Few schools for disabled kids
NEEDED: 1 380 FACILITIES WOULD HAVE TO BE BUILT FOR 418 306 PUPILS, SAYS MINISTER
Mothers tell of heartbreak trying to raise children with special needs.
A38-year-old mother from Kanana Park near Orange Farm in Gauteng said she is bothered by the lack of a suitable school for her disabled 12-year-old son.
Fistos Cutshwa was born with cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects his movement, motor skills and muscle tone.
Cynthia Cutshwa has made peace with her son’s condition but he has never been to school.
“He loves education with all his heart. Every time he sees other kids in uniform, going or coming from school, he asks why he can’t go to school like other kids. Why is he different from other kids? These are his questions. This really breaks my heart.
“I don’t know where to start teaching him at home,” said the unemployed single mother of two, who survives on a government child grant and by selling bunny chows.
Cutshwa says Fistos has grasped basic numeracy but could do much better if he went to school.
Her story is the same as other mothers of disabled children in the area. They have expressed similar pain in seeing their children growing up without experiencing formal education.
They try to place their kids in schools, but education officials tell them there is no space and they are put on a waiting list.
Sinethemba Mchunu lives several blocks away from Cutshwa’s house. She is 32 and both her boys, Kwanele, 5, and Xolani, 7, were born with cerebral palsy.
She puts them on a sofa and tries to play with them but suddenly bursts into tears.
Mchunu is also struggling to get her kids into school.
Her former husband abused her and kicked her and the boys out of the house. She has sought refuge at her mother’s home.
“I’m suffering a double blow. I’m always angry and wanting to kill myself. I cry a lot,” she said, adding that some neighbours don’t understand her situation and mock her.
She said Kwanele is able to talk and a school would help him a great deal.
She is also unemployed and says she can’t do anything except look after her kids.
The Gauteng education department said the demand for special schools in Orange Farm was high and while pupils were on the waiting list, the health or social welfare departments should provide them with interim support.
“It is important to note that all [pupils] with high support needs should receive support in a special school with the appropriate curriculum and support services,” said Steve Mabona, spokesperson for the department.
He added that being on the waiting list depended on issues such as the type of support required, the area where parents live, availability of hostels and availability of space in schools.
“It is not ideal for any [pupil] to be on a waiting list indefinitely.
“In Gauteng, we fast track all placements to be concluded as soon as possible, but definitely within 12 months,” Mabona said.
During her keynote address at a conference hosted by the South African National Association for Specialised Education, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga revealed there might be as many as 500 000 disabled children nationwide not in school.
She referred to the General Household Survey of 2017 which reported that 25.9% of children in the five to 15-year-old group are not attending an educational institution.
Motshekga said if the current solution of building new schools to accommodate learners with disabilities continued, 1 380 new schools would have to be built (300 pupils per school) to accommodate the 418 306 pupils not accounted for in the school enrolment.
“Because this is not feasible, a radically different approach needs to be followed to meet the needs of children and youth with disabilities in an inclusive education system,” she said. – ANA Health-e News