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Enhancing education data management: Kiribati country mission

Effective data management, especially in the area of statistical reporting, is a challenge faced by Kiribati’s Ministry of Education (MoE). Education data forms the foundation for monitoring advancement towards the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), focussing on regional education goals as well as achieving the objectives outlined in Kiribati’s national education plans.

The Pacific Community’s (SPC) Data team initiated a country mission which focused on addressing the unique educational data needs and challenges faced by Kiribati’s MoE, emphasising inclusivity, innovation and sustainable development.

The country mission allowed the MoE to review their Education Management Information System (EMIS) which is the primary tool used for gathering administrative data on education indicators. However, in Kiribati’s experience, the EMIS system was challenged with generating accessible, comprehensive, and timely education statistics.

SPC’s Education Data and EMIS Officer, Sandeep Singh, highlighted that: “the two-and-a-half-day country mission was a success. The overarching goal was to enhance education data quality, introduce Pacific Schools Information Management System (PacSIMS) as a viable option for EMIS, and enhance data reporting for the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) questionnaires.”

Built and maintained by SPC, PacSIMS is an integrated software platform designed to manage various administrative and academic functions of schools in the Pacific region. It includes features for student enrolment, attendance tracking, grade management, timetable scheduling, and communication between teachers, students, and parents. The system aims to streamline school operations, improve data accuracy, and enhance the overall educational experience by providing a centralised platform for managing school information.

Sandeep added that: “The presentation and demonstration sessions  on PacSIMS got significant interest and participation, with 16 attendees, including high-level officials and representatives from various departments within the Ministry of Education.”

Bottom of FormThe mission served as a platform for dialogue and learning among Kiribati education statistics officers, with the overall objective of improving the availability and quality of education statistics. Through targeted intervention in data collection, processing, verification, and analysis, the mission aimed to strengthen Kiribati’s capacity to utilise data for educational advancement.Top of Form

The mission also provided an opportunity for the MoE Statistics Officers to work in close collaboration with the SPC’s Data team and learn about the process of filling out UIS questionnaires which are vital for ensuring comprehensive and accurate education data reporting.

Kirieta Tong, a Statistics Officer from Kiribati’s MoE, was one of the attendees of the dialogue and learning sessions.

He stated that “We were able to complete the country’s UIS Finance data reporting, which had been a gap in Kiribati’s submissions in previous years. During the visit, we completed each step of the UIS finance questionnaire, and the entire exercise was a valuable training experience for me as a Statistician responsible for such reporting.” 
 

Apart from introducing PacSIMs as an option for EMIS and addressing the gaps in the UIS questionnaires, a thorough review of Kiribati's data quality assessment plan was carried out, ensuring that the recommendations from the Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF) were discussed and understood by the MoE focal point.

This collaborative effort sets the stage for ongoing improvements in data integrity and reliability for Kiribati. Additionally, the mission supported the compilation of Kiribati’s Education Statistical Digest that would be circulated to all stakeholders annually and will include key indicators aligned with SDG 4.

By incorporating the most recent figures into the 2024 Statistical Digest, Kiribati is better equipped to monitor progress and make informed decisions regarding educational policies and intervention.

The updated 2024 Statistical Digest with the latest figures will be completed and available by the end of August.