Inclusive plan for disabled children

Education department given 4 years to ensure full equality in all schools

The department of education has given itself four years to ensure that disabled schoolchildren can access all public schools in the Eastern Cape.

Eighteen years after the inclusive education policy was promulgated, the provincial department has yet to get it right. Speaking at a three-day inclusion education indaba in East London, education MEC Mlungisi Mvoko said they were battling to implement the policy.

This policy dismantled the separation of disabled and nondisabled pupils in the education system, and ensured all children were able to attend the same school and receive the same quality education.

In an effort to effect the policy, Mvoko said their plans would include constructing wheelchair ramps, providing support materials such as Braille and appointing trained and qualified staff.

Mvoko said: “There is a challenge with implementing the policy, I must admit. One of our biggest struggles was to attract the people who are correctly qualified.

“The plan is that we slowly gravitate towards ensuring there is inclusivity in our schools in the next four years.”

The three-day indaba is being hosted by the department and the Eastern Cape Disability Economic Empowerment Trust (ECDEET) at at the Regent Hotel in East London, and finishes on Friday.

On the first day of the indaba, speaker, Lidia Pretorius, chief director of persons with disability at the office of the national department of social development, shocked the audience when she said in an interview that there were more than 4,000 disabled children in the province at home waiting to be placed in schools.

Pretorius told an audience of 800 that disabled children in the province had a high chance of being marginalised, segregated, abused and neglected.

The CEO of the ECDEET, Thabiso Phetuka said the number of disabled children who had not set foot into school was much greater than 4,000.

“The 4,000 are only those who are documented, the number is much higher,”

Phethuka said the move to prioritise inclusive education by the department was a step in the right direction.

“It’s a fact, disabled children are denied education. We have schools for disabled children that do not have Grade 12. Where do those children go after completing their primary schooling?” asked Phethuka.

According to the promulgated policy, the department must:

● Provide site-based support to staff and pupils;

● Modify the curriculum content taught, the medium of instruction, the pace of teaching and time available to complete the curriculum;

● Alter school infrastructure to make classrooms accessible, build at least one disabled friendly toilet, build ramps or stair lifts;

● Provide assistive technology and specialised equipment; and

● Provide materials in Braille, vocal recordings and visual material.

The provincial education department’s chief director for social support services, Sharon Maasdorp said they had identified 10 schools to be equipped to meet the policy.

“Some of the schools to be identified would be the schools closed in the rationalisation programme,” said Maasdorp.