Ministry of Education(MIS100 2009)

By CIO staff | Friday, July 24 2009

2008 ranking: 35

Senior IS executive: Leanne Gibson, CIO
Reports to: Kristine Kilkelly, deputy secretary people and business capability
Size of IS shop: 210

PCs: 1965
Mobile PCs: 1327
Terminals: 827
Hand-held devices: 350
Total screens: 4469

Industry: Government and defence
PC environment: Lenovo, HP, Windows XP
Server environment: IBM; Windows 2000, 2003; Linux
DBMS: Oracle, SQL
Address: 117-125 Lambton Quay, Wellington
Website: www.minedu.govt.nz
Key IS projects this year: eAsttle (a numeracy and literacy assessment tool for years 5 to 10); FIRST (Management of Early Childhood Centre Licencing); upgrading the National Student Index (the register that issues student numbers); teacher’s payroll.

The government has identified two key priorities for education: Improving achievement in literacy and numeracy, and ensuring students leave school with worthwhile qualifications.

The Ministry of Education’s goal is to build a world-leading education system that equips all New Zealanders with the knowledge, skills and values to be successful citizens. The Ministry of Education IT Group supports this work by providing infrastructure for both the ministry and the wider education sector and by delivering capital and sector work programmes.

Leanne Gibson, the CIO for the Ministry of Education, says the ministry is strengthening its capability and performance, and driving improvements in how it manages risk, contracts and vendors in work programmes. The focus this year is on the value of ministry investments. This includes improving how data is collected, managed and shared between agencies, along with improving accessibility and connectivity, and the building of sector partnerships.

Much of the emphasis of work with the sector is maximising value through shared investment. This in turn requires strengthening infrastructural support and planning for business continuity and disaster recovery. Among the key projects for 2009 are e-AsTTle — a numeracy and literacy assessment tool for students in years 5 to 10. Other projects include FIRST which will manage licencing for Early Childhood Centres, and an upgrade of the National Student Index (a register used to issue student numbers.)

The Ministry will also move the Teacher’s Payroll to a new provider able to offer a system of enhanced services for the
schooling sector.