Springs mother struggles for two years to enrol son in special needs school
The nine-year-old child was not happy at his former school as his peers were allegedly bullying him because of his speech disorder.
A frustrated mother’s son suffers from a speech impediment and needs to be placed in a special needs school. Image: iStock
A frustrated mother has been having difficulties putting her nine-year-old child into a special school for more than two years.
According to the mother, she applied for space at Protea School in January 2017, but was told the child needed to go for an assessment.
“I was given the date of May 12, 2017, for the assessment to be done and my son was found with a speech disorder and ADHD, according to the assessment done at Protea School,” she told Springs Advertiser.
ALSO READ: Minister, inmates give special needs school a new look
According to the mother, the child was not happy at his former school because his peers were allegedly bullying him because of his speech disorder.
This prompted her to apply for a place at Protea.
In May, the mother decided to remove her child from the former school, as she said the child couldn’t take the bullying anymore.
When contacted by Springs Advertiser for comment, the school said they could not comment and referred the paper to the Gauteng department of education (GDE).
GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona said: “We can confirm that a waiting period to access a special school once placement is approved should be the shortest period possible.
“It must be noted that schools do not facilitate placement as placement is managed by a district-based support team. In this case, parents must visit the Gauteng East Educational District.”
The mother said she had gone to the department and had been calling them, but no one was able to tell her why her son had still not been placed.
Further queries were sent to the GDE by Springs Advertiser, but the department failed to respond in time for publication.
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
For more news your way
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
