Zambia is one of the twelve countries participating in the National Education Statistical Information System (NESIS) program of the ADEA Working Group on Education Statistics (WGES). In 1993, just before Zambia joined the program, the most recently published statistics pertained to the 1983-84 academic year. The lack of a systematic information system was a serious impediment for the planning and management of the education system, as well as for policy formulation, decision-making and accountability. In the following article, Manasseh Nkamba, Director of the Educational Planning Unit at the Ministry of Education of Zambia and NESIS national team leader for Zambia, gives an account of how the Ministry is proceeding to develop a national education statistics information system.
In 1993, as Zambia's education system continued to grow, it became more and more difficult to plan, manage, and monitor the education system without a sound information base. The absence of an information pool led to a situation where several ministerial departments engaged in uncoordinated data collection. Different departments collected data for their own internal needs, resulting in duplication, repetitive demands on the responding school offices, and segmented views. Furthermore, the ministry had no capacity to process its own data. All these problems created serious difficulties for the planning and management of the education system, as well as for policy formulation, decision-making, and accountability.
Policy context of the NESIS project
The Ministry of Education (MoE) was intent on changing this critical situation. The education policy stated that “in order to facilitate planning, monitoring, and supervision at all points of the system, the ministry would: (i) revise the existing data collection instruments; and, (ii) establish and maintain a comprehensive education management information system.”(1) Strengthening the information base for the routine management of the education system, and the development of education policies became two major objectives.
The NESIS implementation process
Zambia joined the WGES National Education Statistical Information System (NESIS) program in 1993.
The initial phase of the program involved the following activities: (i) establishing NESIS management structures; (ii) conducting a diagnostic survey; (iii) organizing an orientation workshop for key stakeholders; and,
(iv) developing a work plan to address priority problem areas identified in a diagnostic survey.
... NESIS management structures (see Graphic, bottom: NESIS Organization Structure in Zambia).
A policy-level Advisory Committee responsible for the management of the program was formed. It is composed of heads of departments which are major information producers and consumers within and outside the ministry. The Advisory Committee reports its policy recommendations to the Permanent Secretary and to the Minister.
In addition, a National Team was constituted to oversee the implementation of the program. The National Team can resort to experts to address specific problems. These experts may come from teacher training colleges, universities, schools, or from within the Statistics Office and the MoE.
... National diagnostic survey
The next step was to identify the information gaps among the users and producers at both central and regional levels. Questionnaires were developed and distributed to producer and consumer departments within the Ministry as well as to entities outside the Ministry—e.g. the Examinations Council of Zambia —and to Zambia’s nine provincial heads.
The survey identified six priority areas that needed to be addressed:
- development and strengthening of record keeping at all levels;
- improvement of the quality and content of information;
- staff development along the entire information cycle;
- creation of an information system which answers users’ needs in terms of quality and content;
- computerization of the information system;
- strengthening the use of statistics at all levels.
... Organization of an orientation workshop for key stakeholders
A workshop was organized to present the results of the diagnosis and build a consensus on the issues which should be given top priority. This meeting brought together key stakeholders including the heads of department at ministry headquarters, provincial educational officers, NESIS national team members and NESIS advisory committee members.
Out of the six areas identified in the diagnostic survey, it was decided that the development of sound school records (pupils’ records, teachers’ records, material records, and finance records) and school survey collection instruments were of immediate concern and should be tackled first.
Development of school records and school survey collection instruments
The process of developing school records involved the review of existing school records, the modification and adaptation of certain school records and the development of new school record forms for areas where they did not exist.(2)
A wide range of specialists contributed to the development of the school records: policy-makers, including educational planners and school inspectors; experts from specialized units such as the Central Statistics Office, the Career Guidance and Counseling Unit, the Examinations Council of Zambia and the University of Zambia; front-line implementers, which included education officers in the districts as well as school heads and classroom teachers; and, record managers and clerks within the MoE.
School survey collection instruments(3) were developed in the same fashion.
Development of training manuals
The next step was the development of training manuals to ensure the proper use of the school records and data collection instruments. Two specialized committees worked on the production of two manuals with substantial input from various stakeholders and experts.
In 1996, the school records and data collection instruments were tested in 300 primary and secondary schools. Comments received from the sample schools were used to revise the record forms, the data collection instruments and the training manuals.
The new school record forms, data collection instruments and training manuals are expected to be in use in all schools and Teacher Training Colleges by May 1997. The new training manuals will be used in all pre-service teacher training colleges as records management will be incorporated as an integral part of the training of teachers. This will ensure that teachers are instructed on the use of records, and that they recognize the importance of maintaining sound records.
Other NESIS-related activities
Other NESIS-related activities are contributing to the reinforcement of Zambia’s education statistics information system.
Computerization of the Ministry of Education and the training of data entry operators at national and provincial levels is underway. District personnel will be trained once districts are equipped with computers. Ministry education planners are being trained in computer information analysis.
An important element of the NESIS program has been the sharing of cross-regional experiences. Regional meetings were organized for the twelve NESIS participating countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Chad, Ethiopia, Guinea, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mozambique, Senegal, Zambia, Zimbabwe) in Harare (1993), Addis Ababa (1994), Paris (1995), Mauritius (1996) and Abidjan (1997). These meetings were an opportunity for national teams to share experiences, strategies, methods and tools related to the various pilot projects conducted in the twelve countries. Zambia is also participating in other workshops aimed at reinforcing quantitative analytical capacities. An active member of the Zambian NESIS team participated in three educational development indicators training workshops: a UNESCO workshop held in Mauritius in December 1996; and two International Institute for Education Planning (IIEP) workshops held in Nairobi in July 1996 and in Harare in February 1997.
The following activities are envisaged for the future:
- Full computerization of national, regional and district offices.
- Development of a user-friendly software package for the easy analysis of data.
- Continuation of the training of teachers and headmasters on:
(a) how to use the new school records forms ;
(b) how to use the information contained in the school records for planning purposes.
- The NESIS experience will be used by other ministries working in partnership with the Ministry of Education. Indeed, the Government is working towards the establishment of the Education Sector Investment Program which will enlist the collaboration of four ministries (Education, Science and Technology, Sports, Youth and Child Development, and Community and Social Services) to work on issues of education and training.
Results and assessment of NESIS
The impact of the NESIS Project is beginning to reflect in the quality of the data generated and in the rate of information flow. NESIS has also fostered a sense of ownership and a spirit of partnership in the management of information.
At both national and local levels the information being generated under NESIS is helping to rationalize resource allocation and enhance accountability. The NESIS program has become an important source for a steady stream of new ideas, application tools, good practices and innovation pertaining to records management, annual school surveys, indicators for monitoring education development, database management and data-processing. These have had direct impact on the increased productivity, efficiency and quality of Zambia’s statistical products and services.
In retrospect, major factors which have contributed to the successful development of Zambia’s education statistical information system are the following:
- The setting of a common goal—to develop a self-steered and self-managed national education statistics information system for serving education policy, planning and management—engaging policy-makers, decision-makers and technical specialists. The vision of this common goal initiated the whole developmental process.
- The findings of the diagnostic surveys gave a clear understanding of information needs and existing problems.
- The NESIS organizational structure provided an adequate framework for cooperation between consumers and producers of information, policy-level representatives and technical specialists.
- NESIS has relied on national advisors and experts from within the Ministry, and other national institutions, thereby fostering a sense of ownership.
- Regional workshops and technical review meetings organized by the WGES were opportunities for NESIS members to learn a great deal from each other on strategies, methods and tools related to the pilot projects in other countries.
To sum up, the role of the NESIS program has been far-reaching, by initiating a self-managed developmental process that will have long-lasting repercussions throughout the Zambian education system.
Cooperation of member agencies (UNESCO, Sida, UNICEF, the French Cooperation and the World Bank) within the WGES-NESIS network has helped to mobilize resources for the next stage. This will ensure the long-term development of Zambia’s education statistical information system, beyond the pilot project.
New challenges
Although much work has been done, there is a need to ensure that the decentralization of information production and consumption does not lag behind. Training opportunities should be extended to regional and eventually district levels. This is imperative for two reasons: a cadre of specialists at various levels must be created for long-term sustainability; and decentralization is prompting new demands on management and decision-making at local levels.
Diagram 3:
NESIS Organization Structure in Zambia
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Minister of Education
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Permanent Secretary
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NESIS Advisory Committee
Ministry of Education
University of Zambia
Central Statistics Office
Stakeholders, Agencies
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Technical Committees
Specialists from:
- MOE departments
- University
- other institutions
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NESIS National team
Ministry of Education, Planning
& Statistics
Central Statistics Office
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(1) National Policy on Education, Ministry of Education, Zambia, 1996: p. 131.
(2) School records include: pupils’ records (application forms, transfer requests, admissions registers, pupils’ record cards, class registers, mark schedules, assessment forms, school reports); teachers’ records (teacher record cards); material records (inventory forms, stock books, handover certificate forms) and finance records (revenue forms and expenditure forms).
(3) Unlike school records which are primarily meant to maintain records within schools, data collection instruments serve several purposes: to capture information about pupils and teachers, such as age, grade, nationality, gender, dropouts etc. (primary/secondary annual returns); to collect characteristics about teachers in a particular school (school staff returns); to collect information on available school buildings and equipment (buildings furniture, equipment returns); to obtain financial plans on the education system (expenditure and revenue forms).
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