Implementing EMIS In Myanmar's Education Sector: An Essay.

Overview of Myanmar's Education System

The case study is about the current state of Myanmar’s education system and describes the rapid changes to poor education system as a result of the position of military rule that can overcome by implementing the Education Management Information System (EMIS). Myanmar is one of the poorest countries in the world located in Southeast Asia and it has the population of about 54 million (Reuters, 2013). Because of the recent transformation to civil society, the force for social and political change is stronger, but it is still the weakened state in education system and also need time to recover the present challenges.

Myanmar education system is lack of technology to collect data, analyze, and distribute the information quickly within the students, teachers and staff and also still has many challenges such as data allocation and management, insufficient human resources and financial background compared to neighborhood countries.

Moreover, the main problem is that the government hasn’t provided enough money to support the required information system and skilled pedagogies who can use the system very well. Software, hardware and IT infrastructure are not provided in the schools, universities and offices. To accomplish the work, all of the steps are done by manually and by using papers so these papers are very difficult to keep well and need a large space to store because of the lack of IT infrastructure in education system.

• Poor financial supports: Even though military government use over 50 percent of funds for defense affairs, very low funds were used for education (Oo, et. al., 2015)
• Lack of Technology and Technological Supports: Completely shortage of information system support and information technologies supports in the education system of the country.
• Insufficient skilled-workers: not enough human resources like skillful trainers or workers who can apply the installation hardware and use software computerized system in the education fields.
• Weak in centralization system: Because of outdated document processes, data collection is delayed.
• Poor Infrastructure: the schools and universities’ infrastructure have no networking and telecommunication system also most are non-modernized buildings that do not maintain or repair.

However, the Myanmar Ministry of Education started to solve all of the challenges by providing more budgets and effective information system and is putting with much effort. The increasing requirement of human capital, the Myanmar government has given priority to the education sector.

“The objective of proposing the idea of implementing the concept of EMIS is to fill the gaps which are seen in the education system of Myanmar” (Xia, 2016). The majority of schools are facing the problem of accessing text books, uniform, teaching style, and other requirement. Inadequacy can be seen in the infrastructure of the school. The discrimination is the major problem which can be seen in the education system of Myanmar. The conflicts can arise between minorities sectors. The effective teaching cannot be provided due to the overcrowding of student in schools. 

Information system plays a significant role in almost every sector of today organizations such as education, finance, government, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation and whether small and large business groups. In education sector, Education Management Information System (EMIS) is used to help a range of administrative measures that is an organized group of information and documentation services that collects, stores processes analyzes and disseminates information for educational planning and management (Villanueva, 2003).  

Challenges faced by Myanmar's Education System

“EMIS is also responsible to give a substantial aid in the efforts made to assess the performance of education system and monitor closely the equitable distribution of resources” (Tin, 2015). Take active part in providing information top management to activities such as deployment of teachers, student performance and assessment and internal efficiency of the education system, resource allocation and distribution of didactic materials to schools. It is important to realize that statistics is part of the EMIS system. Hence, statistics of formal, non-formal, early childhood, higher education, teacher training institutions and technical and vocational institutions all are under the responsibility of EMIS (Wako, 2003).

Hence, the collection, processing, analyzing and reporting of statistics in these areas remain the responsibility of EMIS center of the ministry of education. In the event that each department and sections of the ministry collects and compiles its own statistics, EMIS can obtain final products from each department or section for publication and use.

Therefore some of the challenges facing in education sector of Myanmar can solve by implementing Education Management Information System (EMIS). By applying this system, it will give the advantages on the education sector instead of using traditional outdated document process. The education system can be improved by involving the mechanism for public funding. The areas of the nation should be selected for giving priority in improving the education system.

• The activities of EMIS focuses on monitoring and evaluation of education system
• The distribution of responsibilities with associated participants
• The hierarchical structure facilitates the employees in the distribution of roles and responsibilities for smooth flow of communication.

Political - The 2015 elections in Myanmar brought civilian elites to the central government after five decades of regimes controlled by military elites. Although national reconciliation prospects are positive, the path to democratization is complex and involves different interest groups in the country and abroad (Ribeiro and Vieira, 2016). With an increasing need for human capital, the government of Myanmar has made the overhauling of the education system a national priority. With an enlarged budget, a new national education law and the removal of public school fees, major reform of the entire education sector is well under way. However, significant challenges remain (OBG, 2016)

Economic - Foreign investment accelerates and annual GDP growth hovers around 5%-7%, but the regulatory and business environments remain challenging and fluid. The education sector in Myanmar has suffered from chronic under-investment for decades which has led to poor teacher training, and inadequate facilities (Ministry of foreign affair of Denmark, 2016). Since the government does not provide enough money to schools which in retu1rn charge high tuition fees, many parents cannot afford to send their children to a school beyond primary level. One quarter of the country’s children leave primary school before the 5th grade (MOE, 2016). However the nominal budgets for the sector have increased fivefold in just five years accounting for approximately US$ 1.1 billion or roughly 2 percent of GDP in the financial year 2014/15 which is, however, still very low in a regional perspective (Ministry of foreign affair of Denmark, 2016).

Importance of Education Management Information System (EMIS)

Social - The current liberalization has seen a proliferation of self-help and community groups. While these groups were concentrated in Yangon in the early phase of liberalization, the last two years has seen their expansion down to local level. This group developed into a country-wide network with more than sixty civil society organizations both at central and local level, fighting against human rights abuses, land grabbing and in transparency. These groups organize voluntary and build solidarity.

Technological - Information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure has been developing steadily in countries around the world. Yet, despite generally wide ICT coverage in major cities, levels in rural areas is far from satisfactory; indeed, many people there still have no ICT access. “Differences in income, population size, and geography have created a digital divide between urban and rural areas, especially in Asia’s developing economies” (Shacklett, 2013). However, the government has pledged to raise the amount spent on education to 5.9% of the $19 billion total national budget for fiscal year 2014/15. Ministry of education (MOA) is trying to be able to use information and communication technology, which is changing and developing with the times, not only as a teaching technology but also as a learning technology.

The strategic planning of Myanmar involves the implementation of EMIS for developing a well-coordinated system for improving the condition of education system.

The SWOT analysis of Myanmar education system helps in improving the performance of the education system.

The analysis of the competitors involves the activities like importance given to the professional studies, increasing competitive advantage, development of online learning tools, and others. The EMIS is capable of developing a system which helps in remaining ahead of the competitors.

The education management information system focuses on gathering information requirement for the formulation of policy, allocation of resources, and capability of decision making in the direction of improving the condition of education sector. In the traditional system of education focus is not given on the partnership activities and open events. In the traditional system the information system is failed due to multiple problems occurred in business, operational process, and culture and structure. The government is not giving priority for preparing budget plan for the betterment of education system. The scheduling of time is not managed for giving training to the employees. The nation is facing the problem of coordination between different educational projects. The leadership plan is not developed for the domains categorized as business, organizational, and technical. The risks are associated with maintaining confidentiality of data and information.

SWOT Analysis and Competitor Analysis of Myanmar's Education System

“The working of the EMIS system in improving the condition of education system in Myanmar is depend on the management of flow of information between participating units” (Perkins, 2014). The top decision is responsible for making decision. The EMIS system is responsible for providing information services to all the participating authorities. The administrative channels are used for providing guidelines, directives, information demand, and administrative information. The flow of information should be developed for developing reports and other associated information. The higher authorities are responsible for managing set up of education system in Myanmar. The information should be passed between different information stages. The awareness programs should be organized for improving the quality of education system. “The exchange of information should takes place through different administrative channels and feedback system” (Win, 2015). The following diagram shows the implementation of DBMS for the storage of data.

The collection and processing of information should takes place for future consideration. The EMIS system works on keeping the record system of education sector updated. The awareness programs should be organized in schools, public meeting, gathering, and etc. The decision making capability of the top management can be improved. The better communication can be developed between the participating units. The EMIS focuses on gathering information requirement for the formulation of policy, allocation of resources, and capability of decision making. The environment can be changed according to the changing culture of the education sector. “The desired output can be received by implementing the concept of EMIS” (Wang, 2013). The modules which are associated with EMIS program are categorized as the administration of the survey by using the tools of data collection, layout development program, pre-testing, distribution, and publication, data analysis should be given on developing policies, compilation of reports, distribution and dissemination of authorities, deployment of networking and communication, hardware and software maintenance program, innovative leadership, deployment of planning and monitoring, and documentation. The EMIS system is capable of focusing on customers, involvement of total employee, development of process centered program, development of integrated system, development of systematic and strategic plan, continual improvement of program, improving the capability of decision making, and developing the flow of communication. The following figure shows the development of total quality management program for upgrading the education system in Myanmar.

The EMIS focuses on gathering information requirement for the formulation of policy, allocation of resources, and capability of decision making. “The planning and implementation of education policy can be focused on developing quantitative and qualitative information” (Tin, 2013). The working of the EMIS is based on phases like collection, processing, analysis, publication, distribution, dissemination, and feedback. The strategies are developed according to the operational need of the ministry. The decentralization of activities which are related with enhancing the education environment are sharing of authority and responsibility, processing, data collection, distribution, publication, reporting, and dissemination. The proper management of activities should be maintained between manpower, financial availability, and manpower. The salaries of the teaching staff should be increased. The focus should be given on what to collect, where to store, what are the functional and non-functional requirements,   how the EMIS system get implemented. The investigation report should be prepared for plan and associated research work. “The working procedures should be established between incompletion of activities” (Yee, 2015). The data is collected, analyzed, and interpreted according to the requirement of the education system. The figure below show the process structure:

“The development of the strategic plan is the important phase for the implementation of the EMIS” (Zobrist, 2013). The life cycle of data collection involves the activities like planning, evaluation, monitoring, research, and training. “The correlation between these activities helps in achieving goal of improving the condition of education in Myanmar” (Tollens, 2016). The objective is to develop a strategic plan for the implementation of EMIS for achieving the high performance of sustaining educational program in Myanmar. The focus should be given on deploying the student portal for easy accessibility of student profile. The development of the strategic plan depends on knowing the vision, goal, knowing the environmental condition for analyzing the feedback of information, the current state of the education system should be analyze, focus should be given on improving the quality and quantity of the educational program, and the detailed plan should be developed for implementing the EMIS in Myanmar. The key factors which are responsible for the success of the project plan is to develop a well co-ordinated working process structure, plan to plan implementation of EMIS, corrective measures should be taken, and developing the strategy for collecting feedback.

The table below shows the description of strategic plan and activities required for the implementation of EMIS:

The performance of the EMIS in the education sector can be measured in terms of knowing the area which has been improved and enhanced by the EMIS system. “The success of tackling the challenges is key measurement of knowing the success of the proposed plan” (Lu, 2015). The goal of the EMIS is to change the working culture of the education system which helps in improving the condition of education sector in Myanmar. The follow up mechanism should be used for monitoring the progress of the education sector. The decentralized system is implemented for the working of the data process function. The EMIS is responsible for carrying out the activities related to the data processing. The analysis of data is done in the form of generating annual abstracts reports, indicator reports, and quick references. The qualitative indicators are responsible for producing quantitative outputs. The EMIS system focuses on user requirement, collaboration, assistance, communication, self-learning program, and others. The proposed system helps in filling the gap analyzed in the traditional education system.

From the research and analysis, it has been concluded that the overall performance of the education system can be improved by the implementation of EMIS functions, helps in producing qualitative and quantitative outputs, helps in determining the program activities achieving the objectives, data collection methodologies are used for collecting and storing information, and others. The decentralization of activities which are related with enhancing the education environment are sharing of authority and responsibility, processing, data collection, distribution, publication, reporting, and dissemination. “The workload can be divided between participating units” (Melgar, 2014). The accuracy can be achieved in managing the scheduling of dates. The following figure shows the working program of EMIS: By applying this system, it will give the advantages on the education sector instead of using traditional outdated document process.

In the implementation of EMIS, the focus is given on the user. “The sustainable working program for improving the education system in Myanmar can be established” (Hayden, 2016). The decision making capability of the government and non-government agencies can be enhanced. The feedback information system helps in developing enhanced educational environment. “The regular training program should be scheduled for associated stakeholders” (Kraus, 2013). The capacity of the national education system can be improved by the implementation of EMIS in providing accuracy in the decision making capability of the government. The deployment of information system helps in improving the overall performance of the education system. The flow of work can be managed on the continuous development program. “The effective planning can be achieved by the utilization of change management program” (Mirwis, 2011). The quality of the system components can be improved by the administration of survey, information related to feedback report, techniques for monitoring and evaluation program, reviewing of information services, and etc. The decision makers works on improving the condition of the education system. The EMIS is used for defining, recording, querying, updating, management and organization of data in a database management system. The data is stored in the structured format in the relational database, hierarchical deployment, flat files implementation, and object oriented database. The EMIS focuses on reducing the paper work. The employees are provided with specific training. The employee’s skills should be tested for recruiting the new and skilled employees. The deployment of management chain helps in making the operation easier. The information system helps increasing the ranking of education system in Myanmar. The hierarchical structure facilitates the employees in the distribution of roles and responsibilities for smooth flow of communication. The low level management focuses on improving the number of workers associated with the proposed project plan. The efficiency of the job can be improved with the fundamentals of education management information system. The focus should be given on deploying the student portal for easy accessibility of student profile. The figure below shows the implementation of EMIS in improving the condition of education system in Myanmar.

The problem of providing hardware, software, and information system can be overcome with the implementation of EMIS. The government takes step forward in reforming the education system of the Myanmar. The EMIS system designed for the implementation of better co-ordinated infrastructure, public meeting management program, development of cost, development of strategy, and etc. The figure below shows the management of services provided to student in improving the education culture in Myanmar by giving preferences on independent variable, dependent variable, and intervening variables:

Conclusion

The objective of proposing the idea of implementing the concept of EMIS is to fill the gaps which are seen in the education system of Myanmar. The education management information system is the recommended software for improving the condition of education system in Myanmar. The priority should be given on developing the well-structured infrastructure, providing public funding, and allocation of budget. The internet technologies are used for bringing significant changes. The EMIS system is responsible for providing information services to all the participating authorities. The long term benefit can be gained through the implementation of EMIS. “The administrative and decision making capabilities of the government can be enhanced by the implementation of EMIS” (Buhalis, 2017). The desired qualitative and quantitative outputs can be achieved by using the concept of proposed system. The decentralization of activities which are related with enhancing the education environment are sharing of authority and responsibility, processing, data collection, distribution, publication, reporting, and dissemination. The attitudes and skill should be developed for giving training to the teaching staffs. It provides an open forum for improving the economic condition of the nation. The education system can be improved by involving the mechanism for public funding. The areas of the nation should be selected for giving priority in improving the education system. The collection, processing, analyzing and reporting of statistics in these areas remain the responsibility of EMIS center of the ministry of education. The coordination of activities helps in achieving the desired result of improving the condition of education system in Myanmar. The EMIS system works on keeping the record system of education sector updated. The attitudes and skill should be developed for giving training to the teaching staffs. It provides an open forum for improving the economic condition of the nation.

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