Background paper prepared for

the Global Education Monitoring Report

Technology in education

SCHOOL MAPPING AND

DECISION-MAKING
This paper was commissioned by the Global Education Monitoring
Report as background information to assist in drafting the 2023 GEM
Report, Technology in education. It has not been edited by the team.
The views and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the
author(s) and should not be attributed to the Global Education
Monitoring Report or to UNESCO. The papers can be cited with the
following reference: “Paper commissioned for the 2023 Global
Education Monitoring Report, Technology in education”. For further
information, please contact gemreport@unesco.org.

ALEJANDRA VIJIL-MORIN (EDTECH HUB), KATIE GODWIN

(THE EDUCATION COMMISSION), ANA RAMIREZ (FAB INC),
ALASDAIR MACKINTOSH (FAB INC), CHRIS MCBURNIE
(EDTECH HUB), BJÖRN HAßLER (EDTECH HUB)

2023
ABSTRACT
Reliable and timely data is essential for decision-makers at all administrative levels to
ensure inclusive, equitable, and quality education for all. Geospatial data has the
potential to provide valuable insights across a range of areas of interest to the education
sector, from identifying potential threats to schools and the education community, such
as through data on natural disaster patterns, to supporting equitable allocation of
resources based on data showing the remoteness of schools. However, the use of
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is not widespread in the education sector. In this
paper, we shed light on the experiences of five country governments, one regional
agency, one international initiative, one implementing partner and one private entity, all
using GIS for education decision-making in Latin America, the Caribbean, and sub-
Saharan Africa.

This paper presents the findings from primary data collection and analysis of interviews
with representatives from these organisations from August – December 2022. Across
these countries, we identified two central applications of school geospatial data, which
included education planning - which school mapping is a part of - and cross-sector
coordination. Among the main challenges to effectively using school geospatial data to
make decisions, we found significant issues with capacity building, funding, bridging the
data, and policymaking. On the other hand, when school mapping was used effectively, it
helped increase transparency and equity, intersectoral collaboration, cost-effectiveness,
and accuracy and reliability. After comparing the seven cases, we concluded that two key
enablers need to be in place to promote the impact of geospatial data on educational
decision-making: ‘usability’ and ‘availability and openness’.

1
TABLE OF CONTENT

1. Introduction 5
1.1 Geographic Information System(s) for education 5
1.2 Structure of this paper 7

2. Methodology 7
2.1 Ethics 8

3. Collection and analysis of geospatial school data 10

3.1 Organisational structure of the school mapping departments 11
3.2 Collection approaches and tools 13
3.3 Challenges in the data collection and analysis 15

4. Applications of school mapping 19

4.1 Education planning 19
Infrastructure 19
Resource allocation 20
4.2 Cross-sector coordination 21
4.3 Challenges to using school mapping 23
Capacity-building 24
Funding 26
Bridging data and policymaking 27

5. Impact of school mapping 29

5.1 Transparency and equity 29
5.2 Intersectoral collaboration 31
5.3 Cost-effectiveness 33
5.4 Accuracy and reliability 34

6. Enablers of effective use of GIS data for decision-making 37

6.1 Usability 37
6.2 Availability and openness 38

7. Conclusions 40

8. Recommendations 43

Bibliography 46

2
Appendix 48
Appendix 1. List of interviewees 48
Appendix 2. School maps 49
Sierra Leone 49
Argentina 49
Jamaica 49
CDEMA 50
Peru 51
Giga 51
Appendix 3. Interview guide 52
Appendix 4. Qualitative analysis codes 54
Appendix 5. Organigrams: Organisational structure of the school mapping
department 55

3
 Acronyms

CDEMA Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency

GIS Geographic Information System(s)

IGED Instancias de Gestión Educativa Descentralizada (Decentralised Educational Management

Agency)

KEMRI Kenya Medical Research Institute

KESSP Kenya Education Sector Support Programme

MBSSE Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education

RIE Registro de Instituciones Educativas (Registry of Educational Institutions)

UGELES Unidad de Gestión Educativa Local (Local Educational Management Units)

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund

USAID United States Agency For International Development

4
 1. Introduction

Reliable and timely data is essential for decision-makers at all administrative levels to
ensure inclusive, equitable, and quality education for all. In particular, geospatial data for
educational planning can help improve access, service delivery, and more equitable
resource allocation, as it reveals relationships that have been proven to impact
education outcomes. For example, we know that proximity to school has been identified
as a key factor for low enrolment rates (⇡Rodriguez-Segura & Kim, 2021) and higher
teacher absenteeism (⇡Lee et al., 2015; ⇡Nugroho & Karamperidou, 2021). Additionally,
inequitable allocation of teachers and resources to schools leads to shortages in the
most-needed areas, such as hard-to-reach schools (⇡Avvisati, 2018; ⇡Ingvarson et al.,
2013). Teacher attendance and retention in hard-to-reach schools are also challenging,
given teachers’ preference for proximity to financial institutions, healthcare, and other
basic facilities (⇡Lee et al., 2015).

We know from other sectors’ experience that geospatial data can inform systems
planning, supporting stakeholders at all levels to make more informed and equitable
decisions about resource and service allocation. Nevertheless, in the education sector,
the use of geospatial data has remained relatively limited despite an increased emphasis
on evidence-based decision-making. However, developments in technology are
increasingly making data collection and analysis more accessible and sophisticated;
therefore, it is important to understand better how this data is being collected and used
and the impact on education outcomes.

1.1 Geographic Information System(s) for education

Geospatial data for education is more complex than just information about a school’s
location. Decisions on where to build schools, place teachers, and allocate resources
require granular geospatial data in conjunction with various school data and other
attributes. This might include data such as actual distances travelled to schools, school
conditions (like access to water and electricity), and school proximity to basic facilities

5
(like health clinics). This merging of geospatial and other attribute data is usually
undertaken with Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

In this paper, we define Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as “a system that

generates, maintains, analyses, and maps all types of data” (⇡ESRI, no date). A GIS
connects data to a map and combines location data with descriptive data and about
other attributes, such as student enrolment, number of teachers, or school facilities.
School mapping is a collection of methods and processes used to assess national and
local educational demand and service delivery, alongside other important information on
education outcomes. A school map shows schools’ geographic positions and provides
information about their attributes. School maps are static, while school mapping
provides a dynamic vision of what the education service looks like, displaying data
related to classrooms, enrolment, gender, teachers and facilities, among other things, in
order to facilitate the design and implementation of education policy and planning by
using geographical units of analysis (⇡UNESCO IIEP, 1983; ⇡UNESCO IIEP, 1996).

Most evidence on school maps and school mapping in education suggests that maps are
especially critical for infrastructure planning and resource allocation to improve equity
and efficiency in service delivery. For example, Sierra Leone has used geospatial data and
analysis to support its School Infrastructure and Catchment Area Planning Policy (⇡Sierra
Leone Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, 2021). Prioritisation tools have
been developed that identify the best place to build a school, to facilitate the
implementation of this policy based not just on population but also on the poverty level
and on how far away populations are from the nearest schools (⇡Momoh & Atherton,
2022). As an example of GIS to support resource allocation, USAID Malawi has used GIS
to track implementation of a coaching intervention to ensure adequate and equitable
coverage.

While there is some research on the different applications of GIS in education, there is
limited evidence on the challenges, impact, or enablers for its effective use. This paper
aims to shed light on these issues and provide suggestions for how governments and
other actors can better leverage GIS and school mapping for improved education for
everyone.

6
 1.2 Structure of this paper
This paper is focused on Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It begins by detailing
the research methodology (Section 2), then discusses the findings in terms of collection
and analysis of geospatial school data (Section 3), applications of school mapping
(Section 4), the impact of school mapping (Section 5), and enablers for effective use of
school mapping for decision-making (Section 6). It concludes with a summary of the key
insights and a set of recommendations based on the findings (Section 7).

2. Methodology

This study used qualitative methods with primary data collected through semi-structured
online interviews with nine stakeholders from a mix of governments, donors and
implementing partners, non-governmental organisations and private entities using
school location data for national, regional, and global decision-making. These included:

■ Argentina: Mapa Educativo Nacional, Dirección de Información Educativa /

National Educational Map, Directorate of Educational Information

■ Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA): GIS

Department and Safe Schools Department

■ Development Seed: an engineering and product company that is accelerating the

application of earth data, including applications to help countries identify
unmapped schools

■ Giga: Global UNICEF-ITU initiative to connect every school to the internet and
every young person to information, opportunity and choice

■ Jamaica: Educational Planning Unit, Ministry of Education and Youth

■ Kenya: Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)

■ Malawi: USAID Malawi

■ Peru: Unidad de Estadística, Ministerio de Educación / Statistics Unit, Ministry of

Education

7
 ■ Sierra Leone: Directorate of Policy and Planning, Ministry of Basic and Senior
Secondary Education

Countries and organisations were selected based on existing relationships and

collaborations with policymakers and technical experts and through connections with the
GIS for Education Working Group.1 In selecting countries, we tried to provide a diverse
representation of geographic and economic development contexts.

The interviews with stakeholders were recorded, transcribed, and coded. We followed an
inductive coding process using the qualitative analysis software Atlas.ti. By the end of the
analysis phase, we had developed over 30 codes corresponding to four main thematic
areas:

1. Data collection and analysis of geospatial school data (process, methods,

formats, and challenges)

2. Applications of school mapping (including challenges)

3. Users of GIS data

4. Impact of GIS data on education sector decision-making

To ensure rigour, we assessed the reliability of our coding with an external rater who
coded 10% of the interviews. We found agreement of almost 100%, which suggests a
reliable coding process. Similarly, to confirm that the report accurately reflects what the
interviewees said, we shared a draft with them for revision. Finally, we also consulted
other resources like reports and databases to understand the context, depth, and
complexity of the work of the organisations listed above.

2.1 Ethics
We explained to participants how their data would be used through email, an official
letter, and during the interview. We asked participants to sign a consent form detailing
the management of their data and the freedom to withdraw consent at any time, even

1https://educationcommission.org/gis-for-education-working-group/ Retrieved 21 November

2022

8
after the interview had been held. Only the research team accessed the raw data, which
is retained for six months beyond research completion only.

9
 3. Collection and analysis of school location
data

The introduction of georeferencing schools and creating a school map for education
decision-making has varied across countries. From those we interviewed, a couple
started as early as the 1980s and 1990s (Peru and Jamaica), and others in the early 2000s
(Argentina). However, for some, school maps were introduced only as recently as five
years ago (Sierra Leone).

Recent technological advancements in the GIS field have made geospatial tools available
to education ministries and others working in education. With the cost-reduction and
performance improvements of computing and the availability of low-cost location-
enabled mobile phones, the costs of this exercise have been significantly reduced. The
school mapping process evolved from desktop to server and currently uses a range of
tools, including desktop, mobile, server, and cloud (⇡Rees, 2018). Today, more
technologically advanced techniques, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence
(AI), can be used to identify where schools are located.

Figure 1 illustrates how different inputs of data are integrated, compared, and layered to
obtain a more holistic and comprehensive understanding of the education sector. This
data is then used to support decision-making and finally reach multiple users.

10
Figure 1: Data sources and users of GIS in education

Existing maps Education geospatial Non-spatial data

data
-Zone delimitations -Enrolment
-Satellite imagery
-Roads -Academic
-School geolocation
-Geographical features performance
-School census
-Infections

School map (GIS

database)

Decision support
system
End users

Ministry of Ministry of INGOs

Education Health

-Infectious diseases control -Resource allocation

-Resource allocation and monitoring -Disaster risk reduction
-Teacher deployment -Criteria to reopen schools -Humanitarian aid
-Teacher professional and under what conditions -Increasing accountability and
development during the pandemic transparency in decision-
-Curriculum and assessment -Deworming campaigns making
development -Anaemia studies
-Safe schools policies -Safe schools policies

This section will explain the school mapping processes and explore the challenges in
location data collection and analysis for the countries and organisations included in this
study.

3.1 Organisational structure of the school mapping departments

The worldwide trend is to decentralise the educational system and transfer
responsibilities to the local level. However, in most countries, the responsibility for
developing and managing school mapping is centralised, primarily due to a lack of
human resources, institutional capacity, and funding to support this work locally.
Although in some countries functions like data collection and validation have successfully
been transferred to local offices, school mapping is still primarily employed at the central

11
level for decision-making. In fact, the predicted benefits of school mapping and
decentralisation are significantly diminished when regional plans cannot be developed
and implemented independently (⇡Sylla & Tournier, 2013). A few advantages of
maintaining the development of the school mapping process at the central level include
ensuring the accuracy and comparability of the data, avoiding the risk of not having
technical capacity in all regions or districts, and reducing costs, such as software licences.
This does not mean that local governments do not use it or participate in the process;
rather, it implies that, depending on their central and local capacities, each country must
find an approach that makes school mapping meaningful. For instance, in the appendix 5,
organigrams from Sierra Leone and Peru show the centralisation of school map for
decision-making.

In the majority of the countries we focused on for this study, the creation of a school
map falls within the remit of the central government, but with the assistance of regional
offices, e.g. at the district level. The central offices are in charge of gathering
information, ensuring the accuracy of the data, and closely coordinating with offices of
statistics in order to add data from other sectors to the maps for analysis, such as
climate, population, and road network data.

The agency or department responsible for school mapping within the central
government varies. For instance, in Sierra Leone, the Ministry of Basic and Senior
Secondary Education (MBSSE) was tasked with gathering statistical data, including school
location, through a memorandum of understanding under the National Strategic
Development Plan; the director of planning and policy at the MBSSE oversees this work.
This organisational structure is also present in Jamaica, where the Education Planning
Unit handles school location planning within the Ministry of Education and Youth.

In Peru, the statistics office of the Ministry of Education is responsible for school
mapping; it has six areas of coordination, one of which is territorial analysis, for which a
school map is generated and examined, and technical assistance is given to other areas
requiring georeferenced educational data. Local offices known as the Decentralised
Educational Management Agencies (Instancias de Gestión Educativa Descentralizada or
its acronym, IGED) are in charge of the data collection at the Ministry level.

12
Mapa Educativo Nacional (the National Educational Map Office) in Argentina is currently
located within the Information Technology (IT) department in the Ministry of Education.
However, it was previously located within the planning department. Regardless of where
the office sits within the ministry, its primary goals are geospatial data collection and
analysis and assisting with the various demands for data from the other departments
within the ministry.

These few examples highlight how difficult it is to pinpoint a single agency responsible
for school mapping because of different pre-existing governmental structures in different
countries. The only feature these structures share is that, despite decentralisation
efforts, the mandate for school mapping is typically still held by the education ministry at
a central level.

3.2 Collection approaches and tools

School map technology has advanced to the point where AI models are now an option.
This analyses high-resolution satellite data and employs a trained algorithm, also known
as pattern detection, to identify structures that are likely to be schools, flagging them for
human assessment. The data collection process differs from country to country, just like
the organisational structure of each office in charge of the school mapping. This variation
is primarily due to the tools and technical capabilities of each country. The key aim of the
offices is to collect the location and characteristics of schools and surrounding
communities; once compiled, this data is combined with geospatial data available. For
instance, performance data, socioeconomic variables, health and infection rates, and
environmental data –among others– can be integrated with geographic information to
provide a comprehensive view of the challenges that might impact education in that
particular school. There is a close relationship between school censuses as a source of
primary information to enrich the school maps and the process of creating school
maps, as is the case in Sierra Leone and Argentina. However, other countries, such as
Peru and Jamaica, employ a separate registration process for educational establishments
that is not linked to the school census. While the school census is typically updated only
annually, school facility records tend to be updated more frequently.

Today, the most popular method of collecting location data is through mobile devices
like tablets or smartphones that can record geographic coordinates in real time; the

13
data is then processed later using GIS software. The collection of this data takes place at
various times. In the majority of cases, it is gathered during the school census, which
usually occurs annually. In some countries, like Jamaica, a team is sent to gather the data
and keep the school map up-to-date when a new school is added to the existing roster of
schools.

That is ongoing because each time we have one additional

school added to the public school listing, it is normal to
collect the coordinates in order to map that specific
institution for the existing public schools’ dataset.
Essentially, we rely on the annual school census data to
populate the school information on the GIS mapping. —
Jamaica

In Argentina, the school census is used to create the school map; however, instead of
collecting the geospatial coordinates to place the schools on the map, the layer of
schools is created using the addresses and/or spatial references and GIS software. The
National Educational Map Office completes this work, but because it requires a more
manual process, the map may become out-of-date if human resources are insufficient.

Peru uses a hybrid system. The process involves identifying schools regularly, using a
school list, which is soon to become the Registry of Educational Institutions (Registro de
Instituciones Educativas (RIE)); this happens at a local level. With this information, the
central office can determine where each school is located and geolocate it on a map. If a
school cannot be located, the Local Educational Management Units (Unidad de Gestión
Educativa Local, UGELES) are asked to review the map area or physically go to a school in
order to locate it; this process is repeated frequently in order to prevent a backlog. In
2022, 45% of the school census and the coordinates were collected through a mobile
application for the first time as a pilot, making it easier to locate schools in remote areas
with poor access. This process will also contribute to validating the geolocations of the
school list.

In Malawi, an out-of-date map was in use before a large data collection initiative in 2016
in which USAID collaborated with district offices to identify the primary and secondary
schools, updating and digitising the zone delimitations, and measuring distances,
particularly to secondary schools to ensure girls’ access. . A field team was sent to the

14
missing schools to collect coordinates and confirm the geolocation to later update the
map. This information, as well as the procedure to collect and analyse it, is now used by
the Ministry of Education and other government agencies to continue planning efforts in
the country.

The Kenya School Mapping project was developed as one of the tasks of the Kenya
Education Sector Support Programme (KESSP) 2005–2010. Using school list archives
maintained by various organisations and authorities, KESSP augments them with data
auxiliary sources. For example, geospatial factors that affect travel to school,
environmental factors associated with disease of interest (health outcome), population
distribution of school-going children among others. These datasets are then carefully
merged, accounting for errors and duplicates. The final master list is geocoded using
open sources. These datasets are processed mainly by GIS assistant research officers. For
the analysis, remote sensing products are used for auxiliary data sources and
environmental variables. The initiative positioned all educational institutions using GNSS.
During the data collection process, KESSP also collected information regarding the
physical state of facilities and the number of students and teachers (⇡Ministry of
Education, Science and Technology, 2005; ⇡Mulaku & Nyadimo, 2011).

Lastly, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA)2 has school
data from 6 out of 19 participating states (Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Dominica,
Trinidad and Tobago, and Belize). Data collection was undertaken in three main ways:
the first involved using aerial photography on a regular basis, whereby a combination of
Lidar and aerial photography was used for each country; the second used satellite
imagery for data collection; and the third used schools’ geographic coordinates. We do
not have more detailed information regarding how and which countries are using each
methodology.

3.3 Challenges in the data collection and analysis

The various country offices and organisations that produce and use school maps have
identified a number of challenges related to the data collection and analysis process,

2 The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) is a regional

intergovernmental agency for disaster management in the Caribbean Community.

15
including the technical capacity of the team and users, accessibility and software
constraints, funding and information privacy. Each of these issues is discussed below.

One of the biggest challenges for governments is technical capacity. Two viewpoints are
presented here: that of the map users, such as governments or non-governmental
organisations, and that of the map developers. First, to produce the data, significant
human resources are needed to collect, process, analyse, and prepare the information in
a user-friendly format. Users need specific technical skills to use the geospatial
information produced, frequently requiring specialised software like ArcGIS and QGIS,
which is an open-source software.

(…) I think where it sits now and how it's stored, it's too
technical for those different levels of decision-makers and
stakeholders to use. — CDEMA

The teams in charge of school mapping have developed various ways of sharing
information with other stakeholders, such as via dashboards, Google Earth data, and
interactive and static maps, among others (see Appendix 1).

However, when a user needs specific analysis and requires different layers of data, they
will need to use specialised software like ArcGIS, which is expensive and thus often
limited to a certain number of licences or users. However, even free open-source
software, like QGIS, still requires specialist skills. Therefore, when other departments or
stakeholders require a specific analysis, they usually request technical support from the
department in charge of the school mapping, which has the technology and knowledge
to perform the analysis successfully.

One of the limitations, though, is that the software that we

use is expensive and it's limited to a certain number of users.
— Jamaica

Financial support is a significant problem most of the countries face, much like the lack of
technical capacity. Even though technological advancement has decreased costs, using
GIS for planning education is still expensive — an outlay that many low- and lower-
middle-income countries cannot finance without donor assistance. For instance,
Argentina has not hired the necessary personnel in the last few years because it does not

16
have the economic resources to do so. As a result, it has been impossible to maintain the
annual updating of the geographic reference system, and only occasional updates are
made in response to specific requests for management.

Any agency with a spatial data infrastructure needs a lot of

people to work on it. It can't be done with just a few people.
However, when budgets are cut, as they are in all of our
countries, this can be a problem. — Argentina

Interviewees identified international organisations (such as UNICEF or the UNESCO

Institute of Statistics), implementing partners (such as USAID), the private sector (such
as Development Seed), and ministries of education as the primary users of school maps.
However, since the data is typically not accessible to the general public and must be
requested specifically, knowledge of the available data and the capacity to coordinate
between different organisations and stakeholders can be constrained. For example,
CDEMA mentioned that they must connect with the ministry in each of the 19 countries
they work with to understand what datasets are available.

Another challenge identified was the duplication of efforts and weak inter-agency
communication and collaboration. Countries often collect school map data already
collected by other organisations using different methods, like satellite imagery. Cross-
checking the information collected by all stakeholders would promote more efficient
collection methods, allow for more reliable data, better inform decision-makers, and
help save resources invested in collection that could be allocated to analysis or
implementation.

Privacy and ethical issues are discussed in the literature (⇡Berman et al., 2021) but were
not mentioned as a challenge during the interviews. Although school location data is
often already available as open source, when school geodata is integrated with other
databases, it may be possible to identify certain groups of people or individuals, putting
them at risk if identifiable personal details are disclosed alongside their geospatial
locations. Examples include teachers on payroll and children with disabilities or pregnant
girls. To ensure a certain level of anonymisation, owners of the school maps must be
cautious about who has access to them and about sharing and interpreting the data. In
particular, care should be taken over personally identifiable data such as names, IDs

17
(particularly relating to payroll), and contact details — these should be removed from
public databases as a default and only included for particular need cases. Some
databases, like Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), randomly displace the GPS
latitude/longitude positions for each survey in order to maintain respondent
confidentiality.

18
 4. Applications of school mapping

The country governments and representatives from other organisations and entities we
interviewed reported using school map data for diverse purposes. We identified two
overarching application categories with a range of uses under each. The first is education
planning, particularly for infrastructure and resource allocation, and the second is cross-
sector coordination, especially with health and emergency services.

4.1 Education planning

The two most cited applications of school map data under education planning were for
identifying and prioritising infrastructure needs and resource allocation.

Infrastructure
All the countries and organisations interviewed reported using school mapping for
infrastructure planning. One of the most common uses is determining where to build
new schools.

Malawi has used GIS data to determine where to build new secondary schools to address
a specific problem with low transition rates from primary to secondary. In addition to
looking at a set of selection criteria for new schools, USAID uses GIS data to understand
how primary schools are clustered around existing secondary schools to identify areas in
greatest need. Similarly, in Argentina, a method based on combining educational
indicators with GIS data has been created to identify regions with a high need for
children to be enrolled in pre-primary school to maximise the effectiveness of addressing
unmet demand and establishing new schools (⇡Sendón, 2022).

Sierra Leone has developed a cutting-edge optimisation tool that can tell stakeholders
the best place to build a new school based on population, poverty level, and how far
away students are from the nearest schools. New features are also being built into the
tool to help determine climate-smart locations based on flood data.

In Sierra Leone, geospatial data is also being used to prioritise which schools to renovate
and expand with extra classrooms and WASH facilities based on different sets of criteria
(such as pupil–teacher ratios, pupil–latrine ratios and other relevant indicators). The
Director of Policy and Planning, explained:

19
 It [school mapping] gives a sense of direction as to actually
where resources should be placed when it comes to
infrastructure development… in terms of the level of schools
that you need. [I]t also gives you the condition of the school
in terms of actually taking cognisance of the water,
sanitation, and hygiene facilities of schools… so these are
important things that the school map will show you because
it shows you the physical condition of the school. So, as
government, [this allows us] to be guided as to what actually
will be our focus – Sierra Leone

School-level data has also been used to assess risks and support infrastructure planning
in emergencies and natural disasters. CDEMA uses school mapping in the Eastern
Caribbean States to help assess the structural integrity of schools in natural disaster risk
zones. In Sierra Leone, geospatial data was used to determine network coverage to
inform the radio teaching programme for remote learning during Covid-19-related school
closures.

School mapping also supports the provision of amenities, like internet coverage. The
main application of school mapping for the Giga initiative is to identify internet coverage
for schools in order to support increased accessibility. In some countries, Giga also
collects data on real-time internet speeds at schools to improve connectivity.

With this information, we can work with the

telecommunication companies, for example, to see how far
the cell towers are located from these individual schools and
how far these fibre optics nodes are located from the
schools, which essentially informs us how much money it will
take to connect those schools – Giga

Resource allocation
Most of the country representatives we interviewed reported using school mapping to
inform resource allocation. Jamaican interviewees mentioned the use of school mapping
to indicate where teachers are most needed and to inform the distribution of resources.
Argentina uses the data to inform the distribution of computers to rural schools. Malawi
has used GIS data to track school monitoring and the implementation of a coaching
intervention. In Sierra Leone, the school map helps decision-making prioritise which
schools should receive financial support to increase the number of students attending
financially supported schools.

20
Countries use the data to zone or group schools by clusters for better resource
distribution. For example, Kenya and Sierra Leone use geospatial data for catchment area
planning, and Peru uses it to consolidate groups of small remote schools into larger areas
to help improve management efficiency. In Malawi, isochrone maps showing distances of
schools and real travel time (based on physical features) to teacher development centres
reveal resource inefficiencies in terms of existing zones.

So these are also factors that help administrators to think

about to reflect in terms of whether they would want to re-
demarcate the zones, how can then they best re-demarcate
to navigate through different physical features, but also in
terms of management and resource allocation. We may have
a zone that has got eight [schools] another one that has got
eight [schools], but in terms of size, in terms of travel time, in
terms of physical factor, they may be different. So, resources
are better located if they refer to this kind of mapping and
see how they can best manage based on what is obtaining on
each of these zones. — USAID Malawi

Similarly, in Kenya, more accurate travel times for students walking to schools are
computed using geospatial data and help to ensure government travel thresholds are
met (⇡Macharia et al., 2022).

4.2 Cross-sector coordination

Most of the countries and initiatives we interviewed reported that the school map data
they collect is used by and in conjunction with other sectors, from health to agriculture.
The coordination includes other government ministries and agencies, non-governmental
organisations (NGOs), and the private sector. This approach makes sense and is
supported by our findings of a strong relationship between schools and the provision
of other national services. Schools were reported as serving as sites for school feeding,
emergency shelters, and the provision of health interventions and other social services.

Jamaica, Argentina, and Peru reported that school mapping is used to understand the
proximity of schools to other social services. In Peru, the Ministry of Development and
Social Inclusion uses school geospatial data to help coordinate a special intervention
which provides a bundle of social services (banking, health, and so on; this is known as a
‘tambo’) to populations in very remote areas. The coordinator of territorial analysis,
explained, “When they do an intervention in a ‘tambo’, and they want to see if there are

21
schools nearby, they can download the education services geolocation information.”
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the school location data helped locate the tambo centres
near student populations so they could be used to charge school tablets and provide
vaccinations.

CDEMA reported that they often share data with the agriculture sector as many schools
in the countries they work with rely on feeding programmes, which require schools to
buy food products from local farmers. Geospatial data from both education and
agriculture support planning and mitigation measures, helping education workers and
farmers to identify which crops will be available for certain schools.

CDEMA also reported coordinating geospatial school data with emergency and
humanitarian response sectors. In the Caribbean, where schools are designated as
natural disaster shelters, thegeospatial school data is shared with national emergency
planning units and plays an integral role in disaster response. Giga also shares geospatial
school data with countries’ emergency response units and globally with the UN Disaster
Assessment and Coordination system.

Health was one of the sectors most frequently cited in terms of coordination based on
geospatial school data. Several countries mentioned geospatial school data as critical to
the education sector's Covid-19 response. In Jamaica, geospatial school data was used to
support transportation planning during school closures and reopening and to help
determine school reopening in conjunction with data on Covid-19 cases from the health
sector.

The school maps were integral to the strategic reopening of

schools. We collaborated with the Ministry of Health, and we
were able to integrate the school maps and COVID-19 cases
in communities to determine where the riskiest areas of
exposure were for active COVID-19 cases… so we used the
school maps to show the communities where we had the
highest number of cases of COVID-19. We developed a
vulnerability risk model to inform which schools could
reopen. The maps were integral to this process; they helped
significantly to provide a quick visual look. — Jamaica

Peru used school geospatial data during the Covid-19 pandemic to determine which
schools had facilities, such as electricity, which would enable them to serve as

22
vaccination centres and sites of tablet distribution for remote learning. Critically, the
data was also used during the Covid-19 pandemic to determine how to transfer students
between private schools with a high probability of closure and nearby open public
schools.

In Kenya, the KWTRP uses school map data for several health-related purposes. School
catchment area data is used to improve disease mapping through model-based
geostatistics (⇡Macharia et al., 2022) and to explore alternative service delivery points.
Peter Macharia explained that this is done by “estimating the total population that have
access to school-catchments during mass campaigns for health interventions such as bed
nets and the Covid-19 vaccine.”

KWTRP also conducts school-based surveys of malaria infection and anaemia prevalence
in Kenya and creates school databases to support the sampling process. The results are
used to inform school health programmes and delivery of interventions through schools,
e.g., deworming. They also work with the national malaria control programme to define
the prevalence of malaria and anaemia among school-going children and understand the
risk profile. Here, school catchments are used to improve mapping when residence
locations of school-going children have not been mapped.

CDEMA and Giga also reported that countries they work with use geospatial school data
for health interventions.

In our literature review of geospatial data and school mapping for education decision-
making, we identified the same applications as the interviewees reported. The only
application that did not come out as strongly in our findings was around workforce
management.

4.3 Challenges to using school mapping

As discussed in the previous section, geospatial data is used across a wide range of
applications in education. However, countries face a number of challenges in ensuring
that school mapping can effectively influence decision-making and impact education
outcomes. Factors like the absence of capacity-building strategies, insufficient funding,
the limited number of users who can make sense of the data, and a wide gap between
evidence and decision-making hinder the benefits of school geospatial data. These

23
challenges are similar to those faced when collecting and analysing geospatial data but
are unique to the application of the data for decision-making.

Capacity-building
geospatial data is effective in informing policies that benefit students and teachers when
policymakers can understand the data or when other agencies can reuse the data to
address other issues. However, for this to happen, school mapping projects and
government initiatives must integrate capacity-building strategies.

As mentioned in the first section of this paper, geospatial analysis requires highly
technical skills that could present a barrier for other stakeholders in using the data
efficiently and hinder wider use and collaboration.

Databases with geographic information are complex to use,

which is why there must be specialised technical capacity to
do so, and teams that work across the different areas of
ministries. For the National Education Map, an interactive
map was developed, which was on the official website, to
bring this information to different audiences with an intuitive
interface that was more user-friendly – Argentina

In Jamaica, the GIS unit acknowledges that school mapping could have greater use
centrally by other parts of the ministry; however, since there is no capacity in place to
optimise this potential, other units might be missing out on important analysis.

There are a number of things that the software can do that

other units in the ministry could actually utilise. So, it is for
us that the only challenge is for us to explore the options,
explore the other capabilities of the software, and how we
can involve the other units or sections of the ministry;
persons can be aware and become familiar, become trained
to make certain decisions or having the data here ready,
available and in real-time. — Jamaica

A limitation for the countries is high staff turnover in government institutions. Thus, the
expertise acquired by staff trained during the implementation of a GIS initiative remains
with the individuals and is not transferred to the team or institution. If the trained-up
person decides to leave, the organisation lacks the capacity to continue data collection
and analysis or use geospatial data for decision-making.

24
 The movements within the government institutions
sometimes do bring limitation[s], even if you do build
capacity when people move out. So, those are the limitations
that are often there for managers to really utilise. I think we
need to find a way for the government to keep in place
people that [are] capacitated - USAID Malawi

The GIS office in Argentina associates the challenge of the lack of trained human
resources with difficulties integrating data from diverse fields. The office also highlights
that an interdisciplinary approach would facilitate a more holistic response to education
issues and even its translation to other areas.

Interdisciplinary teams have to be set up with a strong

pedagogical component, a strong educational sociology
component, a strong territorial knowledge and education
component, and one or two other components that have to
do with information technology and geographic information
systems.

Building capacity at the local level is also important, as it ensures the continuity of an
evidence-based approach to education planning and response at all levels of the system.
However, a challenge that the Director of Policy and Planning in Sierra Leone faces, is
difficulty in decentralising analysis and decision-making because of a lack of technical
capacity on the ground.

How we can decentralise some of this initiative, you know, in

terms of looking at the capacity. They are supposed to be
happening at the local or the community level, but we are
still handling it at the central level.

Furthermore, decentralisation of capacity and decision-making also means ensuring on-

the-ground capacity to sustain projects locally after the initial funding runs out. Through
the interviews, we found that government agencies struggle to continue school
mapping efforts or to update the data regularly once the funding runs out because they
would need to hire external capacity to carry it forward. Local capacity building is
fundamental to making these initiatives sustainable. For instance, CDEMA relied on
external donor funding for an initial school map effort that ended in 2016 and has not
been updated ever since. Similarly, USAID funded the school mapping initiative in Malawi

25
and has not been continued by the Ministry of Education. Finally, Sierra Leone relied on
funds from the World Bank to develop the school map efforts.

Funding
Government agencies in Sierra Leone, Jamaica, and the Eastern Caribbean States identify
insufficient funding as an obstacle to maximising the impact of GIS in the education
sector for three main reasons.

Funding is required to collect and analyse school maps, but it is also critical to ensure
comprehensive and frequent training to continue mapping efforts. In Sierra Leone, for
example, the director explained that the development of skills and competencies
required to optimise the use of GIS across ministries

(…) depends on funding because some of these things might

be a challenge to implement, but there is already collaboration
in place, there is no issue with that, but the issue has to do
with funding. — Sierra Leone

Moreover, the high costs of GIS software represent an additional barrier to the
continuity of managing and using school mapping. In Jamaica, for instance, even when
the costs associated with capacity building are covered, the main limitation is that the
software required is expensive and limited to a few users. For instance, ArcGIS
subscriptions can vary greatly based on features needed, support or training required,
and customization requests. The official website offers individual “Single Use NonProfit”
subscriptions from 100 USD annually; however, ArcGIS Pro’s prices range from 1,500 to
8,300 USD per licence.

Finally, funding is required to maintain databases over time. CDEMA identifies continuity
after a funding project is over as a challenge. Consequently, the databases of some
countries in the Eastern Caribbean region have not been updated in more than five
years, and GIS offices depend solely on open-source databases to update their maps and
justify their decisions. A potential solution could be to involve the community in the data
collection process by feeding open-source databases like Humanitarian OpenStreetMap
(HOT).3 However, even though open-source data increases transparency, it also requires

3 https://www.hotosm.org/ Retrieved 24 November 2022

26
verification and cleaning to make it more reliable, as the interviewee from Development
Seed explained. Therefore, funding specifically directed towards making school mapping
initiatives sustainable over time must include an extra step beyond initial collection and
analysis.

Bridging data and policymaking

Once the data has been collected and analysed, there is always the risk that it is not
adequately accessible to influence decision-making.

[T]here has to be a debate about the link between

technology and data and politics, which leads us to a much
deeper question regarding ‘what is the culture of the world,
not only in our countries, to articulate technical knowledge
with public policy?’ Knowledge is never 100% neutral or
100% technical, and I don’t believe that technology will solve
everything, and I wouldn't want it [to] either. What has to
happen is an articulation between both parts. –Argentina

Data has to be presented in a way that is clear enough to inform decision-makers when
they develop public policies. Evidence from the education sector has shown that GIS is “a
powerful tool for public policymaking”, as one of the interviewees from Argentina
emphasised. However, additional effort is needed to ensure a smooth transition
between data and policy. There is still a lack of awareness of how impactful geospatial
data can be for decision-making. The interviewees from the National Educational Map
and the Directorate of Educational Information in Argentina state:

There is a huge lack of awareness of this need, there is a lack

of people starting to realise all the advantages that the use
of geographic information tools and the use of the
geolocalised school database can have, the potential that it
can have. It seems to me that this is not being exploited as it
should be: as a decision-making tool. – Argentina

Perhaps, people and politicians would be more aware of the potential of GIS, and they
would be empowered to use it to make decisions and demand changes in their
communities if the data was accessible to them. For instance, the Educational Planning
Unit in Jamaica highlights the need for a space to share information and allow
stakeholders to use it.

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 Because to be honest, there are some sections or possibly
some areas or persons in the ministry who may not realise
how useful the school maps are or could be to their analysis,
to their work, they're not seeing it. So making it more
accessible through some sort of website or dashboard — that
would help us. There are decision-makers outside our
division that could utilise it way better than just requesting a
static map. — Jamaica

Increasing outreach and diversifying users of GIS data could help close the gap between
evidence creation and policymaking. The formats and mechanisms for sharing and
presenting information must be made more flexible for stakeholders at multiple levels
if they are to access and make sense of geospatial data. Jamaica is taking important steps
in that direction.

I don't think that we have maximised the potential of the

school maps or the data that we have. That's something that
we're trying to change. Technology is moving very fast, and
there are many ways that we can report or analyse them
without written reports. In addition, we want to explore that
some more and share that wider than the division that we
are in. We want to give access to the other regions,
departments and the public, making it accessible through a
website — some aspects of our school maps. So that
potential is yet to be explored. And that's something that we
intend to work on. — Jamaica

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 5. Impact of school mapping

As discussed in Section 4, governments and partner organisations use geospatial data

across a wide range of applications. Reliable, cost-efficient, transparent, actionable data
for GIS use allows for a variety of stakeholders to help ensure quality education.These
examples and the impact reported by respondents focused on four main areas:

1. Reduction of biases and increased transparency in decision-making, helping to

neutralise conflicts among stakeholders and communities.

2. Greater intersectoral collaboration, allowing for more holistic policymaking and

coordination with sectors that influence education outcomes.

3. Allowing cost-effective decision-making. Strategically placed resources result in

larger populations benefitting from investment in fewer resources.

4. Increased accuracy in the data used to make decisions. Technological

advancements allow for more reliable data to make decisions if used in
conjunction with local knowledge about the landscape and infrastructure.

5.1 Transparency and equity

Decision-making involving resource allocation, justification for large funding and
investments, and risk assessment, among other things, can frequently be influenced by
personal and political interests, biases, and misconceptions. Openly available GIS data
can allow policymakers, funders, and other stakeholders to act on the basis of evidence,
helping to counter bias and corruption. Open GIS data helps to do this by enabling civil
society, donors, agencies, and citizens to monitor official reporting and decision-making.
As one of the specialists we consulted wondered, “some governments might not want
you to paint a certain picture, right?” However, we know data sharing is vital for
transparency and democratic and fair decision-making.

Nevertheless, decision-makers might not even realise that their policy and
implementation might be based on biases, or incomplete, even inaccurate data and
assumptions, which might lead to inequalities.

29
 We knew we needed tools that would help efficiency and
also reduce inequities that are existing within the system –
USAID Malawi

When data is openly available and presented in a way that is both understandable and
actionable for multiple stakeholders, decisions can be more strategic. They can lead to
targeted policies focused on equity. For example, Peru uses GIS data from rural school 4
locations to help identify which teachers will receive bonuses as part of a policy to attract
and retain teachers in remote areas.

It can also help neutralise politically laden decisions. In Malawi, the school location data
was key to shifting power dynamics in charged discussions on where to build new
schools. The gap between primary and secondary education enrolment is large due to an
insufficient number of secondary schools and the travel time required to reach them.
Particularly for girls, gender-based violence (GBV) and long travel distances might make
the difference between attending or dropping out of school. So, it was expected that
community leaders would request a school in each community; this led to conflicts
between community leaders, politicians, and donors. One of the motivators for using GIS
was to figure out “how could we tension down the conflict? Based on different power
relations that exist, especially around resource allocation.”

After digitising, correcting, and delimiting the boundaries of each education zone using
GIS, USAID concluded that using the strategic location of schools was more effective and
feasible than the previous request. Without considering particularities and special
vulnerabilities in each case, the plans to build a school in each community would not
solve the issue completely. GIS, however, offered clear data to visualise an abstract
problem, solve conflicts, and co-construct solutions to benefit all. With a fraction of the
resources, strategically placed schools and resources positively impacted education in
the area. Accessible and actionable GIS data ensured resource allocation where needed,
the strategic investment of funding, and the provision of access to schools for the most
vulnerable.

GIS was very handy in terms of (1) diluting the political

pressure on where to build schools and (2) also coming up

4The potential location of a rural school is determined on the basis of population density
and travel time from the nearest main city to the closest settlement.

30
 with specific locations that make sense that are in great
need. So I think that was a very powerful tool for us to use
and for the people. People come into a meeting to demand
for particular sites based on different interests, but if you use
this, this visual [data], people would come to agreement to
say, ‘I think you're right. I think we need to go to these, all of
us who have seen that this is most deserving.’ But in the
absence of such kind of evidence, it could have been a very
difficult task for us to target and also to address those
communities that are in great need. — USAID Malawi

Currently, the local government staff is using the outputs of this GIS project to
implement more transparent practices based on evidence.

They're using the maps that are outputs from the GIS about
structure to inform their supervisions, their monitoring, and
to some extent, to rethink how these zones are organised
and how they can read the market and inform the
demarcation decisions. And also to locate them, when
they're distributing some facilities when a new school is
coming in. I think they're able to convert some of these
products from GIS.— USAID Malawi

More concretely, GIS allowed to strategically locate secondary schools in Malawi

enabling more students, particularly girls, to access education and bridging the gap
between primary and secondary education enrolment.

In Argentina, GIS has made it possible to scrutinise public policies and increase
transparency. For example, thanks to geospatial and school attribute data, it was
possible to assess the distribution of computers in rural areas compared to that at the
national level. Similarly, it allowed to translate inclusion policies targeting foreign
students into concrete, measurable data. GIS data has allowed the Ministry of Education
to provide additional support to schools with a higher percentage of foreign students to
facilitate their successful inclusion in the education system.

5.2 Intersectoral collaboration

The findings from our interviews reveal that GIS data can help illuminate the complexity
of educational issues and contexts and promote interdisciplinary collaboration to address
them. For instance, when assessing hazards in a school building, CDEMA incorporates

31
data regarding climate change and natural disasters; roads and constructions in the
surrounding areas; access to basic services such as drinking water, electricity, or sewage;
or information about available crops and their susceptibility to climate change. These
and other factors intersect when deciding where to build a school, what type of
maintenance is needed, or what school safety plans need to be implemented. For
example, CDEMA reported GISbeing used to inform school feeding programmes about
crop viability and potential food insecurity.

Many of our schools depend on school feeding programmes,

for example, and they buy local food crops from farmers. GIS
data can assist in terms of what crops will be available at
what time, so schools can say: ‘Okay, what can we now put
on our menu?’ Those types of information, I know it's quite
broad, but the GIS data can certainly assist the education
sector in planning ahead and also in mitigation measures –
CDEMA

Disaster risk reduction and preparedness also involve the collaboration of multiple
agencies, which rely on accurate and up-to-date GIS data. For example, flooding has
been an issue for many years in St. Lucia. However, GIS data shed light on mitigation
measures that could be put in place to effectively use drainage systems. The initial
funding came through a World Bank project and is now being executed by the Ministry of
Economic Development; this has, as a result, benefitted schools and decreased the
number of days out of school due to flooding.

So not just the school now is benefited, but the community

which is right there on the coast also suffers from erosion
from the sea as well as high tide and flooding and so on. So,
the GIS was used, and they were able to conceptualise a
flood mitigation measure through drainage. We have seen a
reduction in the amount of flooding that has happened at
this educational complex. — CDEMA

Therefore, more concretely, through a close collaboration among national, regional, and
international stakeholders, CDEMA is able to run a multi-hazard GIS model. It
incorporates school locations with distance to main roads, rivers and flash flooding risks,
and slope risk among others to identify the specific hazards that threaten schools in the
Eastern Caribbean region. This allows CDEMA to collaborate with multiple agencies and

32
stakeholders to tailor disaster risk reduction plans to each building in at least three
participating countries, with the intention to include three more countries in the next six
months. The national plans so far include maintenance work needed based on school
location and vulnerability, evacuation and disaster response plans, and education and
feeding program continuity during disasters. This information is also being used to inform
teacher professional development courses to increase teachers’ capacity to respond to
school-specific hazards.

Similarly, in Sierra Leone, the Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry
of Agriculture, Ministry of Gender, and the Ministry of Social Welfare for Child Protection
are using school data to develop gender equity and protection strategies for schools and
students. “So yes, of course, we have a lot of interventions from other nine ministries.”
This level of collaboration allows for a joint effort to tackle complex issues that affect the
education community.

Jamaica provides another example of the impact on education due to collaboration

among sectors. The Ministry of Education and Youth shares GIS data on schools with
telephone companies to help solve connectivity issues and ensure access to online
learning.

5.3 Cost-effectiveness
GIS data can help allocate existing resources more efficiently and effectively and support
smarter investments. For instance, Development Seed explains how AI models can work
with large datasets more accurately and effectively, in less time, and with open-source
data. Even though human corroboration is still required, the speed and accuracy of the
model allow for mapping a wider area.

Compared to a year or two ago, there have been a number of

advancements; newer model frameworks are quicker, more
accurate. There are just completely different new ways to
handle a larger amount of data now. — Development Seed

Reducing costs is fundamental to effectively implementing at-scale education projects.

Saving data collection and analysis resources could mean having more resources
available for other projects. CDEMA shared their experience of yet another advantage of

33
GIS during the pandemic: working remotely, assessing risks, and planning
implementations without spending money on travelling or accommodation.

On the other hand, in Sierra Leone, school mapping helped lead to a shift from distance-
based aims to a needs-based strategy. This was evidenced in the School Infrastructure
and Catchment Area Planning Policy published in 2021. During policy development,
research using school mapping revealed the costs and challenges associated with
building schools in areas with low population densities, especially at the secondary level
where subject specialists are needed. For instance, the analysis estimated that
constructing and running a junior secondary school within 3 miles of every pupil would
cost USD 1.6 billion – many times the overall annual education budget – and that a more
effective policy would be to focus on where best to utilise the resources that are
available.

Finally, school mapping in Kenya promoted convenient and cost-effective sampling of

diseases in schools to define the prevalence of malaria and for anaemia among school-
going children.

Since 2009 we have undertaken school-based surveys of malaria

infection and anaemia prevalence in Kenya. This is used to inform
school health programmes and delivery of interventions through
schools e.g., deworming. Also, to understand the risk profile, i.e., the
exposure (where they come) from relative to where they go to school.
For sampling purposes, it is critical that we define the universe of all
schools in Kenya. Hence, creating databases of schools for sampling
purposes of school-based malaria surveys (…) The universe of all
schools is used to create sampling points. Schools as a sampling point
are convenient, cheaper, and more efficient. — Kenya

5.4 Accuracy and reliability

To deliver high-quality education and address equity issues, accurate and reliable
geographic information about schools and related attribute data is essential.
Additionally, by knowing where schools are located, governments and international

34
organisations may better understand the needs of more susceptible communities and be
better prepared to deal with external shocks like disease outbreaks or natural
catastrophes. However, this type of data is frequently inaccurate or non-existent.

The recent advancement of computer algorithms, visualisation programmes, and open-

source software has allowed for faster, more efficient, and more robust models to
handle large datasets. In Malawi, for instance, without the accuracy of GIS, according to
the USAID representative delimiting boundaries, mapping infrastructure, and allocating
resources in response to the varying needs of each region would have been “impossible”.
Moving from drawn maps to digitised zones corroborated on the ground represented the
first step towards a more equitable distribution of resources. Reliable data that reduces
human biases points decision-makers towards the areas in most need.

For us, it was a tool that enhanced efficiency in terms

of coming up with where to intervene. — USAID
Malawi

Using AI, as part of GIS to identify unmapped schools, has the potential to “map every
school on the planet” (⇡Development seed, 2021). In collaboration with UNICEF,
Development Seed has identified unmapped schools across eight countries in Asia,
Africa, and South America. Using an AI model, Development Seed has analysed high-
resolution satellite imagery, run an algorithm for detecting structures that are likely to be
schools, and flagged those schools for human evaluation. This method allowed them to
map 23,100 schools in under seven months, with a precision rate of more than 0.89 in all
cases. Precision enables us to see the machine learning model's reliability in identifying
the model as positive. Among those buildings identified as schools, around 6% of them
are considered false positives.

This level of precision and speed could only have been achieved thanks to the reliability
and accuracy that GIS analysis brings. However, the use of these advanced technological
methods also requires contextualised validation due to the architectural differences
across countries and urban and rural sectors. While the AI model used by Development
Seed successfully maps schools across different regions, landscapes, and architectural
styles, it should always be used with stakeholders familiar with the local area. In addition

35
to local corroboration of GIS data, there is also an opportunity to draw on open-access
data to complement formal data collection efforts and help avoid duplication.

AI can be used to identify potentially unmapped schools, but

should always be part of a bigger feedback loop that uses
humans to validate and add context. You’ll always want to
verify those schools are actually being utilised. But AI
provides a big step in getting buildings on the map. —
Development Seed

36
 6. Enablers of effective use of GIS data for
decision-making

After the difficulties of data collection and analysis have been addressed, and countries
and organisations finally have accurate and reliable GIS data, another challenge remains:
leveraging the data to inform decision-making. This section explores enablers that allow
stakeholders to transform data into evidence-informed actions. For GIS to be an effective
tool for decision-making, a few critical conditions must be met. These include usability,
availability, and contextualisation.

6.1 Usability
Usability and ‘friendliness’ of the data format, among other things, are factors associated
with the effective use of GIS data for decision-making in the education sector. For
instance, presenting the data in a relevant way that makes sense to all stakeholders
allows for a larger population of stakeholders to interpret and use the data to address a
specific issue. USAID Malawi used GIS outputs and presented them as accessible maps to
the community to help solve conflicts and collaboratively identify the communities that
most needed resources in Malawi. Similarly, he found that GIS was a valuable tool to
enable decision-making, even remotely, when transformed into actionable and user-
friendly formats.

GIS brought in precision in terms of targeting and also is

something that brings visuals — [it] is something that is real.
Sometimes it's difficult to just work on data or numbers. GIS
brings that reality even if you're in an office, it brings you to
the site that we're looking at. — USAID Malawi

When GIS data is accessible and interactive, it allows stakeholders from multiple
backgrounds to understand and act on evidence. For instance, in Argentina, how school
maps were presented allowed stakeholders from multiple backgrounds to understand
them and reach conclusions. This is not always the case with databases; their use is often
restricted due to the high levels of technical skills required to use them and interpret
data.

There are maps that are in PDF; they can be downloaded by

anyone, anyone can use them. On the interactive map, you

37
 can choose the variables you want to use from the schools;
you can select. For example, rural schools, primary schools,
kindergartens, you can make a lot of selections, and it makes
the map very intuitive; let's say anyone can use it, anyone
who has already gone through the literacy process, let's say
they know how to read and write, let's say any child can
handle this map. — Argentina

Similarly, in Peru, the GIS department is working towards transforming GIS data into
outputs that can show the public the potential of this data.

You have to produce analysed data because users are not

really going to understand beyond seeing the little dot on the
map what they can do with the data; it’s until you start
producing things that people say, ‘Ah, look at this, all this we
can do!’ — Peru

For large-scale school mapping exercises and those that use AI, like the one led by
Development Seed, contextualisation is another element required for the data to be
reliable and effective. The data should be corroborated by local stakeholders and
incorporate the infrastructure characteristics of the region.

6.2 Availability and openness

GIS initiatives that rely on and promote open-source data and involve multiple
stakeholders in data collection are sustainable over time. For instance, in the case of
several Eastern Caribbean States, data collection from scratch represents a large
investment that cannot be made at this moment. However, open-source data like
Humanitarian OpenStreetMap and other similar initiatives have made it possible for the
Eastern Caribbean States to update their data regularly and use it to plan disaster and
risk reduction plans in schools.

Furthermore, openly available data also allows community members to make sense of
the data, make the data collection and maintenance efforts more sustainable over time,
and use the data as a tool for solving conflicts and evidence-based decision-making. For
instance, when methods to collect GIS data are user-friendly and open to all, neighbours
can report road obstructions that might affect school access. Similarly, educators,
students, and parents can report hazards in the school area not identified during the
initial data collection using geolocation pictures. Hazards identified in the initial school

38
mapping might have changed, and new hazards might have appeared. These databases
could be sustainably updated if the community was involved. This community approach
is starting to be explored by CDEMA in six countries in the Eastern Caribbean region.

39
 7. Conclusions

Data from five country governments, one regional agency, one international initiative,
one implementing partner and one private entity, all using GIS for education decision-
making in Latin America, the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa, wereanalysed for this
study. We explored how these stakeholders collect, analyse and apply data in the
education sector; the challenges they face; the impact on the education sector; and a set
of enablers for the effective use of GIS. Please refer to Table 1 for a summary of the data
collection methods and use for each stakeholder we interviewed.

Although the decentralisation of educational systems is occurring in many nations

worldwide, school mapping remains the central government’s remit in the countries
studied. The primary source of information for the departments responsible for
collecting the data is the school census or the list of registered schools, which typically
capture the geolocation or the schools’ addresses; these can then be added to the school
maps. The main users of such maps were international organisations, development
partners, and ministries of education. The many offices and organisations that work with
school maps have recognised various difficulties associated with data collection and
analysis, such as technical capacities, data accessibility, software limitations, funding, and
information protection.

Participants reported using school data for various objectives, which fall under two broad
application areas. The first is education planning, particularly regarding resource
allocation and infrastructure. The second is cross-sector coordination, particularly
regarding health and emergency services, allowing for a more holistic approach to facing
education challenges. This kind of coordination is also an opportunity for the education
sector to learn from other sectors, like health, on the benefits of up-to-date GIS data for
decision-making. However, in their application of GIS data, stakeholders faced three
main challenges related to (1) capacity building, (2) funding, and (3) bridging data and
policymaking.

Table 1: Summary of stakeholder data collection methods and use of school maps

40
 Country Data collection method Use
/Region

Argentina Addresses and/or spatial Allocate devices in rural schools

references of schools collected Identify regions to promote children enrolment
in the school census are input campaigns in pre-primary
manually in a GIS software Identify proximity of schools to social services

Jamaica During the school census the Identify proximity of schools to social services
geographic coordinates are Determine school reopening schedule based on
collected and for new schools a the area’s COVID-19 infection rate
team is sent to each new school
building to collect coordinates

Kenya Includes geographic coordinates Catchment area planning to improve disease

with a survey about the state of mapping and explore alternative service delivery
the buildings, data about points
teachers and students ratio, and Develop isochrone maps to measure actual
health indicators walking distance to meet the national travel
thresholds
Collect data for public health threats in schools
like Malaria and Anaemia and deliver health
interventions

Malawi A field team was sent to schools Identify best locations to build new schools
to collect geographic Develop isochrone maps to measure actual
coordinates and update the walking distance between schools and teacher
former maps development centres
Monitor coaching interventions and its effect on
literacy performance

Eastern Caribbean 1. Aerial photography Disaster and risk reduction

States (CDEMA) 2. Satellite imagery Collaborate with the agriculture sector to inform
3. Geographic coordinates of school feeding programmes
schools on the ground

Peru 1. Geolocate schools manually Improve management efficiency

using addresses Identify proximity of schools to social services
2. If it cannot be located, a team Identify schools that match the requirements to
travels to the building to collect serve as vaccination centres and charging stations
the coordinates for school tablets
3. Starting to use a mobile app
to locate new schools in remote
areas and validate former
geolocations

Sierra Leone During the school census Resource allocation

efforts, geographic coordinates Assess connectivity to tailor remote learning

41
 were collected with location- alternatives
enabled mobile devices School Infrastructure and Catchment Area
Planning
Identify climate-smart areas to build new schools

There are several key impacts that the use of school mapping and GIS initiatives are
having on the education sector. The effective use of GIS data has been shown to (1)
improve the accuracy and reliability of the data needed to make decisions, (2) promote
transparency and equity, (3) enable intersectoral collaboration, and finally, (4) make
ongoing work and initiatives more cost-effective. The direct and concrete effects of GIS
data-informed decision-making can be seen in the number and location of schools built
in Malawi, in the Covid-19 response planning in Jamaica, in the school infrastructure and
catchment area planning in Sierra Leone, the creation of safe education plans in the
Eastern Caribbean region, and the convenient and cost-effective sampling of disease in
schools in Kenya.

There are also key enablers for using GIS to more effectively impact the education sector
and promote evidence-based decision-making. Among the enablers we identified are
‘usability’ and ‘availability and openness’, including contextualisation of processes and
methods to collect and analyse GIS data.

42
 8. Recommendations
Based on the data we collected from specialists across Latin America, the Caribbean, and
Africa and the experience of international organisations like Giga, Development Seed,
and USAID, we make the following recommendations for using GIS in education.

■ Make GIS data accessible and easy to understand: One of the primary obstacles
faced by GIS specialists is making GIS data accessible to ministry officials and
technical staff, simple to comprehend, and easy to use for all those who need to
use it. Highly technical and expensive software is required to perform GIS
analysis, which might exclude policymakers and community leaders, hindering
evidence-based decision-making. Although there are open-source and free
software, most offices we interviewed used the paid software. There is a gap
between the information generated by GIS specialists and how it is processed by
policymakers; moreover, there is data generated that is not used because of the
way it is presented as well as repetitive data requirements from policymakers
due to the difficulty to access information. To date, efforts have focused on
developing information-providing platforms; nevertheless, it is still necessary to
develop mechanisms whereby data may be used without the requirement for
GIS expertise. CDEMA, for instance, confirms this challenge:

So, I think that information needs to be broken down

and put into — if I can use common language —[so]
that business can understand how to use it. —
CDEMA

Jamaica also mentioned that creating a more user-friendly presentation for GIS
data, such as a dashboard that the wider ministry can access, would support the
usability of the data. Therefore, one of the key recommendations from multiple
interviewees is to work towards more user-friendly outputs of GIS analysis.

■ Provide guidance and capacity building for using GIS data: Engaging
stakeholders in capacity development to use GIS data is essential. The first step is
a shift in perspective to understanding how powerful GIS data can be in
influencing decision-making, followed by allocating resources and creating a plan
based on assessing capabilities and needs at the country level. This is also key to

43
 ensuring the data can be used by a diverse set of stakeholders and for cross-
sector coordination.

The Minister of the government has been doing a lot

of training; they are expanding the training across
the ministry. That's not just the Ministry of
Education, there are other ministries that are
government agencies that are being trained to use
[the GIS data], and then eventually, once the capacity
is built, then we can expand. — Educational Planning
Unit, Jamaica

Across government, there has been growing interest

in GIS training. Persons are undertaking courses to
familiarise themselves with GIS mapping. It is not just
the Ministry of Education and Youth, there are other
ministries that are government agencies that are
being trained to use [the GIS data], and then,
eventually, once the capacity is built, I believe we can
expand. — Educational Planning Unit, Jamaica

The IIEP had developed new tools and approaches that revolutionise the use of school
location data into educational practises in order to provide guidance and build capacity.
These tools are plug-ins for qgis designed to estimate the school-age population at the
local level, to conduct school placement multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), and to
increase access to schools with isochrones as catchment areas, among other things
(⇡UNESCO IIEP, no date).

■ Undertake more targeted cross-sectoral collaboration: The findings from our

interviews confirm that GIS data can help illuminate the complexity of
educational issues and contexts and promote interdisciplinary collaboration to
address them. School mapping can also support critical outcomes in other
sectors, such as health and emergency response. It is, therefore, essential to
coordinate data sharing across sectors for improved decision-making.

Have ALL actors at the same table, discuss the

evidence and draw a course of an appropriate action

44
 or follow-up, especially for school health
programmes, to improve our understanding of social
determinants of health and learning outcomes in
school-going children — KEMRI

■ Enhance communication between the stakeholders: Lack of communication

between all participants is a widespread issue in the development of both
geographic and statistical data, resulting in redundant data collection or analysis,
as well as a waste of both economic and human resources. Promoting a culture
of data sharing would help decrease duplication of efforts.

When you’re dealing with siloed data, data that is

not in the public domain, it's the lack of
communication of who is collecting data on the one
side and who is collecting data on the other side.
There’s potential for both gaps and duplication. —
Development Seed

45
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⁅bi bli og rap hy :st ar t⁆

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Nugroho, D., & Karamperidou, D. (2021). Time to Teach: Teacher Attendance and Time on Task in Primary
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Rees, E. van. (2018, September 6). How Geospatial Technology Changed over Time. Soar.
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 Appendix

Appendix 1. List of interviewees

■ Argentina: Maria Alejandra Sendon, Director de Mapa Educativo Nacional, Dirección de Información
Educativa / National Educational Map, Directorate of Educational Information

■ Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA): Renee Babb, GIS specialist and head of
the GIS department of CDEMA; Bernez Khodra, Senior Programme Officer, Safe Schools at CDEMA

■ Development Seed: Kathryn Berger, Machine Learning Engineer

■ Giga: Dohyung Kim, Lead Data Scientist, UNICEF

■ Jamaica: Melissa Lunan-McTavish, Assistant Chief Education Officer, and Rashida Green, Education Planner,
Educational Planning Unit, Ministry of Education and Youth

■ Kenya: Peter Macharia, PhD, (Spatial epidemiologist) Population Health Unit, Kenya Medical Research
Institute (KEMRI) — Wellcome Trust Research programme (KWTRP)

■ USAID Malawi: Kondwani Nyirongo, Program Management Specialist

■ Peru: Claudia Lisboa, Director of the Statistics Unit, and Amalia Sevilla, Coordinator of Regional Analysis,
Unidad de Estadística, Ministerio de Educación / Statistics Unit, Ministry of Education

■ Sierra Leone: Adama Jean Momoh, Director of Policy and Planning, Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary
Education

48
 Appendix 2. School maps
Sierra Leone
The Integrated Geographic Information System (GIS) Portal is an interactive and public platform that connects
different GIS datasets from the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) and its partners. The platform will let people in
charge of decision-making see and use data from schools, hospitals, government facilities, and natural resources,
among others. The school data available consists of the EMIS code, school type, ownership, approval status, total
enrolment, accessibility, year of foundation and GPS.

https://www.gis.dsti.gov.sl/ Retrieved 24 November 2022

Argentina
The ‘interactive educational map of Argentina’ is a public, interactive map that allows the user to filter by level and
includes, among other geographic information, the name, location, and postal code of certain schools.

https://mapa.educacion.gob.ar/mapa-interactivo Retrieved 24 November 2022

Jamaica

49
The school map of Jamaica was shared with the authors via Google Earth and is not available publicly. The following
data is available for every school: School name, school level, total enrolment, capacity, ownership, geographic
information, contact information and year of construction.

CDEMA
The GeoCRIS is an interactive map from the Caribbean Risk Information System (CRIS). GeoCRIS gives access to
geographic data essential for risk and hazard mapping, in addition to emergency preparedness and response
operations. The GeoCRIS is a collection of information from all countries of the region, gathered from both public
and member-provided information sources. The data available for each country varies from one to the other.

CDEMA Geocris: Find geospatial data for all CDEMA member states5

5 https://geocris2.cdema.org/ Retrieved 24 November 2022

50
 Peru
The ESCALE (Educational Quality Statistics) website is a tool that provides detailed information on registered
educational institutions throughout Peru and a wide range of statistical data on the education sector.

Giga
UNICEF is mapping the location and internet connectivity of every school in the world in real time. This map, which
is hosted on an open data platform, is helping governments and other organisations around the world close the
digital divide. Over 900,000 schools in more than 35 countries have been mapped so far, and that number is growing
quickly. The map shows the connectivity for each school and the name of the school.

Project Connect (unicef.org)6

6 https://projectconnect.unicef.org/map/ Retrieved 24 November 2022

51
 Appendix 3. Interview guide
Background

1. Could you please describe your role for us?

2. What is your office / department responsible for?

3. How is your department connected to school mapping activities?

a. Does your department work with other departments or agencies on school mapping?

b. How long has your department or government been using school mapping?

Data Collection & Analysis

4. Does your department or government collect geospatial school data?

a. If yes, please walk us through the data collection process

i. Who is involved? (To understand sustainability of process)

1. Do they hire specialists who do this occasionally, or is it integrated into the regular
assessments?

2. Are school principals / MoE staff trained to collect the data?

ii. What tools are used?

1. Do you use remote sensing and / or GPS tracking?

2. What is the format of the data (website, platform, spreadsheet)?

iii. What are the high-level steps in the process?

iv. Do you have a differentiated collection method for new schools, or is it available in the
school map until it is collected for new schools?

v. Is the data updated on a regular basis? If yes, how often?

vi. What are the challenges at this stage?

b. If no, who collects the data? An NGO or third party that is hired?

i. Who is involved and what tools are used?

ii. What are the high-level steps in the process?

iii. How is the data shared and hosted between the government and the other organisation?

5. How does your department analyse the data?

a. Who is involved and what tools are used?

Data Use & Interpretation

52
6. Is the data publicly accessible or used only internally?

a. Is there some data that is publicly available and some that is just used internally? Why?

7. What does your department use the data for?

a. Are you aware of any other organisations or government departments that use it?

8. What do you think this data has told you about the education sector?

9. Is the data really informing decision-makers about what is currently happening in the education sector? In
what ways?

10. Could you help us better understand how the data is translated into concrete actions? For example, can you
remember an instance where school mapping, particularly GIS data, was used to inform a school building
project, to assess risks, or to allocate teachers?

a. What do you think makes it difficult to translate this data into action? What would make it easier?

b. What do you think has facilitated this? What are ‘good practices’ to replicate in terms of school
mapping and decision-making?

53
 Appendix 4. Qualitative analysis codes

Disaster Risk Reduction Social services National planning

Enrolment Teachers Challenges

Health Transportation
Application
Infrastructure Isochrone maps

Resource allocation Cross-sector collaboration

School feeding program Internet/connectivity

Process Software

Format Open data

Data collection
and analysis
Background
Data collectors

Data security Challenges

MoE HQ Implementing partner

Users Regional/District officials Schools’ operations dept

Health sector

Cost-effectiveness Transparency

Impact
Reliability Enabling decision-making

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Appendix 5. Organigrams: Organisational structure of the school mapping department
In the case of Sierra Leone, the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) addresses all school-mapping related tasks through their deputy director, on the
planning department (marked in gree). Sierra Leone has mainly used school maps to allocate resources, create isochrone maps, and deploy teachers. This organigram is in
place since 2019.

55
Peru houses all work related to school mapping in the statistics unit within the office of strategic monitoring and evaluation (marked in green). These maps have been used
to identify possible vaccination centres.

ED/GEMR/MRT/2023/P1/21

https://doi.org/10.54676/EJZH8821
56