Today, five members of the Right to Education for Children with Disabilities Alliance (R2ECWD) took our fight for access to quality education for all children all the way to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities in Geneva. Though inclusive education is a right “ultimately, segregation remains the prevailing attitude towards education for children with disabilities” in South Africa, we told the Committee. Leading R2ECWD’s submission, Robyn Beere the Director of Inclusive Education South Africa emphasised the urgency and depth of the crisis in inclusive education in South Africa: “Systemic transformation of the general education system has not been achieved and urgent attention must be given to the drastic improvement of quality education in all schools children with disabilities currently attend. Children with disabilities, particularly in rural…
A report has just been released on the performance of Deaf learners in schools based on the 2016 Matric Results by Odette Swift from DeafSA. The dismal 2016 matric results and limited access to post-school education opportunities for Deaf learners are a violation of human rights – Odette Swift, DeafSA Find the report here. We encourage you to circulate this amongst your networks. IESA Team
Cape Town, 30 May 2017 In its March 2016 report to the Portfolio Committee, the Department of Basic Education acknowledged that drastic measures have to be taken to accelerate the implementation of inclusive education. Robyn Beere, Director of Inclusive Education South Africa said “whilst we would like to thank the Department of Basic Education (DBE) for their considered response to the civil society report on the Government of South Africa’s implementation of inclusive education. The DBE’s 2016 /17 report falls short of reporting on these drastic measures.” Key issues that the DBE does not report on are: Progress in the funding and budgets for inclusive education, other than that for Special Schools and the education of learners with Severe and Profound Intellectual Disability; The quality and functioning of full service…
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…
The following report was 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. This is an alternative report to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and was done in response to South Africa’s Baseline Country Report of March 2013. Final UNCRPD Report Submission by Inclusive Education South Africa to the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education May 2017
