Inclusive Education: DBE briefing

Meeting report

The Chairperson welcomed everyone to the meeting

The Chairperson apologised for the inconvenience. The Committee was supposed to be processing the BELA Bill but there are a lot of issues that the officials need to deal with. They need to rearrange all the submissions. For them to get a venue, they need to apply to be allocated one. Two of the officials also had other commitments. However, they are in full swing and working on the matters. Instead of the Committee not meeting because they were not going to be done with their work by today, it was agreed that the Committee should get a presentation from the Department. According to the programme, the Department is supposed to brief the Committee on NSLP but getting this would not be easy because of short notice. They managed to submit a presentation.

She thanked the DG and team for providing a presentation in a short period of time and for their understanding.

Today’s presentation will focus on Inclusive Education.

The Committee will proceed with the BELA Bill next week and it will be a physical meeting in Parliament.

Agenda
The meeting agenda was adopted.

Briefing by Department of Basic Education (DBE)
Mr Hubert Mathanzima Mweli, Director-General, DBE, said the briefing would be a progress on the implementation of inclusive education to date since White Paper 6.

The report can be used by the Minister for the incoming seventh administration. He stated upfront that because of the speed at which they needed information from the provinces, some of it was not complete. However, 90-95% of it was complete.

In the slide on adequacy funding for inclusive education, the Department did not include the proposals it had put forward to provinces to phase in adequacy funding to fund learners with special education needs to the level of the no-fee paying schools. Inclusive education by its nature, worldwide, is an expensive undertaking for obvious reasons because you need extra support and extra care that you need to provide to the most vulnerable in society, which is what they are enjoined to do. DBE has not finalised its discussions with the provinces regarding phasing in so it did not include that information. To do so would be negotiating with provinces in bad faith when they are already sharing the information with the Committee in public. He was just putting that disclaimer out there that some of this is not fully covered. Furthermore, it did not include the expenditure on LSPID (Learners with Severe to Profound Intellectual Disability) Grant because they are reported in other reports that are submitted to the Portfolio Committee and the provinces are also working on the final figures that will inform the final report so that information was not readily available.

He indicated that it was a lengthy presentation and that his colleagues would speak to the content as best as they could. What DBE would find valuable is to get input, advice, guidance, and advice from Members rather than to most of the time making the presentation.

He handed over to his colleagues.

Dr Moses Simelane, Chief Director: Curriculum Implementation and Monitoring, DBE, said the National Development Plan (NDP) sought to provide inclusive education to enable everyone to participate in a free society. There have been persistent challenges over the years that have stymied the implementation of the inclusive education policy. This includes: persistent Conceptual Misalignment on Inclusive Education and interchangeable perception of Inclusive Education and Special Needs Education continue to compromise the development of an inclusive basic education system.

Since 2001, South Africa has been developing an inclusive education schooling system from a White Paper, which only articulates Policy Aspirations rather than imperatives, thus limiting the deployment of resources at every level, resulting in slower progress made than desired.  
Strategies to Mobilise Out-of-School children and learners with disabilities have been relatively been ineffective due to a lack of commitment from a multi-disciplinary approach that has greater potential to advance progressive implementation of an Inclusive Education Policy. 
From 2002 to 2022, the number of special schools increased from 295 to 489; full-service schools increased from 30 to 832; learners with disabilities in public ordinary schools increased from 77 000 to 121 461; the enrolment of learners in special schools increased from 435 to 137 483 nationally. Children with disability supported by the LSPID Grant in special care centres and targeted schools started in 2018 and stood at 8 641.

Mr Jabulani Ngcobo, Director: Inclusive Education, DBE, then spoke to special needs schools’ funding and on the implementation of budget requirements [slides 16-18].

Dr Simelane continued the presentation, moving on to speak to teacher training on the Screening, Identification, Assessment, and Support (SIAS) policy in specialised areas of disability; full-service schools and inclusivity; strengthening the capacity of special schools; the provision of learning and support materials to learners with disabilities; the performance of learners with disabilities in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) qualification. the learning programme and services for LSPIDs; the curriculum and assessment policy statement for LSPIDs; the occupational stream for learners with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities; access to learning programmes and services for learners in conflict with the law; the transition from school to work for learners with disabilities; infrastructure in special schools; learner transport; stakeholder engagement; the monitoring of the implementation of inclusive education; the review of Education White Paper 6. Remedial measures to plug identified gaps were:
The mobilisation and placement of out-of-school learners with disabilities by the multi-disciplinary task team;
Intensifying early identification and intervention through SIAS Policy;
Improving the functionality of district-based support systems to provide a co-ordinated professional support service;
Qualitative improvement of special schools into resource centres.
Strengthening data management systems to build a nationally integrated database of children with disabilities;
Provision of learning environments that are safe, accessible, and welcoming to all learners;
Strengthening connectivity and use of information technologies and artificial intelligence for inclusion in education.
Review of Education White Paper 6 to strengthen the country’s path towards an inclusive education and training system.
Audit of special schools to measure successes and areas of concern to strengthen implementation.

(See Presentation)

Discussion
Taking into account that all children with disabilities would have access to quality education, Ms M van Zyl (DA) referred to an Eastern Cape school, Ikwezi Lokusa Special School, and described the harsh conditions and experiences of learners. This included the rape of a learner by a male teacher. The learners were not valued, supported, or included. She could not understand how there could be under-expenditure on special needs schools, some as low as 45%, where provinces are unable to spend the money allocated to them when there is already a shortfall in money allocated, then we have situations and circumstances like the one she described.  She said social workers should do an extra year after their studies just like doctors did, to address the massive understaffing. What was the Department doing to attract and keep qualified teachers at the special schools in rural areas specifically?

Ms van Zyl asked how many learners – per province - qualify but do not get learner transport.

Mr B Madlingozi (EFF) asked why the highest concentration of special needs schools were located in Gauteng and Western Cape. What hindrances did the government face in implementing inclusive education? Why has it taking so long to introduce such an important measure in our education system? He said the BELA Bill had to be passed as soon as possible. He asked about a certain preparatory school in Pietermaritzburg and how the school governing bodies dealt with issues of a school principal. In his view, the SGs were useless and biased in how they dealt with learners, teachers, and matters.

He also asked about decolonising the education system.

Mr B Nodada (DA) said this was a sensitive, serious, and painful part of the sector that they have to deal with. The presentations are helpful but when they do the oversight visits, they uncover very unfortunate situations.

He referred to a school – based in Mpumalanga - that he had reported about in a meeting. The Department and the DG were helpful in making an intervention and those children are now placed in a temporary hostel. That is why the oversight visits help because Members get to see things in reality beyond presentations. He added that the conditions are still poor as some of the classrooms are made into hostels and asked the Department to make a follow-up. The reason he is making this point is because Hon van Zyl Ikwezi Lokusa, which is in appalling condition. Ikwezi Lokusa was just one example and asked if, nationally, there was a targeted infrastructure programme to aid special needs schools, as some of them were on private property with poor facilities and infrastructure. He said some full-service schools were such only in name. He proposed that the Committee needed a targeted programme to visit full-service schools with unannounced oversight visits. How often were full-service schools inspected? What were the barriers to resolving the issues of learner cases identified under SIAS? What was the vacancy number for personnel like social workers and occupational therapists? Was there any collaboration with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) in terms of the allocation of social workers to address behavioural challenges and also how did the partnership link to special needs schools? How many schools did not have staff trained in SIAS? He asked that the Department address the issues at Ikwezi Lokusa and report back. He asked why the DBE was not reporting on home education. Was the equitable share for special needs schools done in line with how it should be done across the sector and was there a problem with finances in these categories?

Ms D Van Der Walt (DA) encouraged Members to watch the Carte Blanche insert, which aired on 3 September, on Ikwezi Lokusa.

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-Oj_nBMrwA

She expressed a concern that we always talk about the elderly, children, and women being the most vulnerable in society but today the Committee is addressing an issue of the real vulnerable people in society. Those are children with special needs to make sure that they can live their lives –within their constraints – to the fullest.

She noted the R21 billion shortfall listed by the PEDs but what happens when the shortfall remains? How are we going to deal with the shortfall and what is going to be cut? If you have such a huge shortfall affecting such a vulnerable sector, what will be cut? It would be fair to implore Members where are you going to cut if the shortfall remains?

She said there were not enough specialised educators across the criteria of what is needed in special needs schools. The focus should be on achieving outcomes and not just listing the challenges. The Department needed to act on getting therapists at schools. She raised the issue of learner transport and the fact that the Education Department was not responsible for transport in all provinces. Was the transport safe and accommodating of the learner? Had the Department received requests for a base education framework, like in the UK, and were there any discussions on it? How would the District Curriculum Accommodation Plan (DCAP) be properly implemented given the lack of suitable qualified trade instructors? She expressed concern that the policy task team was ‘state heavy’ with little input from independent providers who were on the ground.

The Chairperson expressed her concern for the children reflected in the enrolment dropout numbers and what these children were doing. What was the Department doing to get them back? She said it was known that care centres were not in good condition and had a staffing problem. What did the process of moving children from these care centres into schools entail? She spoke about the conditional grant that the Department was not using effectively. There are schools where learners do not have assistive devices that they need and have to share. This is a problem because the teaching quality is not sufficient.

Mr Mweli said the Minister had appointed an inter-ministerial task team, which included experts and people from the disability sector, to overhaul inclusive education despite the progress made to date.

He said the incident at the Eastern Cape school was unfortunate. He saw the Carte blanche video last night and immediately Dr Soyisile Nuku, Acting HOD, who would deal with the matter. He was made to understand that the problem is that some of these schools were on private property and the learners suffered when the Department and owners could not come to an agreement which affected the upkeep of the school. He would send a team to do their own investigation on the matter. DBE would be conducting an audit of the 442 special needs schools to get a full sense of what is happening. He agreed with the point on the NDP and inclusive education and had made an undertaking regarding the school in the Eastern Cape that appeared on Carte Blanche.

Regarding slides 13 and 18, he said the Department did budget mapping on what it would take to get all special needs learners to reach the level of no-fee schools. Hence the budget shortfall.

On the budget shortfall of R21b, Dr Simelane said these were proposed budgets to resolve the implementation of inclusive education adequately. One of the targets was to make special needs schools no-fee schools, as some parents were using the disability grant to pay school fees. The plan was to have a phased-in implementation until 2030.

Mr Mweli highlighted that the shortfall was not a normal shortfall, but bringing the schools to be no-fee schools.

On the issue of understaffing, he said one should wait for the audit report which should be done by the end of the year.

On unqualified teachers, he said special needs teachers were prioritised in the Funza Lushaka programme as their numbers were very low. People had been redeployed at one point to special needs schools without the necessary skills and training.

On the provision of psycho-social services, he said the Department was responding through the LSPID grants and through schools sharing multi-disciplinary teams.

On learner transport, he said funds were given to procure busses to ferry learners rather than using public modes of transport. He conceded that some learners did use public transport that was not properly equipped for their needs.

On the highest concentration of special needs schools being in Gauteng and the Western Cape, he said it was a historical fact and also that Gauteng had built and converted schools on a massive scale.

On preparatory schools and how governing bodies dealt with the issues of a school principal, he said the matter would be followed up.

On decolonising education, he said an inter-ministerial task team was doing work on dealing with areas that required attention to decolonise the basic education system.

Replying to a comment made by Mr Nodada, he agreed that the schools needed to be approached with sensitivity and the attention they deserved.

On full-service schools, he said the Department had issued a circular to provinces to get them to comply and stop them from declaring schools as being full-service schools while not meeting the criteria and requirements.

On schools that were overcrowded and lacking teachers, he said this would be followed up. He endorsed the Committee’s programme to go to these schools unannounced.

On the issue of personnel and vacancies, he said the audit would provide more information. The Department was working with the Department of Social Development to identify social workers to be placed in schools.

On home education, he said it was part of the inclusive education directorate but was dealt with separately and they could meet with the Committee on this issue.

On equitable share, he said provinces use it to fund Programme 3: Special Education.

On whether the Department was monitoring the funding and allocation across the nine provinces, he said more attention would be paid to this in the future.

On being outcomes-based, he said the Department was trying to be outcomes-based and not just list challenges.

On the percentage of learners who wrote exams, he said that during COVID-19, learners who were most affected were learners with special needs, and this affected the number of people who wrote exams. These were not dropouts. The performance of learners with special needs was always above the overall schooling figure and provinces have been asked to prioritise learners with special needs.

On the suitability of CAPS, he said there were two new dispensations, one for learners with severe intellectual disabilities and the other was the need to offer skills programmes that are recognised. The Department was working with Umalusi on a curriculum and qualification.

On Early Childhood Development, he said the Department was identifying learners with special needs from an early age.

On dropout rates, he said that this was dealt with in the same way it was dealt with in ordinary public schools.

On care centres run by the Department of Health or Social Development, he said the Department worked with these departments because the Department had an obligation to provide education there.

On conditional grants for LSPID, he said the Department was not doing well in all provinces and meeting with the provinces to monitor the equitable share for special schools.

On resolving SIAS, Mr Ngcobo said the initial training of teachers was complete and the focus had moved to strengthening SIAS and how learners were benefiting from the teacher training.

On the issue in slide 51, he said the drop in the number of learners with disabilities who wrote the NSC could be attributed to some learners taking the standard NSC and not the condoned NSC exam.

On the SIAS policy implementation, Dr Simelane said there was a realisation that the capacity of districts had to be strengthened by deploying specialists at districts rather than at individual schools to increase outreach. There were only 9 000 qualified educational psychologists in South Africa.

On getting back learners withdrawn by their parents because of CoVID-19, the Director-General established a multi-disciplinary task team which had started its work to look at the feasibility of the placement of these children in schools.

On the issue of an appropriate curriculum, DBE had developed a curriculum mainly around occupational subjects up till grade 6 for LSPID learners. Many of them would not get beyond the foundation phase as the curriculum was inappropriate. The curriculum was 75% practical and 25% theoretical.

Mr Nodada said he saw that 54 schools provided special needs education and noted that some countries used a voucher system that allowed a person to choose a private school and top up the difference between the voucher cost and the private school fee. He also asked for comment on the LSPID learners in full-service schools in the North West.

On the issue of full-service schools in the North West, Mr Mweli said that all the criteria had to be met before a school was declared a full-service school.

On the question of a possible voucher system, Mr Simelane said he would take that as a proposal as such an investigation had not been done.

Mr Mweli said the voucher system was not explored in South Africa. In 2011, 80% of public schools were dysfunctional and that number now stood at 20% and had thought the question Mr Nodada would raise was on the improvement of bad schools rather than encouraging the shift to private schools. He said that many public schools now were better than private schools.

The Chairperson said the minutes would be adopted at the next meeting.
 
The meeting was adjourned.