UNESCO Bangkok's Assessment, Information Systems, Monitoring and Statistics (AIMS) Unit hosted and trained officials from the Nepal Ministry of Education (MoE) as part of the Flash Report Method on conducting annual school census at the AIMS office, UNESCO Bangkok.
The training, which took place from 3 to 12 August 2005, is part of UNESCO Bangkoks effort to extend technical assistance to Nepal in collaboration with UNESCO Kathmandu, to build the countrys capacity to collect and produce up-to-date and timely education indicators and statistics.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics Regional Advisor for Asia and Pacific and AIMS Unit Head, Mr. Ko-Chih Tung, and AIMS Programme Specialist Mr. Nyi Nyi Thaung have played a key role in training Nepalese education officials. Both have visited Nepal in the past to facilitate these trainings.
Nepal can now report statistics within three to four months from the start or end of the School Year given the flash reporting system, Mr. Tung said. They can complete the report in the current year not in the next year, thats why its called Flash Report because its fast. It addresses the problem of data being years behind, he added.
The availability of up-to-date data allows for easier monitoring and evaluation of Nepals progress in meeting the Education for All (EFA) goals. The Flash Report method is especially designed for monitoring of EFA targets and target groups, such as the disadvantaged castes, learners with disabilities and those living in various economic zones.
The Nepalese officials expressed eagerness to receive continued technical assistance from UNESCO Bangkok and UNESCO Kathmandu. They also hopes that UNESCO could provide more training on how to relate school data to national census and household data on the national level to address the gaps in the system.
Flash Report 1 covers the 18 EFA Indicators, including the total number of children enrolled at the start of the School Year. Flash Report 2 covers enrolment retention rates and assesses the delivery of education services, including the number of schools constructed, scholarships given, teachers trained, etc., while the Consolidated Report combines Flash 1 and 2 with additional explanations to provide a situational analysis of the whole School Year.
The AIMS Unit, with the assistance of the Thai National Commission for UNESCO also organised a visit to the Thailand Ministry of Education for the Nepalese officials on 8 August. They also visited the Bureau of Policy and Strategy where they learned about planning policies and the school system in Thailand.
AIMS Units Mr. Thaung said UNESCO Bangkok hopes to continue its collaboration with the Nepal MoE, particularly in EFA monitoring and evaluation.
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