Reform in Progress: Current Trends and Concerns in Developing ...

Indicators
A starting point in building an EMIS is a list of indicators for the purpose of
monitoring education system performance. The list of indicators should be developed in
line with the needs of different users at different levels of education administration.
Based on the list of indicators, a list of data to be collected by EMIS should be prepared.
A consultancy process is also needed as a preliminary/preparatory step, with the purpose
of analyzing and compiling the needs of different users. The preparation of the EMIS list
of indicators at the beginning of the project in 2003/04 was done in close cooperation
with the MoE, while respecting the needs of the users. The list of indicators that was
developed covered all essential fields, which were of an interest to MoE as an end user at
the time.
The literature on EMIS recommends three groups of indicators. An EMIS should
generate information for users in the following essential fields: (1) management and
administration of the education system, (2) research on and planning of the education
system (macro and micro), and (3) monitoring and evaluation of the education system
(Carrizo, Sauvageot, & Bella, 2002). Accordingly, a master list of indicators that were
selected and approved within the Project (2002-2007) included the following items:
a) Macroeconomic indicators. The following belong to this group of indicators: cost
per pupil relative to GDP per capita, the share of funds allocated to education by
the government relative to overall public expenditure or relative to the GDP, gross
school enrolment rates according to the general demographic trends in the
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