The Education Management Information System (EMIS) was formally launched at the Education Towers, #5 St Vincent Street, Port of Spain on Friday 29th November 2019. This new digital system will afford full automated management of our teaching and learning environments and provide real time data to support decision making at all levels. At the click of a mouse, Principals, teachers, parents and students will now be able to access information on student attendance, class schedules, correspondence, student information, books, and an additional suite of functions that will continuously be rolled out from Monday 2nd December 2019.
The EMIS is but one of the initiatives which the Ministry of Education plans to implement to improve efficiency and service delivery at every level of the education system. The new IT solution, which was identified as a priority area in the Education Policy Paper (2017-2022) is intended to foster a higher degree of accountability and transparency.
While delivering the Feature Address, Minister of Education the Honourable Anthony Garcia reiterated the significance of the innovation and noted, “This system is going to transform the delivery of education and with this transformation we will be able to hold our head high and ensure that in Trinidad and Tobago, our education system is second to none.”
Outlining that the conceptualization and creation of this world class system was developed solely through the efforts of the staff of the Ministry, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education Dr. the Honourable Lovell Francis commented on the cost saving and efficiency that this programme will afford. He said, “The initial cost that was projected to develop this programme was in the vicinity of seventy-five million dollars and in light of the economic constraints, the Ministry took the decision to look in-house and identify the required talent to create what you see here today. This system was developed by harnessing the skills of Ministry staff.” Both Ministers praised the staff of the Ministry of Education for their commitment to changing the perception of citizens relative to the skills, abilities and work ethics of public servants.
The comprehensive EMIS is the direction in which the Ministry of Education will support the Ministry’s thrust for implementing school-based management. The training of Principals and teachers in the effective use of the system will be facilitated through the ICT Technicians assigned to schools. EMIS is but one of at least 30 new ICT projects currently being rolled out by the Ministry to improve efficiency and improved service delivery to all stakeholders.
Members of the public can visit the Ministry’s Facebook page at Ministry of Education-TT to see an interactive video on the functions of the new programme.