This is according to Steven Lebere, executive director of Adopt-a-School Foundation (AAS). As the country observes Child Health Month this August, he urges all stakeholders to work together to develop strategies to support and educate these marginalised learners.

Read: Second round of charity for Ekhiyeni Primary

“Schools in disadvantaged communities face many challenges. They are very seldom able to sufficiently accommodate learners with special needs,” said Lebere.

He said as a result, most of these children simply never enter the formal schooling system, even though many of them are very bright and would thrive in the right environment.

“Not surprisingly, South Africans living with disabilities suffer from the lowest educational attainment of any group in the population. A quarter of severely disabled South Africans have no formal education, and just five per cent attain any form of higher education.”

Also read: PSL legends put prisoners’ skills to the test

Lebere said where schools for pupils with disabilities do exist, they are often severely under-resourced.

“The Thembelihle Cerebral Palsy Care Centre in the Emjindini Trust was one facility facing such challenges. Since 2010, the centre had housed 30 young learners with severe disabilities in what was little more than a wooden shack.

They depended entirely on the unwavering dedication of a single carer – Mama Ennie Masita,” he added.

“Concerned with the plight of these children, and seeking to support Mama Ennie’s good work, Barberton Mines approached the Adopt-a-School Foundation to assist them in upgrading the facility into a long-lasting, sustainable structure that could better serve the needs of this vulnerable community. The result is a state-of-the-art centre, unveiled earlier this year (March), that includes classrooms, dormitories, ablution facilities, a dispensary, kitchen and dining facilities, offices and two flats for on-site staff. The Thembelihle project was a first for us, but we hope to extend our support to more special needs facilities in future,” added Lebere.

He said the Department of Basic Education Schools Act states that all schools must be inclusive of children with special needs.

“Teachers are not always equipped to diagnose pupils with learning disabilities or intervene effectively. At AAS we want to support every aspect of our adopted schools, from the facilities to the teachers to the health and emotional well-being of the learners,” explained Lebere.

He said this unique, holistic approach to supporting schools is called the Whole School Development (WSD) model. “AAS uses this mechanism to improve and uplift the academic, infrastructural, social and security environment in their adopted schools.

WSD ensures that schools have the necessary management and community leadership to support an environment conducive to excellence in both teaching and learning.”