Education Management Information Systems - Home

 

Why have an Education Management Information System (EMIS)? 

The national Department of Education, in common with other government departments, has a constitutional and legislative responsibility for reporting and accounting to the parliament and the public on the education system.

One in five Rands of the State budget is consumed in providing education to South Africans. Accountability for these resources drives the development of the EMIS. Monitoring and evaluating the education system using the EMIS provides information, which is used to improve efficiency and optimise resource allocation.

At local level, learner and parent communities require information about education institutions and outcomes in order to make decisions about education choices and opportunities.

Our mission as the Education Management Information System directorate

The Directorate is charged with the development and elaboration of a national Education Management Information System (EMIS) which will cover schools, colleges, Higher Education, Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET), Early Childhood Development (ECD), Education for Learners with Special Education Needs (ELSEN) centres and Further Education and Training (FET) institutions.

The Directorate is also responsible for:

Support for the Education Management Information System directorate

Since 1995, the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) have supported the EMIS development project in the form of substantial financial and technical assistance.

Provincial EMIS units have also received technical development assistance from USAID. In addition, AusAid have provided financial support for the Department of Education in the form of technical assistance in the development of the Higher Education MIS and the FET MIS.

The national Education Management Information System Steering Committee

In 1995, the national EMIS SC was established by the DoE to guide and advise the DoE on the establishment of a comprehensive national EMIS covering all sub-sectors of the education system. The SC has representatives from the nine provinces and includes representatives of the EMIS units in the nine provincial education departments and the national Department of Education. In addition, the SC in its present form includes representatives of non-governmental organisations, unions and specialists in education information. The SC periodically submits reports to the Heads of Education Departments committee (HEDCOM) on progress of EMIS activities through the Directorate: Information Systems.

The EMIS SC was charged with developing a national EMIS which would collect, analyse and report data on learners, staff, institutions, facilities and resources in the education system.

Education Management Information System Clients

EMIS units (Provincial and national) regularly provide services to other components in education as well as to: