By REGINALD KANYANE
North West MEC for Education, Viola Motsumi said her department will give learners in special needs schools in the province the necessary support. This comes after the North West School for the Deaf in Leeudoringstad, near Wolmaranstad received a 0% pass rate in matric for 2022.
“Learners must be given the same opportunities to succeed in life as their peers in ordinary schools. We, therefore, accept that it is our primary responsibility to help children from special groups in our communities to escape the circumstances of their birth or parentage through quality education.
“The department will continue with its effort to improve learning in special needs schools, particularly in the North West School for the Deaf. The school was presenting matric for the second year in 2022,” she said.
Motsumi further said, they will provide additional specialist resources to these schools as they fast-track the implementation of the three-stream model curriculum.
Last year, the Pan South African Language Board (PANSALB) in North West, visited the school and said, they were shocked to find out that teachers at the school did not know sign language.
PANSALB provincial chairperson, Goitsemodimo Seleka said: “What is happening there undermines the rights of these learners that are enshrined in the constitution. When these learners go to school, they expect to be taught in the language that they understand.
“It is difficult if teachers who were supposed to use sign language as the medium of communication at the school do not know the language.”
Meanwhile, Stephinah Semaswe, who is North West Education’s Head of Department (HoD) said: “I took it upon myself to visit the special schools last year. So, the teachers at the North West School for the Deaf are qualified, but given the special nature of the children there, they are deemed not properly trained for the learners.
“We have about 12 teachers there that need training. We have also taken advantage of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed between the North West Provincial Government (NWPG) and North West University (NWU) for this training.”
Semaswe further said, they have tried in the past to secure the right service provider, who could provide these teachers with training, especially in terms of sign language. She added, now, they will put into use the MoU that they have signed with the NWU to provide teachers at the school with the proper and relevant service provider to train them.
“However, this does not mean these teachers are unqualified. They are qualified and they are able to teach other subjects. The other issue is that, we normally appoint interpreters for all teachers in that school, especially those who are new.
“We only have one interpreter at the moment, hence other teachers are experiencing challenges. So, from February 2023, these teachers will be trained, especially in sign language because learners are taking sign language as their home language.
The Guardian 