PEAS and the Directorate of Education Standards (DES) inspectors in Uganda have co-designed a digital tool that findings suggest reduces inspection submission time by 97%.
The tool was created as part of our Inspect and Improve programme, which brings together district education officers and school leaders with PEAS to improve school leadership and management in schools. The programme was created as we believe all students deserve a quality education, not just students at PEAS schools which is why we partner with governments to strengthen education systems. And by 2026, we plan to improve secondary provision at a national level in Uganda.
How will the tool be used?
After training, school inspectors are now preparing to use the new digital inspection tool. The tool, now in the design and testing phase, will increase access to data and enable evidence-based prioritisation of existing resources to schools that most need support.
The tool significantly improves efficiency, as inspection reports are completed and delivered to schools within one to two days instead of one to four months.
The tool is user-friendly for inspectors and school leaders and works offline, supporting the delivery of inspection in environments challenged with internet accessibility.
We spoke to Joseph Mwegombi, System Strengthening Specialist at PEAS Uganda, to find out more about the tool and how it will help more young people in Uganda access a quality education.
What is the digital inspection tool?
The digital inspection tool combines the DES’ inspection template and PEAS’ School Improvement Plan (SIP) approach. The two components have been put together into one digital platform to support inspectors with the inspection process as well as to help them implement SIP recommendations by the school leaders digitally.
How is it different to how inspections took place before?
Before inspections were conducted using hard copies and it took a long time (often up to four months) to generate informative reports to support decision-making at regional and national levels by DES. Secondly, at the school level, the inspector’s involvement ended on the day of the inspection and the next visit (which would come a year later) would be another round of inspection. The new approach provides follow-up on action points at the school level by the inspection team throughout the year.
How will the digital inspection tool make inspections easier?
The digital approach will remove almost all time spent writing up inspections beyond the inspection day and mean much more timely delivery of reports. An inspection report for a given school can be accessed at the regional and national levels at the end of an inspection day. This will make it possible for informed decisions to be made by stakeholders. Inspectors as end users of the tool will find it more effective to write and share their reports both with the school and at regional levels.
Where will the tool be used?
The inspection tool will be used by inspectors, school leaders, and regional and national-level managers. Inspectors will use the tool as they conduct inspections in schools. Then the SIP will be used by school leaders to set priorities and track progress at the school level. In terms of oversight and holding them to account, the beauty is that the inspector at the regional and national levels will also be able to check and track the level of progress of the schools because they will have access to these updated SIPs remotely.