Cotonou, Benin | 6 November 2026

Benin is taking an important step towards strengthening the use of education and skills data in public decision-making, following the development of a national action plan under the Education and Skills Data Challenge (ESDC), an initiative implemented by the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.

The action planning workshop, held from 3 to 4 November 2026 in Cotonou, brought together representatives from the three ministries responsible for education and vocational training, including officials from planning, information technology and other technical directorates. The process culminated in a meeting with senior ministry leadership on 5 November to present the proposed strategic priorities and directions of the plan.

Building on the findings of Benin's Country Needs Assessment (CNA), the workshop moved beyond identifying challenges to defining concrete institutional, technical and operational responses. Participants identified three strategic priorities: strengthening education and skills data governance and policy; building human capacities; and reinforcing digital platforms.

Under the first priority, the proposed actions seek to establish a stronger framework for coordinating how education and skills data are produced, managed, shared and used across government institutions. These include developing a harmonised technical manual, establishing a National Education and Skills Data Commission, and strengthening the regulatory framework for statistical activities through the development and adoption of the implementing decree of the national statistical law.

The second priority recognises that stronger data systems depend not only on technology, but also on the people and institutions responsible for generating and using evidence. Proposed interventions include building the capacities of national and subnational personnel to collect, analyse and interpret education data, strengthening expertise in education indicators and reporting, and improving policymakers' ability to use evidence in strategic planning and decision-making. Participants also identified the establishment of a National Learning Assessment Committee as an important measure to strengthen the coordination and implementation of learning assessments.

The third priority focuses on strengthening Benin's existing EducMaster platform and expanding its potential to support more integrated and effective data use. Proposed actions include improving interoperability between ministry information systems and other relevant national institutions, digitising school census data collection tools, enhancing mobile access and developing interactive dashboards to support data visualisation, monitoring and evidence-based decision-making.

Beyond these three strategic priorities, participants also worked on complementary deliverables, including a Theory of Change (ToC) outlining the expected results and pathways of change, a monitoring and evaluation framework with clear performance indicators, and communication and advocacy activities designed to promote institutional ownership and strengthen a culture of education and skills data use for decision-making.

The importance of reliable data for effective education governance was also highlighted during the discussions. Martin Essoun, Director of Planning and Administration at the Ministry of Nursery and Primary Education and ADEA focal point, emphasised the connection between data quality, informed decision-making and the efficient allocation of education resources. He stressed that decisions based on unreliable data risk resulting in inefficient resource allocation and undermining the achievement of education objectives.

The engagement with senior leadership from the three ministries on 5 November provided an opportunity to assess the relevance of the proposed priorities against national strategic objectives, institutional mandates and capacity development needs. It also helped strengthen institutional ownership and secure high-level alignment around the proposed interventions.

The next phase will focus on translating these priorities into implementation. ADEA will work closely with the ministries to finalise the action plan and its supporting documents. The ministries are expected to formalise their commitment through an official endorsement letter, while ADEA and the national authorities will jointly develop the Terms of Reference for the recruitment of an in-country implementing institution, defining its mandate, scope of work, expected deliverables and implementation arrangements.

For Benin, the process represents an opportunity to move towards a more coordinated system in which reliable education and skills data can inform policy priorities, resource allocation and monitoring of education sector performance.

Through ESDC, ADEA and the Mastercard Foundation are supporting African countries to strengthen the entire data cycle, from production and management to analysis, communication and use, with the ultimate objective of ensuring that evidence plays a stronger role in shaping education policies and improving decision-making across the continent.