Shock report on denial of schooling for poor kids with disabilities
A DEAF child has spent 17 years sitting at home unable to communicate except by pointing. Despite being perfectly capable of learning, he was never taught sign language.
The child’s mother told Section27 — a public interest law centre seeking equality and social justice — that her son has never been to school.
He was put on a waiting list for a special school when he was eight years old, but was declined admission for being too old when he was 12.
This is one of the shocking findings of a Section27 report titled “Too Many Left Behind — Exclusion in the South African Inclusive Education System”, which focused on the Umkhanyakude district in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
The report follows three years of research into barriers to education for people with disabilities in Manguzi, a community 15km south of the MozambiqueSouth Africa border.
The researchers interviewed nearly 100 caregivers of children with disabilities between 2013 and 2015. Late last year they visited all three special schools and 11 full-service schools in the district and interviewed principals, teachers and other staff.
The 106-page report paints a gloomy picture of the plight of a large number of children with disabilities who do not have access to schooling.
A Department of Basic Education report released in November last year revealed there could be as many as 182 150 children with disabilities in KwaZulu-Natal aged between five and eight, about 75% of whom may not be getting schooling.
Section27 found widespread violations of the rights of the Umkhanyakude children. These “exact a very heavy price on poor, black children with disabilities in the district and amount to systemic violations of their constitutional rights to education, equality and dignity”.
The majority of parents and caregivers told researchers their children were on “waiting lists” at special schools and often languished on these for years without any contact from schools or the department.
Said a parent of a child with physical and intellectual disability: “My son is 11 years old and is presently in Grade 1 at Khulani Special School. He has both physical and intellectual disabilities. US fencer Gerek Meinhardt, left, competes against Russia’s Artur Akhmatkhuzin during the men’s team foil semifinal at the Rio Olympics. Russia won gold He gets very confused and forgetful. He also has difficulty with his speech. He needs assistance to use the toilet.
“He cannot read, write or count. He can only colour in pictures. He can walk but gets tired very quickly and falls.
“He was on the waiting list for Sizakele Special School before the school was built, but I still have not heard from them.”
Another parent said: “The doctors [at Manguzi Hospital] referred my son to school, and I was told that he would be placed on a waiting list and I would receive a call. I have still not received a call. He was delayed in learning to walk and talk . . .
“He is eight years old. He has been out of school for more than two years. Both my son and I are hurt that he is not at school. It means that the teachers think that my son is nothing compared to other people.”
Section27 has recommended, among other things, that the provincial education department urgently make plans to ensure that children with disabilities have increased access to education, and in conjunction with Umkhanyakude authorities implement mobilisation and awareness campaigns on disability and inclusive education.
S'celo Khuzwayo, education department spokesman, said the Section27 report was not a true reflection of the situation.
“For many years there was no special school in the district and when the department realised that, three state-of-the-art special schools worth more than R50-million were built,” he said.
However, the department acknowledged additional resources were needed.
I was told he would be on a waiting list. I have still not received a call