Hidden Prejudice: Disabled Education in South Africa
Mnqobi, who lives in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, is a normal kid who loves to learn and play with other children. The only problem is that Mnqobi is not allowed to go to school with those other children because he has a physical disability (Complicit). Mnqobi is not the only one like this; around 2/3 of disabled South Africans under 18 are not attending school (Merwe). Why are don’t children have access to a decent education? Discrimination in the education system is still hugely prevalent in South Africa. Instead of being allowed into regular school, many disabled children are forced to travel long distances and pay extra money to attended highly flawed “special schools”. The government has taken several measures to combat this, but there is yet to be any actual change (Complicit).
According to Elin Martinez, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, there are around 900,000 disabled kids in the South Africa, all of whom are the risk of receiving "little or no education". Disabled children who apply to attend school are often turned down because of their disability. One mother's eight year old son with Down’s Syndrome was rejected by a school, despite the fact that many children with Down’s are perfectly capable of attending mainstream schooling (Merwe). Many schools also use waitlists, and this process can take years, putting disabled students at an even bigger disadvantage. If they manage to make it in, they face bullying by teachers and other students, and often drop out as a result (Merwe). The attitude towards disabled people in South Africa is still very negative, with many disabled people seen as a “curse on the family or community” (Nkhoma).
Furthermore, most of the government’s small budget for disabled education goes “special schools”, where handicapped kids are separated from their able-bodied peers. Most children have no choice but to attend. However, these schools are not specialized for a certain kind of disability. This, combined with the fact that most teachers at these special schools do not have the qualification to teach disabled children, means many kids drop out because they aren’t being taught properly (Complicit). The low quality of education means that even if they do graduate, they aren’t prepared for life afterwards. A disabled 21-year-old man from Northern Cape couldn't even write his own name after graduating from school. (Merwe). In addition, normal school is free for South African families, but parents whose kids attend special school are forced to pay extra fees (SA Govt). Those families may also have to shoulder the cost of transportation to the schools, which are often far away (Complicit).
Above all, the reason behind the low quality of disabled education is the government's lack of initiative to actually execute their own policies. The South African government has taken measures on paper to fix these problems, but nothing actually has changed. In 2007, South Africa ratified the United Nations Disability Rights Treaty. The government also has initiated several constitutional and legal protections since 1996 to assure every child has a right to a discrimination-free education (Complicit). However, none of these policies have actually been successfully carried out. In the over 20 years since the problem was first acknowledged, there has been virtually no change (Mtshali).
Although many children are still being denied an education in South Africa, several organizations are working to fight the discrimination. One of these is Afrika Tikkun, a non-government group that provides caregivers and parents of disabled children with important information on their rights to education (Still Fighting). Even so, not much can be achieved until laws protecting those rights are actually implemented by the government.
According to Elin Martinez, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, there are around 900,000 disabled kids in the South Africa, all of whom are the risk of receiving "little or no education". Disabled children who apply to attend school are often turned down because of their disability. One mother's eight year old son with Down’s Syndrome was rejected by a school, despite the fact that many children with Down’s are perfectly capable of attending mainstream schooling (Merwe). Many schools also use waitlists, and this process can take years, putting disabled students at an even bigger disadvantage. If they manage to make it in, they face bullying by teachers and other students, and often drop out as a result (Merwe). The attitude towards disabled people in South Africa is still very negative, with many disabled people seen as a “curse on the family or community” (Nkhoma).
Furthermore, most of the government’s small budget for disabled education goes “special schools”, where handicapped kids are separated from their able-bodied peers. Most children have no choice but to attend. However, these schools are not specialized for a certain kind of disability. This, combined with the fact that most teachers at these special schools do not have the qualification to teach disabled children, means many kids drop out because they aren’t being taught properly (Complicit). The low quality of education means that even if they do graduate, they aren’t prepared for life afterwards. A disabled 21-year-old man from Northern Cape couldn't even write his own name after graduating from school. (Merwe). In addition, normal school is free for South African families, but parents whose kids attend special school are forced to pay extra fees (SA Govt). Those families may also have to shoulder the cost of transportation to the schools, which are often far away (Complicit).
Above all, the reason behind the low quality of disabled education is the government's lack of initiative to actually execute their own policies. The South African government has taken measures on paper to fix these problems, but nothing actually has changed. In 2007, South Africa ratified the United Nations Disability Rights Treaty. The government also has initiated several constitutional and legal protections since 1996 to assure every child has a right to a discrimination-free education (Complicit). However, none of these policies have actually been successfully carried out. In the over 20 years since the problem was first acknowledged, there has been virtually no change (Mtshali).
Although many children are still being denied an education in South Africa, several organizations are working to fight the discrimination. One of these is Afrika Tikkun, a non-government group that provides caregivers and parents of disabled children with important information on their rights to education (Still Fighting). Even so, not much can be achieved until laws protecting those rights are actually implemented by the government.
Works Cited:
""Complicit in Exclusion"." Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch, 16 Dec. 2016. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.
Mtshali, Nontobeko. "Shocking Statistics on SA Education." IOL. N.p., 07 Mar. 2017.
Web. 08 Mar. 2017
Nkhoma, Wongani Grace "Call for Governments to Ensure Disabled Children Have
Decent Education." Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA). N.p., 13 June
2012. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.
"SA Govt failing Disabled Children - HRW Report." News24. N.p., 13 Jan. 2017. Web.
07 Mar. 2017.
Van Der Merwe, Marelise. "Silent Exclusion: Half-a-million Children with Disabilities
Are Shut out of the Education System." Daily Maverick. N.p., n.d. Web.
""We Are Still Fighting For A School For My Child"." Human Rights Watch. N.p., 21
Sept. 2016. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.
My favorite part of your paper was how much evidence you included in it. My main take-away was that education is very poor for handicapped children in South Africa. A follow-up question I have is: Have the new policies made any progress?
ReplyDeleteYour article about how disabled children have disadvantages in education was very interesting. I think the best aspect of your paper was all the different stories you included, like how a 21 year old man couldn't write his own name. One question I have is are there other organizations or international groups that are trying to help?
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