Education Ministry expands digitalization to improve governance and service delivery functions
Bangsamoro professional leads digitalization effort to establish systems that build trust and credibility for a new government
Ustadz Haron Salah, 46, finished a computer science degree in college and has long wanted to apply his skills to serve the Bangsamoro people towards long-term peace and stability. The historic vote to ratify the Bangsamoro Organic Law created the new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in 2019. Soon after, Salah was tasked to lead the Information Technology office under the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE).
Every day, he works with a team of six personnel to manage the needs of the largest ministry in the BARMM through maintaining internet connectivity, troubleshooting and managing information systems. In the new work environment where technology is a critical enabler, he and his team indeed have their hands full. With limited staffing, there is no other better recourse than to seriously embark on much-needed digitalization.
He recalls how difficult it was at first. “Personnel were so used to manual processing. So, it was hard to convince them to use technology, but we did not stop”.
Salah was determined and talked to staff consistently until he got their trust. The team created samples to show the comparison between the manual process and the digital methods. They showed how fast the work can be done using technology. He believed that there was no reason for them not to succeed in this.
“There was support, but we also need to help ourselves. We have to maximize the support. We have to act immediately, and not wait for tomorrow”, he added.
When Salah came on board, one of the key issues that confronted the education ministry in its first year was the quality of the existing data of teachers and employees particularly for approximately 26,000 Basic Education personnel, whose data are contained in piles of Personnel 201 documents sitting in the Schools Division Offices. It was very difficult to access quality personnel information for decision-making and crafting of appropriate policy actions, plans and programs.
The Australian-funded Education Pathways to Peace in Mindanao (Pathways) has already initiated support for the validation and clean-up of Basic Education personnel data in the schools’ division offices. Salah shared that when MBHTE built the system for scanning of HR records, Pathways also provided computer units (desktop and laptops) since MBHTE lacked equipment. The work became more efficient with both the hardware and software resourced adequately.
When Salah learned about the existing equipment at the ICT Office, he decided to maximize their use like the document management software, data server, and other ICT equipment. He said that it was the recommendation of the HR Study Group to request further assistance from Pathways. “We met with the Pathways, already providing support to MBHTE, we talked and our ideas matched. I thought it was amazing, so we worked together”, he stated.
Building on previous gains and support from Pathways, the ICT Unit in collaboration with MBHTE’s Human Resources Office proceeded with the data cleansing and digitization of Personnel 201 files and the PSI-POP. System and processes for HR records management with improved data quality mechanism was established and implemented. “We established a simple system where we found out further discrepancies in data of teachers”, Salah shared.
One major role he played was to urge his colleagues to work and help the Ministry in the digitization of HR records. Pathways supported this endeavor by training a team of MBHTE personnel from the ICT Unit, the HR Office and the Records Management Office in the digitization of records using the Globodox Document Management System. Pathways followed through these trainings by coaching and mentoring the MBHTE team in implementing the HR Records Management System and establishing a Personnel Information System Database using Globodox. “With the help of the Pathways, we trained and coached them until they learned”, Salah said.
Now, the ICT of MBHTE- BARMM has a system that is well-functioning helping improve the overall HR management services of the Education Ministry. They are confident that HR records of employees or teachers are more accessible and accurate now unlike before wherein everything was in manual form. The HR Digitization also helps keep employees’ records safe preventing loss of files during emergencies like fire incidents.
At present, the process of HR Digitization is 50% completed, since the whole initiative is a huge undertaking. Data are coming from all the nine divisions of MBHTE- BARMM, then the regional team is working together from scanning, digitization, indexing then uploading it to the Globodox.
Looking forward, the ICT Team is planning for a unified system for Human Resources Information System (HRIS) and Payroll at the MBHTE-BARMM. “Because the data from HR and from Plantilla are different, they must coincide. So, we are working on that to have connectivity”, Ustadz Haron said.
The ICT Head also mentioned about other support from Pathways.
“We also asked for Pathways’ support in setting up our internal network. When we started, there was really no internet connection per office. Together with Pathways, we were able to establish internet connection each office. Employees were able to work better. They can now send data. This is especially useful with the pandemic since virtual communication has become a necessity”, he said.
Salah’s determination is manifested by how he acts immediately on solutions to the problems at the Ministry. “We check on each office regularly to ask them their problems related to ICT to help speed up their work”, Salah said.
He expressed thanks to Pathways for the support. “Through the help of Pathways, there is indeed a noticeable change at MBHTE. From equipment, skills and knowledge, the assistance has been very valuable. We hope to continue this partnership with the Pathways program. Their support enables us to contribute more effectively to education reform in the Bangsamoro,” ended Salah.