New Equipment to Assist Education Ministry with Information Management
1 November 2013
Planning for better education outcomes is the aim of the Ministry of Education’s online portal, which today received new IT equipment from the Access to Quality Education Program (AQEP), an Australian aid initiative.
The equipment, consisting of four servers worth F$80,000, is intended to help run the Fiji Education Information Management System (FEMIS).
FEMIS is a web-based application combining information on schools, students and staff into a single online portal for use by education officials, teachers and students.
Launched in February, FEMIS has information on over 10,000 staff, 900 schools and 100,000 Literacy and Numeracy Assessment results.
Using FEMIS, ministry officials and teachers will be able to identify and respond to trends in student attendance and exam performance, as well as school finances and infrastructure management. Students will also be able to access study resources and homework online, reducing paperwork and using teaching resources more efficiently.
For schools without internet access, district offices will distribute reports via a paper-based system to ensure they also benefit from FEMIS data analysis.
There are presently 2,500 active FEMIS users, a number expected to increase dramatically when 100,000 students join within two years.
Presenting the equipment to the Ministry of Education’s Deputy Secretary Professional Mrs Kelera Taloga, Acting Australian High Commissioner Glenn Miles voiced the Australian Government’s continued commitment to contributing to a quality education for Fiji’s students.
“We are pleased to be able to support the Ministry’s efforts to make quality education accessible for all. When officials and teachers have the information they need for effective school management and professional development, and when students have access to eLearning, the end result is a quality education,” said Mr Miles.
AQEP Team Leader and Senior Education Advisor Dr Priscilla Puamau added the new equipment will inform AQEP’s efforts to support schools in addressing absenteeism.
“The equipment will ensure that the Program gets quality data on student attendance which will enable us to work directly with at least 105 AQEP-supported primary schools to identify reasons for student absenteeism and proactively work at keeping students in school,” Dr Puamau said.
The servers have a life expectancy of six years and will be hosted by the Fiji Government ITC.
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For clarifications or further information contact: The Public Affairs Section, Australian High Commission, Suva. Tel: (679)3382211 – Ext 246 Fax: (679) 3382065