Module A1: School records management9. Benefit of SRMSFrom the descriptions of SRMS and its features and functions in the preceding

sections, we can see that a fully operational SRMS can produce many immediate

benefits for school managers and edu- cation officers at the local and district level,

as well as long-term benefits for policy, planning, coor- dination and monitoring at the

provincial and national level.

In essence, systematic organized school record management helps:

school managers to assess the performance and therefore the strengths and

weaknesses of the school, so they can make informed decisions and easily

respond to school censuses using reliable school data.

the local government and members of the community to understand and

support the functioning of the school.

district and provincial education officers, and the central Ministry of

Education to moni- tor and evaluate the performance of schools, to identify

problems and issues and to establish policies, plans and measures to provide

more appropriate guidance and support to schools.

To provide documented evidences that future school managers can use to

continuously improve the management of the school.

A good SRMS is one that fulfills the above expectations, and which enables

systematic and reliable record- ing and updating of data and information. Such a

system embodies mechanisms, procedures, tools and practices to record data and

to keep them in organized storage for easy access, retrieval and use.

School records can, therefore, be used to assess: (a) how the school uses

various resources to organize educational programmes and activities, (b) how

such programmes and activities took place, and (c) what were the outcomes,

issues and lessons learnt. Such information is important because it allows the

school manager as well as education administrators at higher levels to evaluate the

efficiency and effectiveness of the school’s activities, and to improve future policies,

planning, coordination and management of educational activities across the country.

School records must therefore respond to the information needs of three main

groups of stakehold- ers/beneficiaries (see Figure 3).

Foremost among these beneficiaries are the school managers and school staff,

including teachers. They need information on a daily basis in order to better plan,

organize, conduct, evaluate and man- age school and class activities. They need

frequent access to detailed and comprehensive data and information.

At the school level, some of the immediate benefits of a SRMS include:

better monitoring and understanding of the situation and problems in the

school over time.

the ability to make more informed decisions to improve the functioning of

the school.

easy access to reliable information they need for reporting and responding

to annual school censuses.

the ability to inform local stakeholders and administrators at higher levels

of the education system, and gain their support (see Figure 4 below).

The second group of beneficiaries are the education administrators at the district,

provincial and central ministry levels. They need data and information about what is

happening in the schools under their respective jurisdiction so they can identify the

achievements, gaps and issues for better policy, planning, management and/or

coordination of the education system from their respective levels. This second group

may not need direct access to the detailed school records, but do require summary

information from the annual school censuses and gathered from various school

reports.

A third group of beneficiaries are the government officials, community leaders,

parents and students in the local area, who benefit from having information about the

school because it helps them to understand how the school operates and how they

can help support it. This group includes mem- bers of the school management board

and parents-teachers association. Summaries of relevant and reliable information

can be produced using the SRMS and disseminated to them.

Information generated from school records can improve the accountability and

credibility of the school management. By reporting and disseminating more

complete and reliable information about the school to members of the school

management board and/or parent-teachers association, local stakeholders will

become aware of the achievements as well as the challenges faced by the school. in

turn, they can help mobilize support from the local government, community and other

development partners.

School records, therefore, constitute the most important source of data and

information for ongoing and future management of schools. Systematic school

record keeping will not only sup- port sound management of the school itself, but will

also help to better inform local stakeholders as well as higher levels of the education

administration to mobilize their support. Furthermore, proper school record keeping

can greatly facilitate reporting to annual school censuses by providing sum- mary

data that are based on solid source records to ensure the completeness and

reliability of data. For non-governmental schools, school records are important for

meeting government legal and fis- cal requirements. School records must, therefore,

be designed taking these factors into account.

Activity 19

Discuss with your colleagues the implications, benefits and constraints in

establishing an effective SRMS in your school, district, province or country,

and then answer the following questions:

For school managers and staff:

1. Do you agree with the benefits of SRMS described above? What other benefits

might there be?

2. In what way do you think your school can benefit from improved school records

management? In which aspects of school management?

3. What are the barriers or constraints that can prevent successful implementation

of SRMS in your school? What can be done to address these constraints?

4. After completing this training module, how do you plan to apply the knowledge in

your school?

For district and local education officers and school inspectors:

1. do you agree with the benefits of SRMS described above? What other benefits

might exist at your level and for the schools in your area?

2. in what way do you think the schools in your area can benefit from improved

school records management? Which aspects of school management might

benefit more?

3. What are the barriers or constraints affecting the successful implementation of

SRMS in the schools in your area? What can be done to address these

constraints?

4. After completing this training module, how do you plan to apply the knowledge in

the schools in your area?

For central and provincial education administrators:

1. do you agree with the benefits of SRMS described above? What other benefits

might exist at your level?

2. in what way do you think the schools in your country or province might benefit

from improved school record management? Which aspects of school

management might benefit more?

3. What are the barriers and constraints affecting the successful implementation of

SRMS in the schools in your country or province? What can be done to address

these constraints?

4. After completing this training module, how do you plan to apply the knowledge at

your level and in the schools in your country or province?