Pan-African Institute for Education for Development (IPED, is a specialized institution of the African Union, tasked with the responsibility to function as Africa’s Education Observatory. This is a central role in ensuring quality, responsive, and inclusive education development in Africa based on sound, accurate and timely information, to meet the individual and collective goals for the development of human resources and intellectual capacity in Africa. IPED transformed from the OAU African Bureau for Science and Education (BASE).

EMIS:
Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) presents perhaps the most crucial area of focus in education development in Africa. Robust EMIS is essential for effectual policy development based on sound, accurate, timely and meaningful statistical information. Quality EMIS enables an accurate portrayal and accounting of the education situation that is necessary for good planning and development of appropriate interventions.

AU HRST has facilitated with partners that Regional Economic Communities develop their own regional EMIS Norms and Standards (based on the continental framework) using the expertise of EMIS experts in Member States’ Ministries of Education. To date, SADC, ECOWAS and EAC have adopted their own EMIS Norms and Standards codes of practice and are currently assessing their member states compliance on these frameworks by using peer review by Member States. The AU HRST, with its key technical partner in this area – Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) – undertook an assessment of ECCAS member states EMIS capacities in 2010 and a regional capacity building report was developed in 2011. This foundation needs to feed into an endorsement of best practices by developing agreed norms and standards.