This week an Inclusive Summit was hosted by the Basic Education Department with the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities.
The summit aimed to identify ways in which adequate social protection enabling policies and programmes could be reinforced especially for persons with disabilities.
The theme for the summit was accelerating inclusive education and leaving no learner behind.
According to the DBE, 373 out of 435 special schools serve as resource centres providing outreach services to full service and ordinary schools.
The Basic Education Department aims to ensure that no learner is left behind.
The two-day summit took place during Disability Awareness Month, which started on 3 November. The month offers an opportunity to collectively and individually raise awareness on barriers faced by persons with disabilities.
The Inclusive Education Summit aimed to acknowledge progress and gaps that exist in the implementation of inclusive education.
Some of the people who attended the summit raised their concerns for learners with disabilities, which include learners with autism, those who are visually impaired or completely blind.
These concerns included that many of the educators who have been placed at these special needs schools are not qualified to be working with learners with disabilities and many of these learners are not receiving proper learning materials to help them learn efficiently.
Minister Angie Motshekga believes that these summits will help deal with the policy gaps that currently exist.
Dr Barney Mthembu, the KZN Education Acting HoD, mentioned the importance of everyone being an expert in order for inclusive education to work.
With the review of the work done in the past two years, it remains to be seen what the future holds for people living with disabilities.
