Participatory Performance Monitoring It is also important that at any given time communities need to be aware of the performances of their schools and PPM is one way of ensuring that this happens. Implementing PPM in our schools can also encourage communities to take ownership of their schools PARTICIPATORY PERFORMANCE MONITORING (click to open)
What is the meaning of PPM
Participatory Performance Monitoring (PPM) means the involvement of communities in the monitoring of their schools to improve the academic performances of students.
Why implement PPM in our schools
Improving the academic performances of students is a key priority for the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education. Research has shown that parental or community involvement in monitoring of schools can contribute to improved student performance. In fact, Participatory Performance Monitoring (PPM) which means involving communities in monitoring their schools has been found to contribute in improving the performances of students in schools in Uganda and Ghana. Hence it is envisaged that the academic performances of Gambian students could also be improved if PPM is implemented in our schools as well.
What is not PPM - It is not PPM when:
one of the two main elements (data on the community record cards and the SPM Meeting) is absent
it is a witch hunt meant to expose only the weaknesses of the school authorities or staff members
people at the SPM Meeting speak out of turn and do not reach any consensus
some members of the school or community are denied access to the annual SPMM
when the school uses an informal assessment of students’ performance based on anecdotal evidence during the SPM Meeting.
The school authorities feel that some aspects of the community score card should be kept secret
The school authorities and community members do not see eye to eye with regards to students’ performance
The school authorities see it as a way of showing off, and in this way demonstrate a sign of complacency and over confidence.
What is SPPM
School Performance Monitoring Meeting (SPMM) is a component of PPM. It refers to the meeting convened annually at school level for communities and schools to come together and discuss the performances of their children/students. It is during this meeting that the community record card, which captures the performance of students in NATs and GABECE is shown to community members and it forms the basis for the meeting. The meeting also looks into other issues like the resources available to the school as well as the reasons for a school’s high performance or otherwise. Recommendations are made during the meeting for schools to include in their School Development Plans.
Who are involved?
The people involved in the SPM Meetings are head teachers, deputy head teachers, SMC chairs, Community Participation sub-committee chair and members from the community
What are our expectations?
Sensitize the Community
Enhance community interest in and support for the school
Keep and file all work done
To be committed to the task given
Ensure that the community record card is available for SPM Meetings
How can we meet our expectations?
Attend and participate in SPM Meetings
Include recommendations for SPM Meetings in school development plans
Community members are supportive to the school
Ensure that SPMM is held annually.
What is the Community Record Card
The Community record card is a technical tool designed by planning Unit of MOBSE to report and compare performance of schools for the use of the community. It is designed to show how well the school is doing compared to other schools in the region and in the nation.
The rationale is to increase accountability through a systematic disclosure of comparative information on key school performance. It is designed to inform parent and the wider community about the performance and efficient use of resources at school.
How to read the community score cards
It is made easier to understand by the use of graphics to make the information easier to understand by parents and the community.
There will be further training on the use of the Score card by planning Directorate in the near future. There is a more detailed school report card and a simpler community score card.
Examples From Ghana
At an SPM Meeting in Ghana, a school that was at the 65th position in terms of performance rose up to the 10th position over a period of ten years. The same school won the district’s Best Teacher Award at the Primary Division (level) for the year 1996During another SPM Meeting, a school that had problems in providing text books for some students from poor backgrounds, benefitted from money raised at the meeting to purchase books. At the same meeting a hardworking teacher who could not have accommodation in the village and was frequently late was offered accommodation free of charge by one of the villagers.
