TWO EASY-TO-USE

COMPUTER PROGRAMMES
ARE AVAILABLE
United Nations
Educational, Scientic and
Cultural Organization OpenEMIS
TO INTERACT

© UNESCO 2010
WITH THIS GENERIC
DATABASE:

OpenEMIS Builder: This programme The modules currently available in OpenEMIS User
allows database administrators to include the following:
adapt the generic tool to the • Educational Institution Management Module;
particular characteristics of a national • Educational Institution Directory Module;

© UNESCO 2008/ Abdelhak Senna

education system, to set parameters and
customize the elements of the information
system and to create the data input forms.
The software is used before deployment
and then once a year to adjust the system
to the data needs.
• Data Aggregation and Analysis Module;
• Export Module (including to GIS);
• User Rights Management Module;
• Data Collection and Dissemination Policy Module;
• Instant Messaging Module;
• Offline Module (for countries with weak IT
infrastructure).

OpenEMIS User: This is made of OpenEMIS thus consists of a comprehensive package

different modules to handle daily which can be quickly deployed and used in Member
operations at each level of the States. Moreover, additional customisation and
adaptations are made possible as UNESCO is providing
administrative structure of the educational
documented source code to Member States without
system. The modules allow the actual data restrictions, in addition to training and technical
inputs and queries, and the production of assistance upon request.
reports, charts and indicators. OpenEMIS
User can be installed down to the school
level, even in institutions without an CONTACT US
internet connection.
Section for Sector Planning and Emergency Responses Open Education
Division for Planning and Development of Education
Systems
Education Sector
Management
Information System
UNESCO
per@unesco.org
WHAT IS OpenEMIS? HOW DOES
Because reliable information to support the formulation
IT WORK?
of evidence-based and credible education policies and
OpenEMIS is built around a
plans is lacking, UNESCO has developed OpenEMIS to
address the needs of its Member States in this area. generic database structure which
is able to store data over several
OpenEMIS aims at facilitating the process of setting years. It also provides a software
up national information systems which are adapted to
programming environment
the needs of the education administration at central,
for the quick development of
regional and local levels. The flexibility of OpenEMIS
additional modules attuned to
allows for its use in a variety of developing country
contexts, with or without internet connection, and national contexts.
enables the transfer of data at all levels, from schools By default, the database stores
to ministries of education, through regional and local the administrative structures
administrative units. and education system structures
Issued without conditions or restrictions for use by defined by the country (down
Member States, OpenEMIS can readily be adapted to national curricula school
to the information needs of their education systems. subjects, by grade). Data can then
Source codes are available for all via the internet or be collected and processed down
upon request to UNESCO. WHAT CAN BE DONE WITH to the educational institution level. The system
handles and produces descriptive data, tabular
OpenEMIS? datasets (pupils, teaching and non-teaching staff,
Once adapted to the national education context, classes, buildings, rooms, equipment, textbooks)
OpenEMIS allows: and individual registers for pupils and teachers to
facilitate classroom management, if necessary.
• Improvement of data collection, processing, analysis
and information dissemination;

• Creation of easy-to-use forms for data entry and

storage of information;
• Facilitation of access to and manipulation of data
for the three types of data users: application
programmers, database administrators and end-users;
• Sharing of information in a multi-user environment;
and
• Exchange of information with other systems, such as
© UNESCO 2010
OpenEMIS has been piloted in Mongolia
in a representative sample of educational
institutions. A participatory approach
involving users from each administrative
level allowed UNESCO to incorporate user-
oriented functions into OpenEMIS for the

data warehouses, geographical information systems

(GIS), spreadsheets, etc. daily management of the education system