Policy Seminar on Monitoring & Evaluation for Education 2030

Over the past decades, countries in the Asia-Pacific region have successfully expanded coverage of education at all levels, particularly basic education. Yet issues of quality, equity, efficiency and system effectiveness remain major concerns as education systems in the region turn in mixed performances at international and national assessments. There is widespread recognition that monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems play a significant role in providing stakeholders with increased accountability and evidence-based decision making. To this end robust data and proper analysis play an important role in improving resource utilization and strengthening education system performance. The information age, which has greatly enhanced the ability to produce, collect and analyze data, has brought with it a data revolution: greater speed, greater volume, and greater detail of information available to a larger segment of the population than ever before. More importantly, the data revolution reflects the growing demand for data from all parts of society, not just traditional data users and analysts. In order to harness this data for diagnosing educational policy outcomes and formulating new plans, nations have to put effort in producing credible, relevant education statistics.

In order to meet the Education 2030 goals, improved monitoring, reporting and evaluation policies, systems and tools are essential. Education monitoring and evaluation requires a multi-dimensional approach, covering system design, inputs, content, processes and outcomes. In conjunction with this, improving the use and utilization of data will provide nations with enhanced collecting and reporting methods. As the primary responsibility for monitoring progress towards the Education 2030 goals lies at the country level, countries need to build effective monitoring and accountability mechanisms, adapted to national priorities, in consultation with civil society. The 2015 UNESCO-KEDI Regional Policy Seminar will bring together various countries in the region to share experiences and knowledge to enhance M&E systems, explore how to take advantage of the data revolution for M&E systems, and provide policy recommendations for Asia-Pacific nations to improve their M&E systems to implement the Education 2030 framework. 

The seminar will be held 26-28 November in Bangkok. The first day of the seminar will be a joint session with the Asia-Pacific Meeting on Education 2030 (APMED 2030) meeting that will focus on Monitoring and Evaluation indicators for Education 2030. Day 2 of the seminar will bring countries together to share knowledge on current M&E systems in the Asia-Pacific region. Participating countries include: Cambodia, China, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Palau, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan and the Republic of Korea. The final day will be a capacity development workshop on education statistics, facilitated by KEDI’s Center for Educational Statistics. 

For more information, please contact Lina Benete [l.benete(at)unesco.org] at the Education Policy and Reform Unit.

Written by Mark Manns [m.manns(at)unesco.org]

Related Links: 

• UNESCO-KEDI Seminar
• 1st Asia-Pacific Meeting on Education 2030 (APMED2030)
• Education 2030
• Sustainable Development Goals for Education