EMIS and MICS: Two sources of education data
Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) provide rich data on the functioning of education systems -ranging from information on student enrollment to information on teachers’ qualifications, and school facilities and infrastructure. EMIS data is periodically reported by school administrators and teachers, and public official from Ministries of Education and National Statistical Offices are well versed in analyzing it.
MICS collects information that complements EMIS data, capturing socio-economic information about school-age children, their learning environment at home, or their parents’ involvement in their education. MICS data can be used to analyze equity in education and to track progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 indicators. Despite its importance, many education policy analysts and officials are yet not familiar enough with how to process, analyze and interpret MICS data to inform policy discussions and develop education sector plans.
MICS-EAGLE (Education Analysis for Global Learning and Equity)
In 2018, UNICEF launched the MICS-EAGLE initiative, which was designed to address this gap. UNICEF and IIEP-UNESCO Dakar have now joined forces to offer a MICS-EAGLE training specifically targeted to African countries.
Course contents and details
The course curriculum will partially follow the “Manual on MICS data analysis for education indicators” and build on each institution’s experience in working in African countries.
At the end of the training, participants will be able to:
- Explain the SDG 4 indicators.
- Discuss the advantages and limitations of various types of education data (EMIS data, school-based data, household data, etc.) in the calculation of education indicators, in particular those relevant to SDG 4 monitoring.
- Interpret education indicators, specifically those relevant for monitoring SDG 4.
- Explain what the MICS data are and are used for.
- Explain how some key education indicators, in particular those relevant to SDG 4 monitoring, are calculated using MICS data.
- Analyze these education indicators.
- Explain how these indicators are useful in informing education policy decisions and policy formulation.
The training is primarily intended for public officials, working at central and decentralized levels of Ministries of Education, Ministries of Technical and Vocational Education and Training, and National Statistical Offices, with a priority to those based in Sub-Saharan Africa. The training will also target certain staff from local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and development partners, including staff from UNESCO and UNICEF country offices.
Please find here further details about the course and application process.