(EMU) – St. Kitts, November 15, 2018 -- To improve the value and use of data within the education sector, the Ministry of Education is currently hosting the 6th Annual OECS Statisticians Meeting at the Royal St. Kitts Hotel.
The session which began on the 14th of November, is a two-day workshop designed to ‘Strengthen Administrative Data Systems for Evidence-based Decision-making in Education.’
Building upon the many achievements thus far and improving the situation regarding education data within the region, nine education statisticians and three assistant statisticians from OECS Member States are in attendance at the meeting. Other participants include the staff of the Education Development Management Unit (EDMU) and one representative from the Statistics Services Unit of the Commission.
The objectives of the meeting are to:
• Review and finalize the draft of the fifth edition of the OECS Statistical Digest;
• Present status reports on compilation of the various national digests, national baselines and targets for the OESS;
• Provide update on national initiatives for improving the accessibility, quality and use of education statistics
• Make further improvements to the OECS education census questionnaire with specific attention to capturing data from national colleges and TVET programs;
• Incorporate UNESCO SDG4 indicators into the reporting structures of the Digest
• Receive training in data consistency and the use of the newly-released OECSInfo regional digital database.
In opening remarks, Chief of the Education Planning Division, Dr. Neva Pemberton, pledged St. Kitts’ continued support, “The Ministry of Education deeply values these sessions because they help us to reform and refine our planning locally.”
“The Education Planning Division continues to work to widen our data capture to improve the disaggregation that is needed to monitor and evaluate the progress towards the targets set.” She added, “With support from the OECS, EDMU and demonstrative leadership from you (participants) you have to be commended for establishing a highly effective learning community.”
She also stated that the Ministry of Education has ready-to-use knowledge attained at previous sessions to assist with its own Education Sector Plan implementation.
The meeting also discussed ways in which better data collection provides access to reliable information which inevitably guide action. These mechanisms once properly utilized will assist ICT to augment reporting for multiple stakeholders as well as streamline the way in which the education sector collects data and make it simpler for school staff to submit the required information.
Prior to the meeting a one-day training seminar was conducted on data consistency where the participants were introduced to the newly-released version 2.0 of OECSInfo, the regional digital database managed by the Statistical Services Unit (SSU) of the OECS Commission.
The session was made possible by funding from UNICEF under the existing Cooperation Agreement between UNICEF, Eastern Caribbean Office and the OECS Commission.
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