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Education Management Information System (EMIS) is a vital tool for providing quality data for policy formulation, decision-making, resource allocation, monitoring, and evaluation of the performance of education system (Hidayat & Wahab, 2019; USAID, 2011). EMIS is a repository of data, computer applications, software, and hardware that collect, process, analyse, store, publish, and manage information for educational functions (Bernbaum & Moses, 2011; Martins et al., 2019). Korde (2018) refers to EMIS as a centralised data repository capable of not only gathering and storing data but also analyzing and generating relevant reports. Besides, EMIS facilitates the implementation of education policies and practices (Bojte, 2019). A well-functioning EMIS can provide efficient information to all levels of education delivery and enhance monitoring and evaluation of the performance of education systems (Chowdhury & Salahuddin, 2017). As a result, education institutions are looking forward to management information systems, resources, and services that deliver maximum benefits to students, teachers, school management (Riswandi, 2017) and other stakeholders including national governments, sub-national offices, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) (Iyengar et al., 2016).
Functional and effective EMIS require the right technology, right people and the right processes. EMIS project implementations are confronted with skilled and technical staff, difficulties in collection of data, poor system functionality, lack of timely and reliable production and dissemination of information to meet the needs of the users and other stakeholders (Bhatti et al., 2013; Kirchner, 2015). Laudon and Laudon (2014) observe that an organization’s information systems’ success depends on its people, structure, business processes, politics, and culture (Laudon & Laudon, 2014). Abdul-Hamid et al. (2017) identify leadership, data quality, operational, and technology challenges as militating factors against successful EMIS implementation. Additional challenges relate to use of technology, low literacy (Iyengar et al., 2016), lack of participation, inadequate funding, and top-down leadership-driven institutional culture (Yaokumah, Brown, & Adjei, 2015). These factors impede on the development, efficiency and effectiveness of EMIS success (Bernbaum & Moses, 2011). For example, a recent Human Capital Index (HCI) study estimates that about 56 per cent of Ghana’s human capital may go waste in the next 18 years due to ineffective management of education system (World Bank Group Education Report, 2018). To address these challenges and to improve the quality of education, the Ministry of Education deploys the use of EMIS to deliver quality information that will support educational planning and management. Accordingly, it is expected that efficient and effective use of EMIS will enable quality delivery of educational services (Baymuldin, Shakirova, & Savchenko, 2013).