The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has unveiled a Teacher Management Information System (TMIS) to enhance the management of the teaching workforce and collection of administrative data in six states.
The UNICEF Country Education Specialist, Murtala Mohammed, made this known during a one-day workshop for stakeholders on TMIS in Kano.
The TMIS, is a system that supports the monitoring of teachers’ licensing, appointments, placements, transfers, evaluations, promotions, and terminations as well as provide an accurate and timely overview of the teaching workforce in the country.
”The aim of the system is to develop a scorecard in education in Kano, Katsina, Bauchi, Kaduna, Sokoto and Zamfara, with a view to make improvement where necessary.
“It will also enable the states to know which community needs what kind of teachers,” he said
Mohammed said that TMIS would provide comprehensive data on teachers qualification, postings, subjects, promotion and training needs, among others.
“The quality of data determines the quality of education policy. So, wrong data can affect the policy,” he said.
Mohammed noted that huge amount of budget goes to infrastructure in the education sector by states.
“How does that assist in addressing learning poverty and learning process. Learning poverty is inability of a child to read and write at the age of ten.
“When you invest in teachers, you need to monitor and mentor them to improve the quality of learning,” he said.
In her remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Kano State Ministry of Education, Lauratu Ado, commended UNICEF for initiating the programme.
She stressed the importance of teachers saying, “teachers are the drivers of the education system”.
Ado said the TMIS will assist in addressing some challenges in posting and redeployment of teachers in the state.
