In a significant stride towards enhancing the quality of education in Ghana, Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has inaugurated the School Licensing and Inspection Management System (SLIMS), a groundbreaking initiative by the National Schools Inspectorate Authority (NaSIA).
The launch, which took place yesterday at the Alisa Hotel Accra, aims to modernize educational administration in both private and public schools. Its objective is to bolster efficiency and transparency by streamlining inspection planning and execution, automating report generation, and ensuring immediate and transparent transactions.
Addressing the gathering, Vice President Dr. Bawumia commended NaSIA for its innovative endeavors in transforming education regulation through SLIMS. He remarked, “The system fundamentally embodies the Government’s commitment to leveraging technology to revolutionize education and ensure that every child in Ghana accesses high-quality education.”
Dr. Bawumia emphasized the significant role of private education providers in Ghana’s educational landscape, acknowledging a historical lack of regulation before 2017.
The NPP administration, as outlined in its 2016 manifesto, pledged to enhance collaboration with the private sector for quality education delivery. This commitment materialized through the establishment of NaSIA, entrusted with overseeing private schools.
“In 2017, when the Akufo-Addo-led administration set out to fulfill the promises we made in our 2016 Manifesto, this included shifting the structure and content of our education system. We have clothed the National Schools Inspectorate Authority (NaSIA) with the needed regulatory powers for efficient supervision and regulation of pre-tertiary schools. This has empowered, strengthened, and equipped the Authority as an independent body to fully carry out its mandate leading to the development of SLIMS,” Dr. Bawumia stated.
The Inspector General of Schools at NaSIA, Dr. Hilda Haggar Ampadu, expressed gratitude for the government and stakeholders’ support in implementing SLIMS.
She noted, “The launch of SLIMS signifies a significant milestone in our journey towards enhancing educational quality and accountability in Ghana. This system will streamline our inspection and licensing processes, alleviate constraints due to limited resources and cumbersome procedures, and empower schools with the tools necessary to enhance teaching and learning outcomes.”
Before the Authority’s comprehensive digitalization initiative in June 2019, school inspections were labor-intensive and manual, resulting in excessive paperwork and significant delays in generating inspection reports.
The licensing process was equally burdensome, hindering progress. To address these challenges, the Authority revamped its Inspection Evaluation Framework (IEF), Inspection Handbook, and digitized forms.
This overhaul markedly streamlined the inspection process, reducing the average inspection time per school from a week to just a day, and condensing the inspection report length from 46 pages to a concise 10 pages.
Currently, the Authority has successfully implemented the Inspection and Licensing Modules, with the remaining three modules in progress, promising further enhancements for seamless processes.
SLIMS will be accessible through password-controlled login and will feature mini dashboards for schools to monitor their progress and seamlessly submit data to the Ministry of Education’s dashboard.