Integration of the Education Management Information System and Internal Efficiency in Government Secondary Schools: Correlational Evidence from Mezam Division, Cameroon

Abstract: Cameroon has invested in digital information systems for school administration for more than a decade, yet government secondary schools continue to record high dropout, repetition and delayed completion. This study examined the relationship between the integration of the Education Management Information System (EMIS) and internal efficiency in government secondary schools in Mezam Division, North West Region of Cameroon. A cross-sectional correlational survey design was adopted within a positivist frame. Multistage sampling produced 504 respondents (65 administrative and 439 teaching personnel) drawn from ten government secondary schools with an accessible population of 1,429. Data were collected using a researcher-designed instrument, the EMIS Integration and Internal Efficiency Questionnaire, scored on a four-point Likert scale and validated by subject experts. Descriptive statistics and Spearman rank-order correlation were computed in SPSS. Respondents rated all four dimensions of EMIS integration above the criterion mean of 2.50: users' competencies and attitudes (M = 3.20), facility and infrastructure management (M = 2.87), data management practices (M = 2.86) and policy and regulatory framework (M = 2.79). Internal efficiency was rated at 2.89. Every dimension correlated positively and significantly with internal efficiency at p < .001: data management practices (rho = .888), facility and infrastructure management (rho = .815), users' competencies and attitudes (rho = .755) and policy and regulatory framework (rho = .699). The ordering suggests that what schools do with educational data matters more for internal efficiency than the policy environment surrounding them. Schools in the sample were stronger at recognising the value of EMIS than at operating it, and stronger at monitoring efficiency indicators than at improving the processes behind them. The study recommends standardised data collection protocols, school-level data quality audits, dedicated technical support at divisional level and sustained investment in server infrastructure and power supply.