Government Statistician calls for sector specific statistics to drive institutional policy initiatives
Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, the government statistician, has called for a sector-specific statistic to drive institutional policy initiatives in Ghana.
He said designing and implementing policies based on intuition compromises the rationality of monitoring the outcomes and impact of the interventions.
The government statistician said this at an event to commemorate 2024 African Statistics Day on Monday, November 18, 2024, on the theme: “Supporting Education by Modernising the Production of Fit-for-Purpose Statistics.”
This year’s celebration highlights the indispensable role of accurate, timely, and accessible data in advancing education and shaping Ghana’s development agenda.
Prof. Kobina Annim said all government agencies in 2025 onwards must submit the basic minimum data they need as a sector to guide their data production and policy initiatives.
The government statistician called on all government agencies to collaborate with the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) to provide the needed data to influence and promote policies.
Dr. Faustina Frempong-Ainguah, Deputy Government Statistician, Social Population and Statistics, said traditional data collection methods, while foundational, were no longer sufficient in an era defined by rapid digitalisation and evolving educational challenges.
She said to keep pace with modern trends, the Ghana Statistical Service had adopted innovative approaches to statistical production.
The modern trends, she said, included the integration of real-time data collection technologies, digital census operations, and artificial intelligence-driven analysis tools, among others.
The Deputy Government statistician announced that the GSS was working to reduce the time lag between data collection and publishing of findings.
“With modern systems in place, education stakeholders can receive actionable insights faster, enabling them to respond to emerging challenges more speedily. To break barriers with modernisation efforts requires investing in human resources, building partnerships with the private sector, and fostering collaboration with educational institutions and other stakeholders to co-create solutions that align with our real-world needs,” she said.
Professor Johnson Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, Presiding Bishop, Methodist Church, said the commemoration of the day afforded stakeholders the needed opportunity to increase advocacy for support for major statistical operations, including censuses and surveys, at timely intervals.
He said education was the bedrock of societal development, noting that effective decision-making in the sector relied on robust, timely, and relevant data.
The Presiding Bishop said providing “fit-for-purpose” statistics equipped policymakers and educators with the insights necessary to address challenges like disparities in access, quality of learning, and resource allocation.
Source: GNA