By Magnus Emuji
The Permanent Secretary of the Delta State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Mr. Augustine Oghoro, recently reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to collecting data in accordance with the state’s educational policy.
He made this statement during the opening of a two-day capacity building workshop organized by the ministry for Education Management Information System (EMIS) officers from the 25 Local Government Areas and those in the ministry’s headquarters in Asaba.
Mr. Oghoro explained that the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education has a policy of collecting data annually, using the annual school census forms as the collation instrument. The Federal Ministry of Education has provided a portal for data collection, which allows school heads and principals to input the required data using laptops, tablets, or Android phones.
During the workshop, Mr. Oghoro urged the participants to carefully analyze the portal and pay close attention to the resource persons. He emphasized that the resource persons were equipped with the necessary skills to uncover the hidden criteria, factors, and strategies required to analyze the Federal Ministry of Education portal at various levels in the Annual School Census (ASC).
The Director of Planning, Research, and Statistics in the Ministry, Mr. Anthony Akponovo, highlighted the importance of effective planning and policy-making in the training. He emphasized that the Education Management Information System (EMIS) plays a crucial role in providing credible information and stressed the need to improve upon the existing practices.
Mr. Akponovo also stressed the importance of timely submission of data from the Local Government Areas to the State for prompt reporting of Nigeria Education Data. He emphasized the need for strong collaboration between the State and Local Government Areas to ensure the timely submission of data.
During the workshop, resource persons such as Mr. Orere Richard, Mr. Ozuor Patrick, and Okoro S. T made presentations on the application of technology in data collection, processing, and management. They also introduced the participants to the 2023 data update template for public and private schools, as well as the Annual School Census portal
