Ethiopia

In November 2025, UNICEF Ethiopia partnered with the HISP Centre at the University of Oslo and HISP Ethiopia to support the Ministry of Education and Regional Education Bureaus in collecting, analysing and using both individual and aggregate education data for planning and decision-making. The work is anchored in the Holistic School Improvement Programme and its Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) component, implemented with Imagine One Day, Light for the World and TaRL Africa in four regions: South Ethiopia, Southwest Ethiopia Peoples’, Oromia and Benishangul-Gumuz.

A February 2026 field visit to pilot schools found TaRL assessment data recorded on paper, duplicated across attendance, EMIS and TaRL forms, with no school holding a complete learner register. In response, HISP Ethiopia has built a TaRL Data Management System on DHIS2 Tracker with three linked programmes. The Student programme registers each child once and follows their placement in literacy and numeracy learning groups across baseline, midline and endline assessments, alongside psychosocial support received. The Teacher programme records training, assessment scores and mentoring by Leaders of Practice. The School programme tracks inclusive-education infrastructure and community feedback mechanisms. Built-in validation rules check that school summary totals match the learners recorded in each competency group before data can be saved.

The system was launched with regional trainings in Konso (South Ethiopia, June 2026) and Mizan (Southwest Ethiopia, July 2026), bringing together 39 staff from the Ministry, regional bureaus, zonal and woreda offices, pilot schools and partners. Current priorities are ongoing support to pilot schools, user manuals, bulk learner import, and integration with the Ministry’s national EMIS so that TaRL data feeds into routine sector reporting.