KARACHI, Jan 21: The policy committee of the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) has decided to have a third party validation of its educational data.
The committee met here on Tuesday after a gap of about four years, with federal education secretary Tariq Farooq in the chair. The third party (Federal Bureau of Statistics) validation would enhance the reliability and validity of the NEMIS data, said a Sindh education department communication.
Since the NEMIS’ undertaking of school census works in 1994, nine government schools databases have been produced so far, which are archived and available in CDs for policy formulation, decisions-making, monitoring and evaluation.
The NEMIS works with all EMISs in the provinces, FATA, FANA, AJK and the federal capital territory to determine data needs and ensure compatibility.
Its policy committee makes decision at the national level and each EMIS units is bound to implement the decisions taken by it. The first meeting of committee was held on Feb 4, 1999, in Lahore.
The second meeting here on Tuesday decided that in order to make the committee fulfil its objectives it should meet on an annual basis.
The meeting, according to a source, approved different recommendations on administrative issues. It also approved the definition of literacy and said that a person who could read and write with understanding in any language and make simple calculations would be considered to be literate.
Another recommendation pertaining to school age groups was also approved. The new age groups are: Pre-primary - 3 to 4, Kachi - 4 to 5, primary - 5 to 10, middle - 10 to 13 and high - 13 to 15.
It was decided that each provincial EMIS unit would develop comprehensive database, including that of public and private schools, and that training to the computer personnel of each EMIS unit would be arranged by the NEMIS.
The matter pertaining to strengthening of provincial units and district EMIS cells was also discussed and it was decided that the present mechanism of data collection would be improved further. The efficiency of the existing provincial EMIS would be improved in order to perform the required functions effectively.
It was reported that after the devolution of power, the entire approach to educational development had taken a 360-degree turn, focussing on district-level planning. The new set-up demanded data on all educational activities at the district level in a more comprehensive manner.
It was stressed that the existing district EMIS cells and the provincial units be provided with hardware, software facilities and computer personnel. The meeting resolved that every province should have an independent EMIS directorate, which would cater to educational data needs of the province and provide a proper service structure of EMIS personnel in order to retain them in the EMIS with upward mobility.
Provincial education secretaries from Sindh and Punjab and other senior education department officials from all the provinces, representatives from the Federal Bureau of Statistics, the National Institute of Population Studies, Planning Commission and provincial EMIS attended the meeting.
The participants appreciated the SEMIS’ advancement in data base and noted that it was more advanced than those in Balochistan and NWFP, said Prof Ilyas Soomro of the SEMIS.
