Ministry of Education and partners validate Mozambique EMIS Peer Review report
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education of Mozambique, Ms. Claudina Cassamo, led education stakeholders invalidating the SADC EMIS Peer Review report at a one day workshop which took place in Maputo October 23, 2014. ADEA WGEMPS presented the report to an audience that included Ms. Lomthandazo Mavimbela of the SADC Secretariat, directors in the education ministry, partner representatives from the National Institute of Statistics, USAID, GIZ, the Canadian and Italian cooperating agencies and the embassies of Finland and Canada.
The EMIS report, prepared by ADEA WGEMPS and country peer reviewers from Angola and Zambia following a five-day review in September 2014 funded by the German BACKUP Initiative – Education in Africa, shows that Mozambique’s EMIS complies with the SADC norms and standards at a score of 3.0 out of a possible 4 – which lies in the range of “acceptable education statistics”. The country performed well in terms of all the seven norms under the policy and legal framework, except for the registration of learners. A robust set of processes are also in place for education statistics production. Although the Directorate of Planning and Cooperation fares better compared to other directorates in terms of resource availability and utilization, there is need to develop comprehensive policies on the recruitment and retention of adequate EMIS staff in the provincial and district education planning offices countrywide. The Ministry also needs to improve on its education information reporting.
Hailing the report as a reflection of the current status of EMIS in Mozambique, the partners pledged to work with the Ministry and ADEA in developing a three-year roadmap based on the report’s recommendations, for improving Mozambique’s ability to provide quality education statistics. The SADC Secretariat’s representative commended Mozambique for its commitment throughout the peer review process, noting that the outcome will enhance engagement with cooperating partners and provide positive reporting to the SADC Ministers of Education and Training at their next meeting. The ADEA WGEMPS representative promised to facilitate the report’s finalization and dissemination by mid November 2014.
The Permanent Secretary, while closing the workshop, observed the report’s crucial importance in facilitating the Ministry’s engagement with partners. She reiterated the commitment of the Ministry in improving the areas highlighted in the report as this gives greater confidence to the partners and other stakeholders to use education statistics for planning and implementing programs aimed at developing the country.
The EMIS Peer Review conducted in Mozambique is in line with resolutions made by the Ministers of Education of the SADC region and the AU’s Second Decade of Education Plan of Action to review implementation of EMIS norms and standards in the SADC region. Reviews were conducted by WGEMPS in three countries - Swaziland, Botswana and Mozambique - and completed this year.
Below are the Peer Review Reports for Botswana and Swaziland and the presentation made by WGEMPS on the results of the review in Mozambique.
For more information, contact Shem Bodo, Working Group on Education Management and Policy Support (WGEMPS), s.bodo@afdb.org
View presentation on Review in Mozambique (also available in Portuguese)
