Ghana to replace periodic education surveys with real-time data system

The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has announced plans to pilot a register-based education statistics system aimed at transforming how the country collects and uses education data for planning and policymaking.

The initiative was discussed during a courtesy and working visit by a GSS delegation, led by Government Statistician Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, to the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, on Wednesday, July 22.

The meeting brought together officials from the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service (GES), the National Identification Authority (NIA) and the Ghana Statistical Service to discuss the implementation of the Pilot Register-Based Education Statistics Project.

"Our vision is simple but ambitious: to move from expensive, periodic data collection to a system where high-quality education statistics can be produced continuously from trusted administrative records. This will help Ghana answer critical questions in real time: Who is learning? Where are they? What are they studying? Which district and region are they in?" Dr. Iddrisu said in a social media post.

According to the Government Statistician, the project will enable authorities to track learners from the time they enter school through higher education and eventually into employment.

He said the system would help government deploy teachers more effectively, identify children at risk of dropping out, allocate resources fairly and improve planning across the education sector.

Dr. Iddrisu also disclosed that Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu had agreed to chair the project's Steering Committee, providing the leadership needed to drive the initiative.

He assured the public that the project would comply fully with Ghana's data protection laws, stressing that personal information would remain confidential and would only be used for statistical purposes.

"As we advance this work, I want to assure all Ghanaians that data protection, privacy and confidentiality remain non-negotiable. Personal records will remain securely protected. Only the minimum data required for statistical purposes will be used, in full compliance with the Statistical Service Act and the Data Protection Act," he stated.