Avoiding inaccuracy: How should learner disability status be identified in EMIS?

We report on the quality and completeness of disability-disaggregated
enrolment data in the education management information system
(EMIS) in two provinces in South Africa. We show there has been a
dramatic decline in the number of learners with disabilities enrolled in schools
in Gauteng from 2017 to 2023. Initial results of Census 2022 also show a decline
in enrolment of 5- to 24-year-olds with disabilities, but the population estimates
in the 2022 Census may not be accurate enough for official use [1]. We believe
the observed decline in EMIS data is too steep to be credible and is largely the
result of a substantial decline in the reporting of disabilities in ordinary schools in
Gauteng. We provide two explanations for the decline in reporting of
learner disability status: the effects of the COVID-crisis and the mismatch in
disability categories in EMIS and in school assessment forms. We make
recommendations on how indicators of disability status in EMIS could be
improved, to encourage more widespread reporting and avoid inaccurate
enrolment data in the future.