Category: Latest News

Cape Town, 21 March 2017. Over 597 000 South African children with disabilities did not attend school in 2015, almost double the 280 000 estimated in 2001. This is just one of the shocking findings in a report prepared by a range of high level advocacy groups in the South African inclusive education and disability rights arena. Known as the Right to Education for Children with Disabilities Alliance, they have provided an alternative report to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This was done in response to South Africa’s Baseline Country Report of March 2013. Some of the key issues discussed in the December 2016 report, just released, are: Misspending of more than USD125 million allocated by the Treasury for the expansion of inclusive education; Children remaining on…

What does our education system hold for learners entering Grade 1 (2017)? In the wake of the 2016 matric results, various academics and members of civil society have legitimately advocated for attention to be focused on the early years of schooling, instead of matric results. There has also been much discussion about the department’s progression policy, which is considered by many to be problematic. Very little has been said about the lack of various forms of support for learners in schools, or that the progression policy is actually a process of progression WITH SUPPORT. And that repetition of a grade does not guarantee progress and development but could contribute to dropping out. Conrad Strydom, the country’s top matriculant (2016), is described as a struggler who repeated Grade 1. His mother…

17 August 2016 Delft is a bustling township on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. It is notorious for its high crime rate; substandard schools, lack of jobs, and numerous governments built housing projects. Meet Doreen Dekoor, a vibrate community leader and ECD facilitator who runs the Young Eagles Nest Educare centre found in heart of the township.  The centre, like many others in the community caters for children 0-4 years old, serving as drop in centres, with no or limited learning outcomes. “I had no idea how to engage with the children, we haven’t worked according to a programme or lesson plan before… we didn’t know how to interact with the children effectively – everything was just about going with the flow”,  Doreen says. That has all changed- the…

Inclusive Education South Africa (IESA), the University of Witwatersrand, North-West University and University of the Free State have joined forces with the Flemish Association for Development Cooperation and Technical Assistance (VVOB) to improve inclusive teaching in primary schools in South Africa. To this end an agreement with the EU was signed on 17 August for financial and technical assistance. More specifically, we will support the teacher education system in equipping (student) teachers with the necessary skills to identify and address barriers to learning experienced by learners in primary schools, ensuring a quality education for all. Empowering Teachers and Learners Enrolment rates of South African children in primary schools are high, yet learning outcomes are low compared to other (including less developed) countries. Children who experience barriers to learning – be…

Meet a mom who is using creative means to keep her children engaged. At the beginning of the year we had the privilege of hosting a Passport to Learning Workshop for a group of parents and professionals.  While exploring different ways and tips of keeping our children motivated, Zurayda  Maneveld inspired the group with some out of the box ideas that motivated her children and gave them the emotional support they needed.  We do hope you are inspired and encouraged by her story below: I have 2 children, Uzair my son of 12 and Emaan my daughter of 10 and both of them are on the Autistic Spectrum. It’s been a long journey, but we’ve used this opportunity to keep learning and experimenting.  We encourage participation in the way they would…

. . . So who am I? What makes me uniquely me? Is it my imperfections that make me, me? As a teenager, I dreamt of my ideal life; happily married to the "perfect" man, living in the "perfect" home and having 3 "perfect" children. In my dream, we were always smiling, all of us "perfect", very happy in our perfection. This dream lasted till I fell pregnant at the age of twenty. And there I was alone, my dream was ruined. I was the outcast of my family as I did not want to be married at this young age. I focused all my energy on my son, my spirituality and my career in ECD. I’ve always been very community orientated and rendering the ECD service gave me a…

  While we acknowledge the progress we have made in the representation of women in political parties and government, momentum has been lost in developing and educating girls to fill these positions in future. Violence and abuse at home, in schools and their communities continue to be some of the greatest barriers to education for girls, negatively impacting on their ability to complete their education, compete in the job market, and become truly independent. In addition, they are vulnerable to the effects of poverty, HIV infection, teenage pregnancy, substance abuse and other risky behaviours which undermine their education. Research shows that a rights-based education, rooted in gender equality, and especially the education of girls, leads to improved economic growth and sustainability, a reduction in HIV transmission and the improved health…

“As we set about building a new South Africa, one of our highest priorities must be our children. The vision of a new society that guides us should already be manifest in the steps we take to address the wrong done to our youth and to prepare for their future. Our actions and policies, and the institutions we create, should be eloquent with care, respect and love.” (Address at the launch of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, Pretoria, 8 May 1995) As a nation we have crafted education policies eloquent with care, love and respect. Most notable of these is Education White Paper 6 on Inclusive Education (2001).  An inclusive education and training system: Places the child at the centre Recognises that all children can learn and need support Accepts…

Working for IESA has afforded me so much as an individual I am forever grateful.  I learn an enormous amount from each of the groups I work with and never fail to have at least one "AHA" moment in every training session.  IESA’s mission is to challenge and change attitudes towards inclusion in education and often the change begins very palpably in the actual training session.  I’d like to share one of those palpable experiences with you. Whilst training a group of child and youth care workers in the Karoo last year, we were coming to the end of an exercise we do, examining our own experiences at school where we felt excluded.  As is often the case in this particular exercise, participants share heart-wrenching stories of exclusion ranging from…