Premier wants concerted effort to help special-needs children
It must be all hands on deck to ensure children with special needs are also afforded a decent education, Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane said yesterday.
As part of a back-to-school programme, Mabuyane visited four special-needs schools in Port Elizabeth — Cape Recife High School, Quest School for Learners with Autism, Westview Special School and Merryvale Special School.
The visit was undertaken to determine what kind of challenges the schools faced.
Some of the challenges raised by principals included a lack of staff, particularly physiotherapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists and social workers, support staff and long waiting lists.
Westview High School principal Petrus van Rooyen said in his 32 years at the school it was the first time a high-profile official had visited the school, adding that this was a positive sign.
“Space is a serious issue faced by special-needs schools.
“In a space of five years I can say that there are more than 1,000 pupils that I do not know what became of because the school could not accommodate them,” he said. He said he tried to accept as many pupils as possible.
“The school was built 60 years ago to accommodate 450 pupils, today we stand at nearly 740 pupils registered.
“The bonus side of this is that we have a 52 teacher complement, however we do not have classrooms.
“Another challenge we have at the school is that we do not have social workers.
“But for the first time in a very long time I have hope,” Van Rooyen said.
Quest School principal Lottie de Vries said they had 72 pupils on their waiting list and 69 new applicants.
Last year, Mabuyane said three new special-needs schools would be built — in Nelson Mandela Bay, Buffalo City and Mthatha.
Yesterday, however, he said before the schools were built it was important to look at how the department of education could expand the facilities already in operation.
The establishment of the schools is expected to bring much-needed relief to parents who cannot afford to place their children in existing special-needs schools.
The move will also see more pupils with special needs access education and care tailored to their needs.
“We are working on the plans, but we are also looking beyond just building new infrastructure,” the premier said.
“What we want is to accommodate our children with special needs and we do have schools that are being rationalised by the department of education so those buildings are also available.
“There is the big school that is being built in Port St Johns and the expansion of schools such as Arcadia in East London.
“Here [Nelson Mandela Bay] we are also looking at how to expand current infrastructure so that the school can accommodate those who have already been assessed,” he said.