Learners of Masinakane Special Needs School will finally receive the dignity they deserve after the Democratic Alliance (DA) relentlessly put pressure on the Mpumalanga Department of Education to build proper hostel facilities.
Teachers and learners of Masinakane, a school that caters for learners with disabilities, ranging from mild to severe and physical disabilities, have been struggling without decent hostel facilities since 2008. Learners at the school currently sleep in classrooms with no ablution facilities to be used at night.
The DA has been trying for years to bring to the attention of the provincial government, including Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane and Education MEC Bonakele Majuba, the plight faced by the learners and teachers at this school. But we were ignored until 2021 when we approached the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to intervene.
In a letter addressed to the SAHRC last week, the department of education committed that they would finalize planning and design for the hostel facilities in the 2024/2025 financial year. The department also mentioned that they are considering converting storerooms into toilets for the learners to use in the interim until the construction of the proper hostel facilities. The DA welcomes the progress and positive development from the provincial government. We will continue the pressure to ensure that these learners are not forgotten or left behind.
The DA will never abandon the learners and teachers of Masinakane Special School. We will walk with them hand in hand until all their challenges are taken seriously and addressed. We will continue engaging the provincial department of education constructively to address problems and challenges faced by schools that accommodate learners with special needs in Mpumalanga, not just Masinakane Special School alone.