Education researchers have urged the government to institutionalise routine termly data collection for decision-making, and to promote data-driven planning and resource allocation in order to improve efficiency in the education sector. The clarion call was made during the closure of a two-year project aimed at scaling up data use in the education sector. With funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) implemented a two-year project aimed at strengthening education data systems at sub-national levels in Uganda, Burkina Faso, and Senegal. The initiative is part of the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX), a joint effort between IDRC and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) designed to connect expertise, innovation, and knowledge to support low-and middle-income countries in building stronger education systems. Project lead at APHRC, Daniel Mwanga, said the two-year initiative, which commenced in 2024, sought to strengthen existing education data systems with emphasis on data granularity, gender equity, and inclusion, to ensure that no child is left behind in planning and service delivery. Educational data have been primarily collected annually through the Annual School Census, rendering them insufficient for routine decision-making. The processing and dissemination of data often takes several months, rendering it less useful for timely decision-making. The gaps between census cycles, such as the period between the 2017 and the most recent 2025 censuses, have limited data availability. As a result, district and school-level managers lacked timely data to respond to emerging issues, including attendance, staffing gaps, and resource needs. Despite a lack of timely data, Mwanga noted that following the project, education officials are increasingly using data at different levels of governance. “When you go down to the grassroots, the data is being used and is informing decisions at school and district levels. For innovations to be effective, they must be contextually relevant. The demand has to come from the ministry and government, because it must align with national priorities. This leads to better planning and decision-making,” Mwanga said. The project revealed that there is the need for skilled personnel who can manage, analyse and interpret data, and advise decision-makers on how to use it. “We are in the age of AI. It is important to start thinking about incorporating artificial intelligence to speed up data analysis, deepen our understanding, and generate more insights from the data,” he said. Mwanga said future efforts should focus on capacity strengthening at all levels, ensuring stakeholders can effectively use data systems, while also enhancing multi-sectoral collaboration to improve ICT infrastructure in schools and districts. While the ministry of Education and Sports has invested in capacity building for education service providers at national and sub-national levels through the implementation of electronic tools, districts and school-level staff still have limited capacity to manage, analyze, and use data effectively. This limitation is due to both technical constraints and a lack of user-friendly tools to support data interpretation and use. The commissioner for Basic Education at the ministry of Education and Sports, Cleophas Mugenyi, who also represented the permanent secretary said that for too long, education data has been collected from schools and districts without being fully owned or utilised at those levels. “This project has demonstrated the value of strengthening education data systems at district and school level by ensuring that data is not only available, but also relevant, timely, and used to inform planning and decision-making,” he said. “This speaks directly to the realities of our education system and gives local actors a voice to speak for themselves rather than being spoken for,” Mugenyi added. He stressed that strong data systems are fundamental to improving education outcomes. “It is important that we focus on sustainability by ensuring that tools, capacities, lessons, and best practices are fully integrated into our national systems,” he said. State minister for Education and Sports, Dr Joyce Kaducu Moriku, said the project has demonstrated how improved data management practices can significantly enhance education planning and management at all levels. “There are testimonies from all levels, especially from local government implementing partners, which provide clear evidence of the project’s impact on improving education outcomes,” she said. “Let us continue with this innovation and leverage the power of improved data systems to shape the future of our country. I call upon all stakeholders to ensure that data remains a cornerstone of education planning and decision-making,” she said. Kaducu said that the ministry remains committed to integrating best practices into national education policies to ensure the sustainability of data-driven reforms. “In this era of rapid change and growing demand for accountability, decisions can no longer rely on assumptions. They must be guided by reliable, timely, and actionable data,” she said. She said that strong data systems are strategic assets that enable governments to plan better, allocate resources efficiently, and deliver services that respond to citizens’ needs. “We have come to recognise that a robust education and sports sector must be built on credible evidence. The EMIS system, as highlighted by the commissioner, is already helping us track key indicators, although it is still being improved,” she said. Kaducu further called for harmonisation of data systems across departments and improved integration of data into policymaking. “We need to ensure that this data reaches policymakers and is integrated into day-to-day policy implementation,” she said.The post Researchers push gov’t to embrace data-driven education planning appeared first on The Observer.