Exclusion in the South African Inclusive Education System with a Focus on the Umkhanyakude District, Kwazulu-Natal
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
TOO MANY CHILDREN LEFT BEHIND Exclusion in the South African Inclusive Education System With a focus on the Umkhanyakude District, KwaZulu-Natal A SECTION27 Report by Tim Fish Hodgson & Silomo Khumalo July 2016 TOO MANY CHILDREN LEFT BEHIND Exclusion in the South African Inclusive Education System With a focus on the Umkhanyakude District, KwaZulu-Natal A SECTION27 Report* July 2016 Tim Fish Hodgson† and Silomo Khumalo†† * Field Research, interviews and community engagements Editing and editorial comments were provided by Kate that have informed this report included the following Paterson, Luvo Nelani, Mark Heywood and Tina Power. SECTION27 employees in addition to the authors: Muhammad Zakeria Suleman, Ngqabutho Mpofu, The authors would also like to applaud Siphilisa Isizwe, Dlamini Siphelo Mbeki, Patrick Zaid Mdletshe, Violet a Disabled People’s Organisation based in Manguzi, and Kaseke, Kate Paterson, Asiphe Funda, Simphiwe Sidu hospital staff at Manguzi Hospital – in particular Ms Margaret and Mark Heywood. SECTION27 was also assisted by Masinga, Ms Jabu Ndlovu, and Ms Maryke Bezuidenhout student members of the University of KwaZulu-Natal – for their continuous and tireless efforts to improve (UKZN) (Howard College) and University of Witwatersrand education for children with disabilities in Manguzi. branches of Students for Law and Social Justice. † Tim Fish Hodgson is a Legal Researcher at SECTION27, Considerable inputs were made to written drafts of this a former Law Clerk for Justice Zakeria Yacoob, and a report by SECTION27’s Advocate Faranaaz Veriava, who Masters-degree candidate at the University of Oxford. supervised the and directed the compilation of the report. Special thanks to Justice Zakeria Yacoob for his †† Silomo Khumalo is a Junior Researcher at SECTION27; he involvement in community engagements and guidance holds an LLB and an Honours degree in Public Policy from on SECTION27’s disability rights activism and research, UKZN, and has been appointed as a Law Clerk for Justice and to Robyn Beere of Inclusive Education South Africa Johan Froneman from July 2017. He is totally blind. for significant insights about inclusive education. CONTENTS GLOSSARY OF IMPORTANT TERMS AND CONCEPTS 4 FOREWORD 7 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 9 Voicing the concerns of teachers, principals and staff: victimisation and intimidation 10 Inclusive Education in the Umkhanyakude District: the third-poorest district in South Africa 10 South Africa’s inclusive education system: the wide gap between policy and reality 11 Vast numbers of children languishing in inappropriate schooling or with no schooling at all 11 No access to high schools for the significant majority of children with disabilities 13 Inflexible and undifferentiated curriculum: “Learners with barriers struggle a lot to pass” 13 Insufficient educators and professional staff: problems with post-provisioning 14 uMkhanyakude is the northernmost Unacceptable and unlawful abuse, neglect and corporal punishment in special-school hostels 15 Inadequate, unaccommodating infrastructure and poor service delivery 15 of the 11 districts of the KwaZulu- Trouble getting to school: dangerous, expensive and inappropriate learner transport 17 Too little money: inconsistent, non-transparent and unreliable funding for inclusive education 17 Natal province of South Africa. Its seat Ineffective and inactive support structures: negative attitudes, insufficient expertise and capacity 18 Purpose of this report: working with government to build an inclusive education system 18 is Mkuze. It is a very rural district, the SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 21 largest town being Mtubatuba in the ENDNOTES AND ANNEXURES 26 south, with Hluhluwe, Mkuze, Jozini, Kwangwanase and Ingwavuma further to the north. The majority of its 573,353 people speak IsiZulu (2001 Census) GLOSSARY OF IMPORTANT TERMS AND CONCEPTS Barriers to learning District-Based Support Team Inclusive Education Learning and Teaching Support Material Refers to difficulties that arise within the education system A district-based, government-operated entity that provides An education system that enables educational structures, Can include stationery and supplies, learning materials such as a whole, a community context, the learning site, and/ ongoing support to schools, teachers and learners, to systems and learning methodologies to meet the different as textbooks and workbooks, teaching and learning aids, or within a learner his/herself, which prevent educational address and accommodate for the barriers of learning of needs of all learners at all levels of the system, and in technological assistive devices, and workshop equipment. and social development for children. Children with children in schools in a district. It comprises medical and mainstream schools, full-service schools and special schools. disabilities often experience significant barriers to learning; educational professionals, experts and government officials. Post-provisioning but many other children experience such barriers too. Inclusive Education White Paper 6 The process whereby the provincial Department Disabled People’s Organisation A Department of Basic Education policy framework of Education determines, annually, the number of Children with disabilities An advocacy organisation controlled by a majority that seeks to give effect to the Schools Act and the state-funded educator and non-educator posts that Disability is an umbrella term for impairments, activity of people with disabilities, at board and membership Constitution’s requirements. It attempts to remedy are to be allocated to a particular public school. limitations and participation restrictions. Disability level. Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) are the segregated education system inherited from the is potentially an issue both at the level of a person’s formed and advocate for the rights of people apartheid government, and build an inclusive education Reasonable Accommodation body and as a result of an unaccommodating social with disabilities in a broad range of ways. system within 20 years of its implementation, by 2021. The consideration and adaption of conditions and physical environment. This report includes within and environments through the provision of this definition people with disabilities who are below Mainstream school Learner Support Centre resources, infrastructure, materials, equipment 18 years old, or who are older than 18 years old but Described in the Schools Act as an “ordinary” schools. Often, a separate structure to the school building. and time, to enable children with different still require primary and high school education. Public neighbourhood schools are described in this Provides a learning space and safe haven for children learning needs to perform equally in schools. report as ‘mainstream schools’ to mirror the terminology with disabilities at full-service schools, and houses ‘Children out of school’ or ‘out-of-school children’ used by staff members at schools in the Umkhanyakude facilities and resources for a range of support services. School-Based Support Team Children who do not attend school at all because they District. Mainstream schools are required to “reasonably A team comprising members of staff at a school and do not have access to an appropriate school that can accommodate” children with disabilities. Learner Support Assistant members of a school community, whose primary accommodate their needs, either in their community A Learner Support Assistant supports teachers and function is to put in place coordinated school, learner and or elsewhere. Children who are in schools that cannot Full-Service School children with barriers to learning in order to accommodate teacher support services to accommodate the different accommodate their educational needs because of A specially-designated, converted and resourced children’s educational and social development in full- learning needs of children with barriers to learning. their barriers to learning or disabilities can also be public mainstream primary or high school that caters service schools. This may be done through remedial described as being effectively ‘out of school’. for a majority of learners with low support needs, lessons after class, in class during teaching time, or Screening, Identification, Assessment and a smaller percentage of learners with disabilities through a ‘pull-out’ system during class time. and Support Policy CAPS Curriculum who have moderate or high support needs. A policy of the national Department of Education that The Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement earning Support Educator directs the process of enrolment and admission of learners (CAPS) is the national curriculum for Grade Special School A Learning Support Educator is a specialist position for with barriers to learning, and explains whether they R to Grade 12 learners in South Africa. A public primary or high school that caters a qualified educational professional who specialises in should attend mainstream, full-service or special schools. exclusively for children with high barriers to learning, the education of children with high barriers to learning, Curriculum Differentiation including disabilities, and requiring continuous, including children with disabilities. Such assistance includes The structuring and implementation of a flexible highly intensive educational support. support in performing curriculum-differentiation tasks, curriculum programme for learners based on their and developing individual support plans for learners. own individual