Integrated monitoring of key education indicators at district levels

Background: The Ghana Education Service (GES) introduced a paper-based School Report Card (SRC) to biannually capture and report on the teaching and learning environment in basic schools. The SRC was implemented in 75 districts and gathered data relating to enrolment, facilities, staffing, teacher and pupil attendance, funding to monitor the progress of teaching and learning, and other educational affairs. Despite this progress, the SRC was inefficient in collecting, processing, and sharing timely data. The GES with support from UNICEF developed an Android application - the Mobile School Report Card (mSRC), to transition to a paper-less school reporting system. An initiative known as the Strengthening Teacher Accountabilities to Reach every Student (STARS) program was also developed to support targeted teaching.

Solution: The mSRC was identified as the tool to monitor the effectiveness of the STARS program. To improve the monitoring and evaluation of student and school performance in delivering targeted training, Bewsys was contracted to upgrade the existing mSRC mobile application. The upgrade included an archiving system, electronic library domain and virtual support desk. The team worked with the end-users and provided hands-on training to ensure that the newly developed functions delivered valuable user experience.

Impact: UNICEF has launched the Mobile School Report Card (mSRC) for schools in UNICEF supported districts. The mSRC generates reliable, quick, and up-to-date data on key education indicators for better planning and decision making. This contributes to the attainment of quality education, reduced inequalities, and industry and infrastructure innovation.