During the SONA address in March 2024 former Premier, Refilwe Mtsweni – Tsipane stated that “…three new Special Needs Schools have been built in the province”.
In a recent meeting of the Portfolio Committee of Education, it became apparent that the Mpumalanga government has not built any new Special Needs School in the last five years. Presently, the province has many children who have special educational needs due to many reasons like severe learning difficulties, physical disabilities, or behavioural problems.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has now submitted Parliamentary oral questions to Mpumalanga Education MEC, Cathy Dlamini, asking her to clarify why the former Premier would make such a statement knowing that it is not the case?
Special Needs Schools in Mpumalanga must become the focus of the Provincial Government as more needs to be done to ensure these learners are not left behind.
We cannot have political leaders who are so arrogant that they blatantly disregard the needs of special learners, and on top of this, exploit desperate parents for political gain.
It is unacceptable that many of the special schools in Mpumalanga have waiting lists with more than 500 learners needing to be placed, and the former Premier giving false hope the parents and these learners who are desperate for a place to learn is unethical.
Currently Mpumalanga has 18 Special Needs Schools, of which 15 that cater for learners with sever to mild intellect learning disabilities up to Grade 9, and three special schools for learners who are in conflict with the law. There are a number of inclusive schools, but most of them do not have adequate infrastructure and resources to cater for all disabilities. As a result, hundreds of learners with special needs and disabilities whose parents can’t afford to send them to schools outside of the province, are forced to stay home after primary education.