Oversight inspections to four special schools in Limpopo over the last two days by the Democratic Alliance (DA) have revealed that they do not have the capacity and are not ready to phase in more special learners while complying to Covid-19 health and safety regulations.
The oversight visits were carried out at Siloe School for the Blind, Setotolwane ELSEN Secondary School, Rivoni School for the Blind and Yingisani School for Special Education. All the schools visited faced similar problems of unpreparedness to phase in more learners, severe staff shortages, dilapidated infrastructure and general neglect from the Limpopo Department of Education.
Rivoni School for the Blind has no professional nurse, and staff registered their concerns regarding unnecessarily exposing any injured or ill learners to Covid-19 as they need to go to the hospital for any type of medical attention. Rivoni School has also had a vacant social worker post since 2016 and Yingisani School is also short of a social worker.
Siloe School for the Blind does not have a social worker, occupational therapist, optometrist and psychologist. It has a nurse that works during the week but the school does not have any pharmaceutical supplies and has resorted to buying medication on its own and is only limited to over the counter products.
Setotolwane Secondary does not have a speech therapist, the mobile classes are dilapidated and the ceiling has started to collapse which poses a safety risk to learners. All the schools noted serious concern about not having enough classroom and hostel space to practice social distancing when other learners are phased in as well as a lack of support from the Limpopo Department of Education in filling vacant posts.
It was however encouraging to see that all the schools visited had adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), hand sanitisers and the dedicated educators were trying their best to ensure that learners adhere to Covid-19 health and safety regulations despite their many challenges which include a shortage of house mothers and cleaners to clean areas as per the Covid-19 regulations.
The DA has in the past raised concern over the poor infrastructure at special schools and shortages of critical personnel. In 2018 after continuous calls by the DA, the Office of the Premier produced a report on the state of special schools and a commitment to address these challenges but our oversight visits revealed this has not happened.
On the 9th of July 2020, the Office of the Premier told the Quality of Life and Status of Women, Youth and Disability committee that special schools which are academic were functioning and ready for the further phasing in of learners. The DA’s visits have made it clear that these special schools will not be able to phase in more learners due to staff shortages and the lack of space to allow for social distancing in hostels and classrooms.
The DA will raise these concerns at the next committee meeting and request that the Office of the Premier and the Department of Education update us on the progress and timelines in addressing the challenges faced by special schools in the province. We are committed to ensuring Special learners receive a dignified quality education.