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 makerecommendations on how indicators of disability status in EMIS could beimproved, to encourage more widespread reporting and avoid inaccurate enrolment data in the future.
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