WATCH: Parents claim special-needs learners are being failed by education department

SCORES of disgruntled parents of learners attending Khulangolwazi Special School in Montclair, recently gathered outside the school to protest against the Department of Education,  who they say are failing to meet the needs of the school and their children.

The parents, who were armed with placards, said there were various challenges at school due to the lack of provisions made by the department, which was affecting the well-being of their children. The school, which currently has 631 learners from Grade one to nine, caters for children who have special educational needs due to severe learning difficulties, physical disabilities, or behavioural problems. The school also has an autistic unit, called High Level of Support (HLS).

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Beverly Maqalika, a member of the school governing body (SGB) and a parent, told the SUN that while the school had three buses to transport the children to and from school, there was only one driver.

“It is very stressful as one bus can only carry about 50 children. Many of the children do not live in the area, so this is an extra expense for parents. They have to pay more than R1 000 a month, which many don’t have to spend on transport. The buses are supposed to pick-up and drop-off our children.

“The school also has a nutrition programme, and while the department provides the food, they did not provide a cook. The school had to hire a cook which is at their own expense. This is money that can be used to pay for other needs. However, one cook is not enough, as they have to prepare meals for over 600 children. Now, the teachers have to assist, which means the children are losing out on learning time. There are also no teacher aids who can assist in the classrooms which are at full capacity, ” she said.

Maqalika said, among other concerns, was no on-site nurse, as well as a shortage of cleaners and classrooms.

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“There are three groups of children that are being taught in the school hall. How are they supposed to concentrate? Further to this, if a child gets sick and needs immediate attention, who will treat them if there is no nurse? The children that attend the school have special needs, but the department is failing to meet them,” she said.

Maqalika said the SGB has emailed the department with their grievances numerous times, but have not received any feedback.

“After the department failed to respond to us, a group of parents decided to go to their office in Pietermaritzburg to hand deliver our letter on February 21. However, we still did not receive any feedback or even an acknowledgement, that is why we decided to protest so that our voices and pleas are heard. If they responded we would not have to go to lengths of protesting outside the school. “The parents are angry that the department is not taking us seriously. We have been patient, but now we demand that our pleas for our children are heard,” she said.

The KZN Department of Education did not respond to questions regarding the allegation at the time of publishing.

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