The TA enhances national capacity to plan and manage education services by building capacity of national FSM and RMI Governments to improve education sector strategic planning, budget management, education data management, monitoring and evaluation, and policy formulation. Strong data management systems and utilization of evidence for decision-making are the focus efforts that will help strengthen strategic management, understanding, and utilization of limited education resources. Efforts are just beginning in FSM and RMI to review data, evaluating the appropriateness of the nation's education data systems, the soundness of processes used, whether manual or computerized, and evaluating reliability of inputs and the verifiability of data various points of entry.

 

The TA has achieved the following outputs:

Output 1: Strengthened education budget management. In the FSM and the RMI, capacity will be developed to build budgets based on priorities to support a better understanding of actual resources required to fund the system. Support to streamline PBB, a required budgeting system under the US Compact, will be linked to the overall government budgeting process. A user-friendly, streamlined manual for PBB will be developed in both countries.

 

Output 2: Improved education data management systems for better decision making. In the FSM and the RMI, studies have just begun on improvements to data quality and management systems. Consultation with governments to follow up on these reviews will determine the best options for implementing an improved data management system. In the FSM, improving the EMIS will include (i) developing EMIS capacity within the national and state departments of education to make system changes and address technical issues with the PEDMS; and (ii) integrating the PEDMS with current JEMCO indicators on the EMIS in coordination with secondary reviews. In the RMI, an entirely new, comprehensive, integrated EMIS will consider outer island connectivity and data issues. Both countries require capacity building on data collection, utilization, and analysis; and the data management systems should be able to generate more automated reports as a regular function. In RMI, the capacity of EMIS staff within the MOE to make system changes and address technical issues will be developed.