The Gombe State Government has adopted a data-driven digital approach to enhance education planning and resource management ahead of the 2024/2025 Annual School Census.
The Director of Planning, Research and Statistics at the Gombe State Ministry of Education, Mallam Abdulmumuni Umar, disclosed this while speaking with newsmen during the opening ceremony of a training programme for school census enumerators in Gombe.
Umar said the exercise marks a major step toward evidence-based decision-making in the state’s education sector.
“As part of this effort, 360 enumerators are undergoing a four-day digital training facilitated by 36 expert trainers from the Ministry of Education and its partners,” he stated.
He explained that the initiative represents a transition from traditional paper-based surveys to a fully digital system designed to ensure accuracy, transparency, and real-time data tracking.
“This will help us understand where our schools stand and what they truly need,” he added.
According to him, the school census — mandated by the Federal Ministry of Education — will cover all public schools across the state, including 155 senior secondary schools, 338 junior secondary schools, and 176 primary schools, each with a unique digital identification code.
He noted that data generated from the census will guide strategic decisions on school infrastructure, staffing, and enrolment management across Gombe State.
Umar further disclosed that the ongoing training would conclude this week, after which enumerators will commence a 14-day field data collection exercise across all 11 local government areas of the state.
He said the 2024/2025 school census builds on the gains of last year’s exercise conducted with support from the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project, noting that this year’s exercise would be even more comprehensive.
In his remarks, Dr. Gambo Aliyu, Permanent Member of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), said the government had tripled the budget for this year’s census to strengthen data accuracy and promote technological innovation.
“This census is not just about counting students; it’s about understanding the state of our education system — from classrooms and furniture to teacher distribution. The insights we gain will directly inform policy and funding priorities,” he said.
Aliyu added that two advanced digital platforms — the Basic Education Management Information System (BEMIS) and the District Health Information System (DHIS) — would be deployed to ensure precision and integration of data with national databases.
