Limpopo’s learners with special needs have evidently been delivered to an unspeakable rot for years. It is a rot that apparently goes so deep that no quick fix remedy could save scores of children who are attending state facilities and are left to their own devices. The pressing situation has moved Democratic Alliance (DA) Legislature member Katlego Susan Phala to kick-start a chain of actions in her quest to expose a disturbing reality.
She raised the matter with the MEC for Education earlier this week, apart from further intending to lay a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission and to move for a Legislature debate in near future.
Phala has just concluded a journey of 1 233 km over three days for purposes of oversight visit to six schools for learners with special needs across the province and in an interview with Polokwane Observer shared the atrocities children with all kind of impairments are being subjected to in the name of Department of Education teaching.
She explained that her visits to Rivoni School for the Blind, Tshilwavhusiku Razwimisani Special School at Louis Trichardt, Yingisani School for Special Education and Letaba Primary Special School both situated adjacent to Letaba Hospital, Sedibeng School for the Deaf in Lephalale and Thusanang Special School at Bela-Bela followed the issuing of a pre-oversight report conducted by the research unit of the Legislature that was signed off on 24 July. She, however, opted to visit different institutions from the ones chosen for purposes of the research report.
According to Phala the disheartening state of infrastructure, harm posed by dilapidated and poorly planned facilities, lacking services and neglect towards children who are left to their own devices clearly indicated that the ruling party government in Limpopo didn’t care about learners with special needs. “Education has completely collapsed,” she added. She stressed that Premier Stan Mathabatha and Education MEC Ishmail Kgetjepe did not care enough to go visit the institutions to acquaint themselves with the state of affairs. “It tells a lot about the ANC and their leaders claiming to be caring about their people.”
Apart from having personally dropped off a letter addressed to Kgetjepe requesting relevant statistics and raising identified problems on Monday, Phala still intended to lay a complaint with the SAHRC next week relating to alleged violation of learners’ rights at one of the schools. As soon as the Legislature was back from recess she would be putting in a motion with notice to have the state of special schools in Limpopo debated in the house, she further added. During that session she would circulate copies of the images captured at the various schools she visited. Phala expressed the hope that Mathabatha would be present to follow the debate at the highest platform in the province that exists for holding MECs accountable. “Hopefully the MEC and the Premier would start visiting the schools and not applaud when schools like Rivoni School for the Blind get singled out for their matric results every year.”
From the images she brought back from her visits it is evident that the worst scenario prevailed at Thusanang Special School where fear of possible collapsing infrastructure – reportedly constructed less than seven years ago – compelled the relocation of boy learners to facilities previously occupied by girls only. Needless to say the arrangement created overcrowding issues, Phala emphasised. Other than that electric faults to kitchen equipment prevented staff of the school using it, she said. Phala also pointed out that after the school bus and vehicles “have been taken away from them by the Department of Education” learners who resided as far as Modimolle sometimes stayed at home due to private scholar transport being too expensive.
At Rivoni School for the Blind she claimed she had discovered over-crowded hostels, a shortage of teaching or support staff and learner aids such as Braille machines, questionable access to mobile classrooms, danger to the blind and partially blind learners in the form of damaged paving, a lack of laundry facilities save for only one washing machine operational at the time of the visit and no school bus to transport learners to the clinic or hospital.
Tshilwavhusiku Razwimisani Special School’s biggest problem in catering for 218 learners revolves around delayed construction of new classrooms that have reportedly been under construction since March last year. Another crisis arose from welding and carpentry classes being held outside and on rainy days not happening at all, she mentioned. A lack of scholar transport meant that learners had to rely on public or private transport. There the point was raised that the new Differentiated National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement had been welcomed, although training on it was not intense enough as it only lasted two days.
At Yingisani School for Special Education she had established that the school catered for 163 learners, but that staff trained in teaching deaf kids found it difficult to additionally care for others with multiple disabilities such as mental illness and autism. Another crisis that existed was linked to vacancies for a deputy principal and department heads as well as lack of teaching assistance and hostel supervisors. Staff were under added pressure due to staff not being trained to teach deaf learners. Phala remarked with concern that one of the house mothers was also deaf and in case of an emergency during her shift at night the hostel dwellers would be at risk. A reported shortage in classrooms and furniture seemed a great challenge. Only an outdated hearing testing machine was available but was reported to have been broken, Phala said. The school was in dire need of an oven, a refrigerator, a dish washer and extra washing machine.
Cause for concern at Letaba Primary Special School was expressed about an ex-kitchen worker doing duty as physiotherapist. The shortfall has sparked the intended complaint to the SAHRC, Phala said. A nurse who had reached retirement age had not left employment as yet as her substitute had not been introduced as yet, Phala added. At that school, too, she has observed a shortage of hostel supervisors. Learners further lacked wheelchairs and special shoes. At the time of last week’s visit, no laundry services had been delivered for a month due to the laundry machines having broken.
Sedibeng School for the Deaf experienced a grave situation in the rainy season when lack of drainage causes the hostels to flood, she said. A huge concern to staff, she reported, was an emergency exit that had been wrongly installed but not fixed. Due to a certificate of safety not having been made available to the school, no welding activities took place for fear of learner safety, she said. The school further lacked a hearing testing machine, she pointed out.
“A nation is judged by how it treats its children, the most vulnerable in society, and the ANC-led government in Limpopo is clearly failing these vulnerable souls with special needs. The special schools in the province have collapsed under the MEC and the ANC,” she concluded.
Departmental comment is still awaited.
Story & photo: YOLANDE NEL
>>observer.yolande@gmail.com
