Thousands of special needs learners still not placed at schools

The Centre for Child Law in its submissions to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities noted that there are about 500,000 to 600,000 learners with disabilities who aren’t attending school. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks

More than 34,000 learners with special education needs attend special and mainstream schools in the Western Cape. But some parents still struggling to get spots for their children believe the department of education is not doing enough to help them.

According to the Western Cape Department of Education (WCED), there are 75 special schools and 173 mainstream schools that can accommodate certain learners with certain special needs.

But some parents like Phumeza Hulushe from Site B, Khayelitsha who says her 16-year-old is repeating grade 7 for the second time this year. “My son is a slow learner and struggles at school. He has been on the waiting list for placement at a school of skills since last year.”

Hulushe said her son is now suggesting that he no longer go to school because he says the children make fun of him for being an older learner still at primary school. “I have to constantly beg him to go. He is running out of time because of his age, so I am really hoping that the school of skills comes through for us. I don’t want him wasting his time sitting at home doing nothing,” said Hulushe.

Another parent, Sibongile Mbebe from Harare in Khayelitsha is a wheelchair user and a former foundation phase teacher. Mbebe’s four-year-old son, Zukhanye, has autism and spends most days at home or at a nearby creche which is not properly equipped to care for him.

“The teachers describe him as a very quiet child in class and only responds at his own time,” she said.

Mbebe said she found a private school in Somerset West, but it costs R7,000 per month which she cannot afford.

Hulushe and Mbebe joined about 40 people who picketed outside Parliament in May. The picket was organised by Freedom to the Forgotten, a disability rights advocacy organisation.

The group, supported by disability rights activists, picketed outside Parliament ahead of the elections in May. They demand that the government do more to help people, particularly children, with intellectual and physical disabilities. Their grievances included issues with adequate housing, education, employment and access to essential services. Photo: Mary-Anne Gontsana

WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said, “There are six special schools specifically focusing on supporting physically disabled and cerebral palsy learners. Some moderate needs are accommodated at mainstream schools where wheelchair access, for example, is provided.”

She said as of the beginning of 2024, the department records show there are 631 learners with cerebral palsy and 585 with physical disabilities who attend 21 special schools. “There are approximately 13,000 learners with various disabilities in mainstream schools,” said Hammond.

Regarding waiting lists at special schools, Hammond said the department does not have a “verified collated list” so it’s not clear how many learners in the province are still waiting for placement at special needs schools.

In his March 2024 budget speech, provincial MEC for Education, David Maynier said an additional R71.4m would be allocated to improve support for learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

“We completed two new special needs schools this year and have been adding dozens of extra classrooms to existing special schools to accommodate more learners.”

In July, the Centre for Child Law (CCL) made a submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

On education, the centre highlighted that access to education for children with disabilities takes three forms in South Africa: ordinary public schools, full-service schools and special schools under the oversight of the Department of Basic Education.

According to the centre, there are about 500,000 to 600,000 learners with disabilities who aren’t attending school. “The current legislative and policy framework regulating the planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting of access to services for children with disabilities remains fragmented, and outdated.”

“Nearly 121,500 children with disabilities are enrolled in ordinary schools; 119,500 are enrolled in special schools and an additional 11,500 have been placed on long waiting lists because of a lack of spaces in public schools,” the centre wrote.

The centre noted that many parents have reported being on the waiting lists for years, “some up until their child ages out of the basic education system and is removed from the waiting list”.