Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE), in partnership with New Leaders Foundation, are training Circuit Managers on Data Driven Districts Dashboard (DDD), from all 12 districts, from the 02 – 05 May at the Education Leadership Institute in East London.

Institutional Management Development and Governance, Chief Director, Thembisa Futshane, welcomed all 104 circuit managers and all management present, Futshane excitedly says: “This is the 1^st group to be trained in the Eastern Cape on the DDD Dashboard, so essentially you are pioneers, that means you have a huge responsibility to set the bar very very high for the rest that will follow.”  Futshane went on to say, “It is very important to fully utilize this opportunity, and depending on how we implement this, change should be eminent.”

DDD which is managed by New Leaders Foundation officially introduced this programme to the Eastern Cape in 2016, through a summit that was held at the Education Leadership Institute.  DDD Dashboard is a data visualization tool that will assist the Eastern Cape hugely, in terms of identifying shortfalls or problem areas at schools up to the level of the whole province.  When speaking to Emmanuel Sibanda –  Provincial Programme Manager of DDD Programme in Mpumalanga explained, “We are here to empower Circuit Managers on how to be hands-on on the DDD Dashboard in their daily duties.”  “We want Circuit Managers to utilize the DDD Dashboard when having meetings and to assist with reports.”  Overall our target is to assist the Eastern Cape, to monitor their overall performance and in so doing they can tackle problem areas, through the information they get on DDD Dashboard, before schools hit rock bottom.” 

Deputy Director General of Institutional Operations Management (IOM), Raymond Tywakadi, highlighted important factors of a system that Education is working towards which are as follows

• Put learners at the center
• Embrace Inclusivity
• Transparency regarding the learning outcomes
• High levels of Accountability
• Deconstruct our understanding of performance
• Be a data driven system at all levels for more efficient decision making
• Evidence based reporting
• Improved coordination of systems at all levels

Tywakadi went on to encourage circuit managers by saying, “Take this programme seriously, we have a duty to deliver quality education to all learners in the Eastern Cape, and this is one way you can definitely help to make a difference in your circuit.” He cautioned managers saying, “We are running a system that is highly underdeveloped, because we are refusing to move forward, my challenge to you is to put your heads together and work on this Data Driven Districts, because by using data you can identify improvement areas in the districts and schools, together with a whole host of other benefits.”

Training for all 104 circuit managers will commence today and is being delivered by New Leaders Foundation.  A very exciting week is to follow with key note addresses from our Honorable MEC and our Enthused SG.