Information flow in the education system in Ethiopia in the time of COVID-19

• In Event: Delivering Education During COVID

Proposal

Through on-going work related to the RISE Ethiopia research programme, the important role of data and information flow within the education system for ensuring that stakeholders are enabled to make decisions based on evidence has been an important area of concern. In the time of COVID-19 school closures the issues and challenges present in the data and information systems has become even more apparent and the need to address these challenges even more pressing. In this presentation, we draw on data gathered through the RISE Ethiopia phone and online surveys which undertaken with stakeholders at multiple levels of the education system in including, school principals, teachers, government officials and donors during the school closures. We explore the flow of information and support in the education system during the school closures, how the information and support that local level stakeholders received (school principals and teachers) influenced how they responded to the school closures, as well as what data and information that was used to inform official strategies set out by the government in relation to school reopening (e.g. automatic grade promotion). Particular attention will be paid to differences across regions and rural-urban location. As schools reopen, the efficient flow of data or information will be imperative to ensure that all stakeholders are informed and supported to respond to new and expected challenges that emerge in these unprecedented times.

Authors

• Belay Hagos Hailu, Addis Ababa University

• Tassew Woldehanna, Addis Ababa University

• Pauline Rose, University of Cambridge

• Louise Yorke, REAL Centre, University of Cambridge