Question

Describe how to develop a simple school information management systems.

answer in about 1100 words, and coding if necessary

Answer 1

`Hey,

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School records are documented evidence of what a school does. School records contain data and information about various aspects of a school’s operations, including data about its students, teachers, classes, facilities and finances. The main purpose of a SRMS is to systematically record, store and update the school’s records.

The information from the SRMS is used to support evidence-based management of the school. School managers regularly make decisions about their school’s operations. To make good decisions, school managers need information that is up-to-date and accurate. A SRMS helps school managers to systematically collect, store and analyse information about their school so they have relevant and reliable information readily available to support decisions they make in running the school.

People who are responsible for making education policy – and for planning and managing the education system – realize that both the quantity and quality of data needed to support evidence-based decisions improve when schools systematically maintain and use school records.

Furthermore, improving data and information management in schools is crucial to decentralized management and accountability in the education system. The implementation of a SRMS can help to distribute accountability throughout the school system, and enable the schools to better inform and cooperate with their local communities.

A School Records Management System typically involves the following eight activities (see Figure 1):

1. Creation – beginning a new record and starting to record data and information, for example creating a student record card for a new student.
2. Storage – keeping the records in an organized manner so they can be accessed by authorized people but kept secure from unauthorized access, loss or damage.
3. Update – adding new information to a record or modifying existing information in a record.
4. Retrieval – searching for, locating and extracting records from storage.
5. Use – applying information from the records to help make management and policy decisions.
6. Appraisal and retention– determining whether and how long a record should be:
   • retained for active use;
   • archived; or
   • disposed of.
7. Archiving – storing inactive records so they can be later retrieved for use.
8. Disposal – discarding, deleting or destroying a record.

Figure 1. Activities in a typical SRMS Retention Update Appraisal Creation Storage Archival Retrieve & Use Disposal

In a school, the SRMS has to involve various school staff to systematically record data and information about different aspects of the school’s operations. They use specific, pre-designed school record forms and follow procedures that are defined by school regulations and requirements. Different staff can be responsible for different school records and procedures in recording, storing, updating and retrieving information. At the end of each school year, the records that have been accumulated are appraised to determine which records should be retained, archived or disposed of.

A good SRMS is characterized by organized classification and filing of the school records in a way that makes it easy to search, access, retrieve and use the recorded data and information. Records about the same topic or issue are grouped and arranged in a logical order, such as by alphabetical order, chronological order, or sorted by other criteria. For example, individual student records can be classified and filed by grade, class or subject. Teacher records can be sorted according to years of service, and school facilities by type of facilities, etc.

If the information is recorded on paper, each file will group together all relevant supporting documents such as detailed inventories, receipts, invoices, payment records, copies of important correspondence and other related documents. If the records are computerized, such paper evidences can be scanned and stored in electronic format.

Computers can help to manage school records by storing information in a way that allows for rapid sorting, searching and retrieval of data. Besides reducing the use and handling of papers, an additional advantage of a computerized system is that it can help to analyse the recorded data and quickly generate various summary statistics, performance indicators, tables and graphs, and even detailed school management information such as lists of students and teachers who were absent on a specific day, or list of equipments needing repair, etc. Computers can also be used to archive inactive school records in electronic form such as on CD-ROMs, DVDs or other media, for efficient storage and retrieval.

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