Page 58 - Microsoft Word - Bangladesh_Diagnostic_E_final5.doc

census forms. Moreover, most data are at an individual level and little has been
consolidated into summary form required by the school census. For example, the age of
individual students is available in the school register (admission/withdrawal record
book). However, these data are not readily grouped by class or grade so that, when the
information of enrolment by age is needed to fill in the school census questionnaire, it is
impossible, time-consuming and tedious to track and compile from the admission
register where individual student information is kept by year of entry. This can be solved
by a little modification in the school record-keeping system.

212. During the field visit at the institution level, it was found that there was not
always correct age information for many of pupils at the primary level. One of the
reasons is absence of birth certificates. In the case of secondary- and tertiary-level
institutions, the date of birth of students is recorded in the admission register. Although
the system is there, the institutions are not supplying good quality enrolment data by
age reason, yet this information is vital for assessing the EFA indicators and the
country's progress towards the goals of MDG.

213. There is limited capacity to respond to ad-hoc requests for data in non-
standardised formats which obviously call for new compilations. Such requests produce
inconsistent reports and demand additional resources.

Recommendations

214. In consultation with concerned education authorities, existing school record-
keeping systems should be reviewed and enhanced to reflect the need and demand of
current education planning and monitoring.

Streamlining and improvement of data collections

Findings
215. Design and layout of the questionnaire used for data collection lack clarity.
Besides, questionnaires are not adequately supplemented with appropriate
explanations, guidelines and instructions.

216. Furthermore, different departments collect the same set of data for different
occasions. Without proper collaboration and consultation among the departments and
without streamlining, the various data collections result in confusion, and double data
collection causes data inconsistency at the local level.

Recommendations

217. A technical consultative workshop should be organized inviting participants
from various departments to streamline and improve the data collection instruments, in
order to create a standard and comparable data set and to reflect on the needs of policy
planning and management at both local and national levels.

- 51 -