Question NW126 to the Minister of Basic Education

Reply:

(1)

Table 1 below, indicates the number of learners in special schools for the deaf, in 2017. The 2017 figures are based on special schools that uploaded to LURITS as at September 2017.

Table 1: Number of learners in special schools for the deaf, by province, in 2017

Province	2017
EC	848
FS	699
GP	2 136
KZN	2 980
LP	1 299
MP	296
NC	156
NW	350
WC	1 256
Total	10 020

Source: 2017 LURITS, September uploads

2(a)(i)(ii)(ii)

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) measured the reading comprehension levels of learners in a representative sample of mainstream public schools. Within these sampled schools, the sampling methodology, which is externally prescribed by International Association for Education Assessment, did not differentiate between deaf and non-deaf learners. There was no specific indicator to count the number of deaf learners in the 2016 Study and in previous cycles.

2(b) The Grade 4 provincial results are as follows:

Province	PIRLS Score
Eastern Cape	290
Free State	347
Gauteng	343
KwaZulu-Natal	316
Limpopo	285
Mpumalanga	313
Northern Cape	306
North West	326
Western Cape	377
National	320

Source: 2016 PIRLS

(3)(a)

Table 2 below, indicate the number of Grade 1 learners in special schools for the deaf in 2005. Please note that the response rate for the 2005 annual survey for special schools was very low. Only 50% of the schools responded to the survey.

Table 2: Number of Grade 1 learners

Province	Number of Grade 1 learners
Eastern Cape	35
Free State	31
Gauteng	91
Limpopo	121
Mpumalanga	42
Western Cape	75
Total	395

Source: 2005 SNE Annual Survey

(3)(b)

Province	No. of Learners that wrote matric
Eastern Cape	15
Free State	9
Gauteng	33
KwaZulu-Natal	27
Limpopo	19
Mpumalanga	0
North West	0
Northern Cape	10
Western Cape	27
National	140

Source: 2017 Exam Mainframe system