Pakistan—DARE (Data and Research in Education): Technical Assistance to Strengthen Provincial-Federal Data Management Processes

DARE (Data and Research in Education) is focused on strengthening federal-provincial data management processes by developing a Data Standardization Framework for data collection under the Annual School Census. The education indicators on which data are to be collected and the definition of variables for calculating those indicators have also been standardized. The project team supports Pakistan’s Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training by providing technical assistance (TA) to stakeholders at both federal and provincial levels.

The overarching objective of the DARE project is to establish a framework and design for an integrated national education database and an open data portal. This strategic move will enable Pakistan to fulfill its international SDG 4 and other obligations and report on progress against those commitments. The provinces will benefit hugely from a fortified provincial Education Management Information System (EMIS) and the integration of databases into a national database.

Sample Activities

The project has three components:

• Completing a comprehensive study of the existing education-related databases at the federal and provincial levels.
• Developing the Data Standardization Framework (DSF) in close consultation with the relevant stakeholders and using the first component’s results. This DSF will be a guiding document for standardizing data collection from schools nationwide and setting up an integrated national education database that could be used as an open data portal. This includes working with stakeholders to prepare costed plans to establish an integrated national education database and implement the DSF.
• Preparing the design and all required technical details for setting up the national open data portal.

Select Results

• Standardized the Annual School Census (ASC) data collection process, the variables on which data is to be collected, and the definitions of variables.
• Added questions from the Washington Group Short Questionnaire to the ASC data collection to collect data on students with functional disabilities.
• Prepared the design and guidelines for the horizontal integration of education databases with the provincial EMIS and for the vertical integration of provincial EMIS into the National EMIS. The front end of the National EMIS will be the National Open Data Portal.
• Drafted comprehensive data governance protocols for safety, security, and effective management of data collected from the schools.
• Prepared four Training Manuals (one for each of the four provinces) for the conduct of ASC.
• Prepared an ASC reporting manual to guide the provinces in preparing a comprehensive report on the data collected from the schools annually.