Minimum Education Standards

This indicator assesses to what extent the education services that your organisation supports meet the Minimum Education Standards (MES) and are therefore likely to benefit students. MES usually cover one or more of the following 5 areas: 1) children's wellbeing and learning, 2) teacher performance, 3) school management, 4) community engagement and 5) school infrastructure.

*This is a Global Results Framework indicator. 

Result Statement: Increased % of schools meeting the Minimum Education Standards

Determine the indicator's value by using the following methodology:

1) Data collection uses several methods, such as interviews with the school director and teachers, classroom observations, attending parent-teacher association (PTA) meetings and documents review.

2) Develop separate monitoring checklists with step-by-step guidance covering all 5 areas: children's wellbeing and learning, teacher performance, school management, community engagement and school infrastructure. Use the checklist to monitor your target schools (see the examples in the attachement below). Define in advance how many / which points the school needs to meet to be considered as meeting locally-agreed Minimum Education Standards. 

3) MES should be monitored at two levels:

  > If possible, local education authorities should take the lead in MES performance monitoring. Your organisation may need to provide technical and material support to the official monitors and perform independent checks.

  > Target schools also conduct regular independent self-assessment of their own performance against the MES.

4) Calculate the number and % of supported schools meeting locally-agreed Minimum Education Standards. 

1) In most contexts, the MES have to be developed by the implementing organisation through a participatory process involving local authorities, school management, and all other relevant educational stakeholders, such as teachers, students and parents. MES should always be based on existing governmental standards and policies, either by translating them into specific school-level measures, or expanding their scope by adding new components. MES usually cover one or more of the following 5 areas: 1) children's wellbeing and learning, 2) teacher performance, 3) school management, 4) community engagement and 5) school infrastructure.

2) The MES should always be promoted, monitored and evaluated in close cooperation with local education authorities and schools to ensure their ownership and MES sustainability. Below you can find an example of MES and an MES monitoring checklist used by People in Need (PIN) in Ethiopia.