The Education World Forum is happening in London under the theme New Beginnings: Nurturing Learning Culture, Building Resilience, Promoting Sustainability. Stronger, Bolder, Better Education by Design. With over 100 education ministers in attendance, they will discuss key challenges the education system faces, share the solutions and successes they achieved.

UNESCO reveals that, “A common obstacle preventing the alignment of a vision with a realistic target is the lack of regularly collected data of good quality on learning outcomes”.

In the pursuit of robust education systems, data plays a pivotal role. It is imperative that data is easily accessible, comprehensible, and solution-focused. Empowering leaders with data-driven evidence allows them to pinpoint the underlying issues and identify areas for improvement, providing a solid foundation to design effective solutions. 

In Rwanda, the education sector is evolving rapidly, and there is a growing demand for greater transparency and data-driven decision making. In response to this demand, Rwanda Education Quality Improvement Program (RwandaEQUIP), a tech-driven transformation program of the Government of Rwanda, is setting an example of how technology and real-time data can revolutionize the education sector.

With a focus on promoting transparency and data-driven decision making, RwandaEQUIP recently launched Spotlight, an innovative tool that is designed to promote digital transparency in classrooms and equip education leaders with actionable data insights in real-time. The ability to access real-time data empowers leaders to make informed decisions, optimize resources and improve outcomes for pupils.

Spotlight provides education leaders with easy access to critical aspects of school performance such as teacher and student attendance and performance, lesson completion and administrative functions. By organizing data into customizable categories, education leaders can selectively view a detailed analysis of specific areas, from a broader province level, all through district and sector level all the way down to school and individual teacher data.

RwandaEQUIP shares weekly reports on school performance with local government officials, as well as use the data to support conversations with head teachers on how to leverage technology to improve school management and coach teachers to teach effectively using technology.

Spotlight represents a significant step forward for the education sector, empowering education leaders with the tools they need to make data-driven decisions and optimize resources to promote positive change in their schools.  Armed with swaths of information, school leaders, government leaders are able to intervene and support any school requiring attention with precision, but also make broader scale interventions as required. The results of this data-led approach to learning transformation are unmistakable.

The results of this data-led approach to learning transformation are unmistakable. Within less than two years, teacher absenteeism dropped by over 50%, pupil attendance increased, and daily instructional time increased, leading to pupils learning more. Looking ahead, RwandaEQUIP has set ambitious targets for the future, such as expanding to 761 schools with over one million pupils in 2023.

As Rwanda participates at the Education World Forum, RwandaEQUIP’s utilization of tech innovations like Spotlight exemplifies the country’s unwavering dedication to integrating tech-driven education transformation, ultimately resulting in equitable learning gains and ensuring access to quality education for all children.