Monitoring and Evaluating Learning Outcomes…key to education planning.

The long awaited project on ‘Literacy and Numeracy Assessment in Nigeria’ kicked off on Monday 21st October 2019 with an elaborate opening ceremony at National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration Ondo. The project which is a collaboration between NIEPA and International Institute for Education Planning, Paris and International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, Netherlands

Delivering her opening remarks, Director General NIEPA, Professor Lilian Salami represented by Coordinator of Programmes, Dr. Mrs Olatoun Akinsolu, informed the audience that this super collaboration with both International and local Development Partners is engineered towards delivering effective and quality education by researching into how Nigeria can start up a system level learning assessment for education planning. As at today, Nigeria does not have a National Learning Assessment program that feeds back into the education planning system. This then means, the database used by planners and ministry officials are inadequate for the essentials of quality planning. She harped on the fact that, the outcome of this project would inform critical policy decisions in the education sector.

Speaking introspectively during the opening ceremony of the 5-day project on learning assessment, Mr. Sebastian Meyer representing International Association for Education Achievement (IEA) noted that the project aims to initiate a transformation towards system level assessment in Nigeria. He further added that the project would also involve capacity development of education officers, education professionals and the conduct of learning assessment in 18 states in Nigeria.

Head, Training and Education programmes, UNESCO IIEP; Mioko Saito  in her welcome remarks said that the main objective of the training is to review various ways of monitoring and evaluating learning outcomes. She reiterated that, participants upon completion of the project, will be able to recognize learning assessment as one of the approaches to monitor learning, identify characteristics of various learning assessment and share practical experience on learning assessments in their states and projects”.

Other goodwill messages were delivered by representatives of organizations like Project on Learning Assessment (PLAN), UBEC and UNICEF.

The well attended event was also graced by the Ag. Registrar, Mrs. Abimbola Fayanju; Ag. Head, Research Department, Dr. Samson Oyeromi; Ag. Head, Training Department, Dr. Sunday Adegbesan and other Management staff of the institute.

The Training Project is slated to run for five (5) days in the following areas.