Question NW304 to the Minister of Basic Education
16 March 2017 - NW304
Boshoff, Ms SH to ask the Minister of Basic Education
With reference to slide 23 of her department’s presentation on the Three Stream Model to the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on 14 February 2017, for each province, how many (a) orientation manuals for educators teaching in (i) South African Sign Language and (ii) Braille have been completed, (b) of the 60 specialist educators and subject advisors trained at the workshop on the specified model have been trained in (i) South African Sign Language and (ii) Braille and (c) of the 1 000 educators envisaged to be trained by provinces from 3 to 30 March 2017 will be trained in (i) South African Sign Language and (ii) Braille?
Reply:
a) i) A generic orientation manual was used for all workshop participants and no orientation manuals were specifically prepared for educators teaching in South African Sign Language (SASL) or
ii) Through the medium of Braille.
b) No audit was conducted of workshop participants having prior training in SASL or Braille because training that is linked to a medium of instruction either in (i) SASL or (ii) Braille is provided for as a separate process to the workshop on Technical Occupational subjects. However, as per the attendance register, three (3) teachers from schools for the Deaf attended the National Training Programme of 27 February to 3 March 2017 and these teachers had already received training in SASL.
c) It needs to be clarified that training for Braille and SASL processes, and training for the pilot of the Technical Occupational subjects, are two completely separate processes. Hence, there are no specific targets for (i) SASL and (ii) Braille, as reflected in the question.