Special schools not ready for more pupils, says DA

Following oversight visits to four special schools in Limpopo, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has launched a plea for urgent attention to the basic hygiene and other needs in these schools.

The party said the department of basic education was nowhere near ready to phase in the last group of pupils to special schools in the province.

Visits to Siloe School for the Blind, Setotolwane Elsen Secondary School, Rivoni School for the Blind and Yingisani School for Special Education, revealed that the schools do not have the capacity to phase in more special pupils, while complying with Covid-19 regulations.

“All the schools faced similar problems such as not being ready to phase in more pupils, severe staff shortages, dilapidated infrastructure, and general neglect from the Limpopo department of basic education,” said DA member of the Limpopo Legislature Katlego Suzan Phala.

According to Phala, Rivoni School had no professional nurse, and staff registered their concerns regarding unnecessarily exposing any injured or ill pupils to Covid-19, as they would need to go to the hospital for any type of medical attention.

“Rivoni School has also had a vacant social worker post since 2016 and Yingisani School is also short of a social worker. Siloe School does not have a social worker, occupational therapist, optometrist and psychologist. It has a nurse that works during the week but the school does not have any pharmaceutical supplies and has resorted to buying medication on its own and was only limited to buying over-thecounter products,” she said.

“Setotolwane Secondary does not have a speech therapist. The school’s mobile classes are dilapidated and the ceiling was collapsing, which poses a safety risk to the pupils.”

Phala said all the schools noted serious concerns about not having enough classrooms and hostel spaces to practice social distancing when other pupils were phased in, as well as a lack of support from the department in filling vacant posts.

“It was, however, encouraging to see that all the schools visited had adequate personal protective equipment suppliers, hand sanitisers, and the teachers were trying their best to ensure that pupils adhere to Covid-19 regulations despite their challenges, which included a shortage of house mothers and cleaners as per the Covid-19 regulations,” said Phala.

On 9 July, the Office of the Premier told the Quality of Life and Status of Women, Youth and Disability Committee that special schools which were academic, were functioning and ready for the further phasing in of pupils.

The Limpopo basic education department undertook to investigate claims by the DA and take action if and when the need arises, pending the outcome of the investigations.