The Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Education, is due to launch a National School Census data collection today, November 1, 2024, to assess the quality of the country's school system.
The census data collection process, which begins November 1, 2024, will run until December 12, 2024, and will specifically focus on Montserrado.
This initiative is conducted in collaboration with partners, including USAID, UNICEF, the EU, and other members of the technical working group on data established by the Ministry of Education.
Deputy Education Minister for Planning, Research, and Development Dr. Samuel Toe disclosed this Thursday at the Ministry of Information's regular press briefing. The ministry has not conducted a census since the last national school census was conducted in 2020.
He indicated that a gap in data collection has been noted since then. However, this new initiative aims to fill that void and provide updated information on the state of education in the country.
He emphasized that they take their mandate under the 2011 Education Reform Act and the Education Sector Plans seriously by initiating these activities this year to achieve their goals.
"Under this year's census collection, a comprehensive set of data from formal and non-formal TVET institutions across the entire sector will be gathered."
"This will enable the Ministry to plan more effectively, prepare for proper investments in the education sector, and monitor the quality, access, and equity of the education system in the country," he noted.
However, he revealed that the ministry has projected a cost of $1.2 million, which will cover equipment purchase, training of data staff, logistics, census reporting, and disseminating the census report.
"This year's data collection will differ from past procedures, where data enumerators were deployed nationwide. In Montserrado, private school principals and registrars will be responsible for collecting school data and reporting it directly to us this year," he noted.
In terms of activities surrounding the event, he stated that they have established a working group comprising key government stakeholders, including the legislature, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and development partners, to focus on education data and census data collection.
"The technical working group on data evidence is responsible for preparing and managing the execution of this year's census and has mobilized resources for this purpose," he noted.
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According to him, the activities will include training data management staff, procuring equipment, upgrading their department to an education information management system, and ongoing community mobilization and public information dissemination outreach.
Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Education's senior management team, he stated that under the community engagement process for this year's census collection, they will involve the Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) from private, public, and faith-based schools across Liberia.
Reading the activities that the ministry has already launched to spearhead the process, he indicated that the group began its public awareness and media community engagements on October 28, 2024, which will run until December 15, 2024. A school census tool distribution process will roll out on December 15.
Following this, they will test the equipment using an online system that will allow them to collect and synchronize data for ongoing real-time analysis.
"The testing of this system will take place from November 13 to 15, 2024, and will be conducted by our trainers."
He also revealed that a small group will be established to train data personnel, including school administrators, scheduled for November 18 to 23, 2024.
Data collection will begin on December 1 and run through December 15, allowing schools time to prepare for the festive season.
