22,000 tablets for census

By JESHER TILTO
A TOTAL of 22,000 tablets to be used during the 2024 national census will improve data collection and quality, says national statistician John Igitoi.
“The use of tablets called computer-assisted personal interview (Capi) is a safer, secure and quality-conscious approach,” Igitoi explained.
“Apart from many benefits of using the tablets, it will improve data quality, reduce statistical processing time, monitor the enumeration progress, rectify issues on the spot in the field, and data synced directly from the field and secured onto the server at the National Statistical Office.
“Traditionally, the interviewing process was done with pen and paper, where someone would ask questions, write down the answers, submit the questionnaires to the headquarters and then enter all that data onto a computer.
“It was a slow and error-prone process.
“With the use of Capi, things would work differently and improve statistical processing time as well as the quality of information collected will improve.”
Igitoi said the use of the tablets would allow for real-time updates that would produce faster results of the population count.
“The Capi software includes a built-in check to make sure the data is consistent and accurate.
“This helps maintain high data quality,” he said.
“Since the data is already digital, there’s no need to write things down.
“We can monitor the progress at the national headquarters, and it can be analysed and processed much faster.
“This means one can get results and insights more quickly.
“For this population count figures, the counts can be announced at least within four weeks.”