- Uzbekistan becomes the first in Central Asia to implement UNESCO’s EMIS PATT tool, enhancing its education data system for SDG 4 alignment.
- UNESCO-led assessment evaluates four key EMIS areas: governance, management, technical architecture, and data quality for evidence-based policymaking.
- Pilot showcases Uzbekistan’s mature education data system, setting a precedent for other nations like Lebanon, Tunisia, and Namibia to follow.
Uzbekistan has made a significant step towards the improvement of its education data systems by becoming the first country in Central Asia to use UNESCO's Education Management Information System Progress Assessment Tool for Transformation (EMIS PATT).
Guided by the UNESCO Tashkent Office, this activity assists the country in assessing how effective its education data system supports good decision-making and progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) quality education for all.
The EMIS PATT is an analytical instrument created by UNESCO to measure the capacity, effectiveness, and gaps of the education data system of a country. It allows governments to enhance the manner in which they manage and use education data to inform planning and policy making. The tool measures EMIS performance in four main areas:
Governance – leadership, coordination, legal frameworks, and financing Management – organizational operations and personnel capacity Technical Architecture – electronic infrastructure and system design Data and Information Products – gathering, analyzing, and distributing data
All of these categories have subtopics that give both a broad and narrow perspective of the system's advantages and where it can be improved.
To provide input for the evaluation, four working sessions were conducted involving experts from the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation and the Ministry of Preschool and School Education. The sessions included statisticians, planners, computer experts, and policymakers to ensure a balanced and informed analysis.
"This instrument provides a good overall snapshot, but doesn't delve into detailed operational matters. It enables ministries to understand where they might improve. If there is interest, we can facilitate a second phase with more in-depth analysis and concrete measures to incorporate into annual plans", added Pierre Chapalet, Senior Programme Officer at UNESCO.
What is particularly notable about Uzbekistan's case, however, is that the country already has a relatively developed education data system in place. This puts it apart from other parts of the world where the tool has been implemented e.g., the Pacific, Africa, and the Caribbean — where systems remain in their nascent stages.
It's the first time we are piloting this tool in a country with a system that's mature," Mr. Chapalet said. "This will allow us to understand how valuable the tool is for more complicated environments and whether or not it must be customized for countries like Uzbekistan".
Why does this matter to Uzbekistan's EMIS system?
The evaluation will thus enable Uzbekistan to determine areas that need to be strengthened, and thus it will aim to improve EMIS capabilities to enable better management and monitoring of the education sector. Improved systems will enable the country to make better, evidence-based decisions, policy coherence will improve, and a transformation in education management will be driven. The transformation will ultimately result in improved learning outcomes for students throughout the country.
In the wake of this pilot success, UNESCO intends to launch the tool in other nations such as Lebanon, Tunisia, and Namibia. Uzbekistan's experience could potentially be a blueprint for how higher-developed school systems can keep improving through methodical, evidence-based evaluations.
