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225. In addition, there is no proper documentation for reference to make any
changes and updates for the maintenance.

226. The structure and design of the database limit expandability and
maintainability as well as user-friendly query of the database.

227. The current database is not longitudinal (multi-year), making it difficult to carry
out longitudinal analyses. Also recording in separate databases for each year limits the
possibilities of verification of data coherence from one year to the next, which is an
important method of quality control. Consistency is clearly weak since the EMIS
application does not have a built-in component to check the data across years.

228. The existing software for the district EMIS using MOPME is mainly intended
to enter data and does not provide facilities and functions for users at the district levels
as a tool for facilitating local information and planning needs.

Recommendations

229. The EMIS software should have a user-friendly interface and facilities for local
needs such as the production of reports at the district level and the ability to query the
database to produce customised reports or analyses.

230. Development of such a simplified interface for easy and flexible access to
EMIS data by users would be one of the priorities for future improvement of the system;
it should also be sufficiently easy to deploy and use so as to be suitable for the district
level, where those using the system will be non-technicians.

231. A tangible success of the decentralisation of EMIS to the district level would
be obtained if the system is easy to use for both data entry and processing and report
generation. In this context, the EMIS software should have a user-friendly interface and
facilities for local needs, such as production of reports at the district level and the ability
to query the database to produce customised reports or analytical tables.

232. Due to the limitations of the current EMIS system, the adoption of the UIS
EMIS system is recommended, initially for primary and secondary education. A multi-
year plan is recommended under which the UIS approach would be adopted at central
level in 2006/07, with extension to regional and district levels in 2007/08 to 2008/09. An
initial step would be to migrate historical data to the UIS data modelling approach. This
would result in a multi-year database that could be accessed via a simple user-friendly
interface. The activities would include:
• Re-designing questionnaires to have maximum amount of useful, reliable data
while creating less burden and ease of reporting by institutional providers;
• re-modelling the data processing system into a cost-effective scalable system;
• migrating data from the old system to a new system based on the UIS data
modelling;

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