While the South African schooling system has made necessary gains in terms of improving quality learning outcomes in recent years, a connection between education data and policy making processes is eminent, according to the Director-General, Mr Mathanzima Mweli. Director-General Mweli shared his sentiment during the DBE Data Summit 2024, which took place at The Galleria Conference and Event Centre in Sandton, Gauteng Province from 18-19 September 2024.  The Data Summit was intended to create a knowledge-sharing opportunity to ensure strengthened data systems, specifically the South African School Administration and Management Systems (SA-SAMS), the Learner Unit Record Information and Tracking System (LURITS), and the Data Driven District (DDD) Dashboard, in support of curriculum, district management and learner outcomes. The previous Summit was held in the Gauteng Province in 2017.

 During the summit plenary on day 1, various data experts reflected on global, African and South African trends, challenges and learning in the field of data and data usage in the Education Sector. The participants then diverged into various breakaway sessions where they embarked on a knowledge exploratory exercise focusing specifically on education data and its usage. Several topics that were tabled for discussion during the breakaway session included understanding and improving data collection, management and use in South African education; exploring the role, power and potential of governmental and public/private collaboration in improved data administration; building trust: strategies for improving data quality and credibility in Basic Education; and predictive analytics and its role in forecasting educational outcomes.

The summit was graced by local and international keynote speakers who shared critical insights to be considered in charting a way forward in terms of urging schools to become data-driven in the delivery of quality education. Director-General Mweli; Regional Director of Education International, Dr Dennis Sinyolo; Founding Executive Director of Datadrive2030, Dr Sonja Giese; EdTech entrepreneur and Founder of IT Varsity, Dr Bilal Kathrader; Author of Disrupt Yourself or be Disrupted, Ms Nicky Verd; and Technology Vice President at Ed-Fi Alliance, Dr Eric Jansson, were amongst key speakers who addressed the Summit. The speakers highlighted that data use in the Basic Education Sector must be championed across all levels of the schooling system to make it a point that policy makers share common ground on the subject matter.  The speakers further urged the DBE to mobilise the private sector, particularly the network companies to assist the Government in increasing ICT connectivity in schools.

In his address, Director-General Mweli indicated that the Basic Education Sector has seen use of data and data technologies increasing exponentially over the years, with rapidly accelerating trends such as content digitalization, virtual collaboration, hybrid learning, blended teaching methods, microlearning and more. “The world of data, the systems that manage it, and the culture that drives it, is all very different to what it was when we gathered at the last Data Summit, five years ago. But the potential that data holds – and the value we can unlock by using it intelligently – is bigger than ever. The Summit is an essential opportunity to reflect on how our existing data systems support curriculum and district management, in alignment with our vision for a data-driven culture in the Department. This initiative is a platform for you to engage on the current data infrastructure, discuss best practices and develop shared goals for the support and improvement of the DBE’s data systems,” affirmed the Director-General. He further acknowledged the commitment shown by the PEDs; New Leaders Foundation; and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF) in promoting a data-driven culture in the education sector.