Burkina Faso: Improving Data Collection and Management
In 1997 Burkina Faso redefined its statistical needs and initiated major efforts to improve the collection of data. New questionnaires were created and meetings were organized for school directors and district managers to acquaint them with the new data-gathering methods. Subsequently, an efficient database management system designed for decentralized use was developed and tested in three regions.
In 1997 Burkina Faso introduced a new administrative landscape. As a result the country faced a need for different statistical requirements, which led it to rethink the whole process of gathering educational statistics. The undertaking was supported by the Working Group on Education Statistics.
A preliminary study identified the information needs
The first task was to make an inventory of statistical needs in the different units of the Ministry of Basic Education and Literacy and its different development partners, whether NGOs or international organizations. Different sources of statistical information were also identified so that data gathering could be rationalized and duplication avoided.
Refining the new means of collection
The results of the study were incorporated into a new and very thorough questionnaire. The headings were designed to make them easier to fill out, to computerize answers, and to consult. Response categories were presented as "boxes to tick." Both headings and individual items were ordered in a logical sequence.
Some new headings were also introduced. These touched on the socio-economic environment of the school, its recruiting pool, the socio-professional background of the parents, and financial resources. A special effort was made to distinguish between different groupings of students: single grade, mixed-grade or double sessions. To do so, the concept of a "pedagogical group" was introduced in reference to a group of students at the same grade level, pursuing the same studies, taught by the same teacher, in the same class, at the same time. The survey also asked for information about classroom facilities so that teaching conditions could be accurately assessed.
A national effort to collect annual data
The reliability of educational statistics depends first and foremost on the quality of the basic information. Thus a special effort was made to train all school directors and to make them aware of the new data-gathering methods. A three-stage campaign was organized:
- First, a series of awareness-building meetings were held with the responsible administrators in the various decentralized districts. Some 350 people were shown the questionnaires and given instructions.
- Then a National Educational Statistics Day was organized throughout Burkina Faso, and all directors of both public and private schools were invited to attend a briefing and receive their copies of the questionnaire.
- Finally, a series of regional workshops was held. This time all the district managers came together to turn in their questionnaires.
Thanks to the conscientiousness and dedication of the district managers the operation has been running successfully now for three years. Nearly all the 4500 directors of private or public primary schools participated in this year's National Educational Statistics Day and, just three weeks later, nearly all the surveys had already arrived back at the central office.
A new data management system to serve the whole sub-region
Most countries in the sub-region share the desire to develop an effective and reliable information system. Burkina Faso also wanted to create a synergy between local and international experts in building its new statistical system. The Working Group on Education Statistics therefore held two sub-regional workshops, one in Lome in June 1997 and the other in Ouagadougou in November 1997, to bring together planners, statisticians, and computer technicians from Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Togo as well as database experts from Unesco and the French Department of Cooperation. The meetings allowed a review of the data and the chance to define the general architecture and scope of the computer model.
The new system was developed in such a way that it can evolve and adapt to inevitable changes in the educational system. This should also make the system easier for managers to master.
An integrated system designed to be fully decentralized
The final configuration will be composed of three interdependent parts (see figure below):
- The main system, to be located in the Department of Studies and Planning, will contain the data from the annual surveys. It will be organized around three kinds of information--concerning the school, the classroom, and the pedagogical groups--and will permit both data-gathering and the computerized publication of a statistical yearbook.
- The data on personnel will be located in the Department of Human Resources, where it will provide the basis of a personnel management system.
- Eventually a computerized database located in the Department of Examinations and Admissions will be responsible for managing information coming from different examination centers.
The system was designed for decentralized use and has already been tried in three regions. It should be fully installed by 2001-2002, ready both for data-gathering and publication of the regional yearbooks.
Automated printout of the yearbook and a user's manual
Using raw data and a series of indicators, the special software program will allow automatic printouts of a hundred predefined tables. It will produce two types of documents:
- the statistical yearbook, comprised essentially of data sorted by region and province;
- the user's manual, which will organize and present the most important data. Many graphic displays and analytical examples should make the handbook a valuable and easy-to-use reference book, even for non-specialists.
For the moment, these documents have only been produced at the national level, but in due course their production will be decentralized to the regions.
A system meant to last
The Ministry of Basic Education and Literacy is now equipped with a powerful tool for managing its statistical information. The system was installed gradually and on the basis of clearly identified needs. ADEA's support to the national team, which included several planners and a programming consultant, has allowed ownership of the system. Thus all conditions for the smooth functioning of the new system in the immediate future have been met.
However, full integration of the new tools into the daily administrative routine will only be possible if the management-training program already underway is completed. A training program was implemented two years ago in partnership with the Bobo Dioulasso School of Informatics (Ecole Superieure d'Informatique - ESI).
Everything is now ready: the special tools needed for managing the education department's resources more efficiently and for monitoring and guiding the process that will lead to Education for All are in place.
A NESIS technical module based on this system, called "Collection and Handling of Statistical Data" is being developed. It should allow other countries of the sub-region to benefit from Burkina Faso's experience.
SALIMATA SANOU
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, BURKINA FASO
THIERRY LAIREZ
TECHNICAL COOPERATION OFFICER, FRANCE
BERNARD AUDINOS
SUB-REGIONAL COORDINATOR FOR WEST AFRICA,
NESIS PROGRAM
Previous Article | Contents | Next Article
![[ADEA logo]](../../pics/top_main.gif)
![[Table]](../../pics/top_right.gif)
![[ADEA Newsletter Image]](../../pics/newsletter.jpg)
