zimbabwe, Ms. Tumisang Thabela, thanked ADEA for its continuous support and key collaboration with her country. In addition, she expressed that the Ministry looks forward to the final peer review report that will reflect the nature of education statistics in Zimbabwe and provide the line ministries responsible for education and training in Zimbabwe, as well as the stakeholders supporting the sector, impetus to revitalize and build the capacity of the EMIS.
The EMIS peer reviews enable countries to benchmark their EMIS in terms of producing trustworthy statistics to support the improvement of the quality of education through sound planning and informed policy decision making. They also create awareness and enhance the ownership of the regional EMIS Norms and Standards by the national EMIS technical teams, in addition to strengthening the countries’ capacity, and heightening awareness of best practices.
Key outputs include a consensually agreed continental peer review assessment report and action plan/roadmap with a proposed budget for EMIS improvement given the countries’ contextual realities.
For more information, please contact:
- Makha Ndao, Coordinator, ADEA-TFEMPS, E: m.ndao@afdb.org, T: (+263) 24.27.75.776
- Lawrence Mkwala, Acting Deputy Director, Strategic Policy Planning, Research and Statistics Department, Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education - Zimbabwe, E: lawmkwala@gmail.com, T: (+263) 77.34.59.590
- Simbarashe Dzinoreva, Program Assistant, ADEA-TFEMPS, E: s.dzinoreva@adeanet.org, T: (+263) 77.50.11.938
For media inquiries, please contact:
- Stefano De Cupis, Senior Communication Officer, ADEA, E: s.decupis@afdb.org, T: (+225) 20.26.55.59
About ADEA:
The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) is the voice of education in Africa and a key network of Education Ministries. It plays a significant role in the education space as a convener, knowledge creator and forum for policy dialogue, working through its Inter-Country Quality Nodes (ICQNs) and the Task Force on Education Management and Policy Support. ADEA contributes to the empowerment of African countries to develop quality education and training systems that respond to the countries' emergent needs and drive social and economic transformation sustainably.
