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Divisional level

129. Regional/divisional offices require information on selected basic indicators for
management and decision-making purposes. Although school censuses are being
conducted, data are not utilised at the regional level. In this case, the inspectors of the
regional offices collect data directly from the concerned institution and send the report to
the central level as and when required.

District level

130. As indicated earlier, the districts are in the process of acquiring real
administrative autonomy and are responsible for delivery of local government services
across all sectors. Each district is now required to develop an education development
plan along with appropriate required budget provision. For planning and monitoring of
the process, the district requires a variety of education indicators and information other
than the usual basic data such as number of teachers retiring, number of newly
recruited teachers, new entrants, the number of classrooms constructed, etc.
Furthermore, other socio-economic data, such as out-of-school populations, are
essential. In addition to this, district offices are required to develop and monitor annual
financial planning and expenditure.

International information needs

131. Countries and the international community alike are committed to important
development goals. These include the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
Education for All goals, the EFA FTI Indicative Framework, the UN Literacy Decade,
etc. To assess the progress of these initiatives and measure their achievement, several
benchmark education indicators have been established and countries are required to
provide information pertaining to these indicators.

132. Under the FTI indicative framework, there is a need to examine in more detail
the requirements for timely information on education expenditures and how to address
these. This includes the need for providing timely financial indicators, such as:

• Public domestically-generated revenues as a percentage of GDP;
• Education share of budget (%);
• Primary education share of education budget (%);
• Average annual salary of primary school teachers, for both civil service and
contract teachers; and
• Recurrent spending on items other than teacher remuneration as a percentage of
spending on education.

133. Furthermore, the descriptive variables concerning the teaching staff, such as
pre-service and in-service training, starting age and year of experience, are some of the
major dominant factors in pedagogic behaviour, and ultimately, measure the quality of
the education system.

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