Question NW1975 to the Minister of Basic Education
13 March 2017 - NW1975
Boshoff, Ms SH to ask the Minister of Basic Education
(1)Whether provinces have a database and/or statistics on the number of learners with disabilities in (a) full service schools and mainstream schools and (b) schools for learners with special educational needs; (2) (a) on what date was the last audit on schools for learners with special educational needs undertaken, (b) what is the number of the specified schools in each province and (c) what number of learners are enrolled in each school and unaccounted for in each case; (3) what was the expenditure for each learner in (a) schools for learners with special educational needs and (b) full service schools in comparison to learners in mainstream schools in each province in each of the past three financial years; (4) what number of schools for learners with special educational needs have been converted into resource centres in each province in each specified financial year; (5) (a) what number of learners at each school for learners with special educational needs have been identified as erroneously placed in each specified financial year and (b) what measures and/or steps have been taken to ensure that the identified erroneously placed learners are removed and placed in a correct school and assisted in their new classes?
Reply:
(1)(a)(b)
Yes, provinces do have a database and/statistics on the number of learners with disabilities. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) together with Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) conduct three surveys that collects information on learners with disabilities annually, which are: Snap Survey and Annual Survey for Special schools (collect learner enrolment in special schools), and Annual Survey for ordinary schools (collects information on disabled learners in mainstream and full service). Each PED provide their individual databases to DBE, which, in turn, establishes a national database.
(2)(a)
The last survey on schools for learners with Special Needs was conducted on the 01 September 2016, which was the Annual Survey for Special schools.
(2)(b)(c)
Table 1 below indicates the number of special schools surveyed in 2016. It shows that there were 462 special schools in 2016 with 119 403 learners.
Table 1: Number of special schools and learners, by province, in 2016
|
Province |
(b) Number of Special Schools |
(c) Number of learners in Special schools |
|
EC |
43 |
9 463 |
|
FS |
21 |
5 984 |
|
GP |
149 |
47 769 |
|
KZ |
65 |
14 986 |
|
LP |
35 |
8 630 |
|
MP |
20 |
3 778 |
|
NC |
11 |
1 494 |
|
NW |
32 |
7 395 |
|
WC |
86 |
19 904 |
|
National |
462 |
119 403 |
Source: 2016 SNE SNAP Survey
(3)(a)(b)
The Department has forwarded the question to the Provincial Education Department and is awaiting the response. The response will be forwarded as soon as the Department receives it.
(4)
Table 2: Number of special schools converted into resource centres by province, in 2017/18 financial year
|
Prov. |
No. SSRCs |
|
EC |
19 |
|
FS |
5 |
|
GT |
17 |
|
KZN |
16 |
|
LP |
5 |
|
MP |
8 |
|
NC |
5 |
|
NW |
8 |
|
WC |
25 |
|
Total |
108 |
Source: PED’s submission
(5) (a) The information on the number of learners at each school for learners with special educational needs who have been erroneously placed in each financial year is not readily available in Provincial Education Departments (PEDs), given that the implementation to scale of the Policy on Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support (SIAS) at school level was preceded by training mainly during 2016/17 and effective implementation has only started in 2017.
(b) Measures in this regard will be put in place from 2018 onwards.