Being disabled at school

There are 124,535 pupils with disabilities in ordinary schools and 111,619 being educated in special schools which cater to their needs, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said.

"Our government has adopted progressive policies and has taken far-reaching steps to protect the fundamental rights of children, including children living with disabilities," she said in speech prepared for delivery at the SA National Association for Specialised Education's annual general meeting.

In July 2001 the education department gazetted White Paper 6, Special Needs Education: Building an Inclusive Education and Training System.

Increased quality education

This provided for increasing access to quality education for children experiencing barriers to learning.

The department had sought to comply with international instruments for the protection and promotion of rights of people with disabilities. In 2007 the government ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Pilot studies to work towards ratifying the convention were being successfully conducted, the latest being a field test from 2004 to 2009.

"For this pilot, R56,558,456 was secured from the Finnish and Swedish governments... and to Treasury bids in the 2008 and 2009 mid-term economic framework cycles, were successfully submitted."

Ten designated full-service schools in seven provinces were upgraded during the field test, making them accessible to physically disabled children. (Sapa, August 2010)

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