Special Education in South Africa

1. SOUTH AFRICA
SOUTH AFRICA

2. Capital: Pretoria (administrative), Cape Town
(legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial)
Population: 55,380,210 (2018)
Official Languages: isiZulu, isiXhosa, Afrikaans, Sepedi,
Setswana, English, Sesotho, Xitsonga, siSwati,
Tshivenda, isiNdebele
Currency: Rand (ZAR)
Form of Government: Parliamentary republic
Climate: Mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast;
sunny days, cool nights
Total Area: 470,691 square miles (1,219,090 square
kilometers)
Official Name: Republic of South Africa

3. 10 Interesting Facts About South Africa
1. About 80% of the country's population is ethnically
black African. Roughly 9% are considered colored (a
mix of white and African or white and Asian), nearly
8% are white and about 2% are ethnic Indian.
2. South Africa has 11 official languages
3. South Africa has one of the world's younger
populations by age

4. 10 Interesting Facts About South Africa
4. South Africa has 10 UNESCO-designated
World Heritage sites. (Robben Island, the fossil
hominid sites northwest of Johannesburg, home
to some of the earliest human fossils found and
the place that scientists label as the Cradle of
Humankind).
5. South Africa has three capital cities: Pretoria,
Cape Town, and Bloemfontein)

5. 10 Interesting Facts About South Africa
6. The first human heart transplant was
performed in Cape Town in 1967.
7. The world's largest known diamond was
discovered in 1905 at the Premier Mine (the size:
3,106 carats and roughly 1.3 pounds).
8. South Africa in 2019 has the world's highest
level of income inequality, according to the World
Bank.

6. 10 Interesting Facts About South Africa
9. South Africans have one of the highest rates
of HIV in the world.
10. South Africa is the only country to voluntarily
abandon its nuclear weapons program.
( https://www.usnews.com/news/best-
countries/articles/2019-09-13/10-interesting-facts-
about-south-africa )

7. Dutch colonists, known as Boers (the Dutch
word for “farmers”), settled in the Cape of
Good Hope region beginning in 1652 to provide
fresh food and water for ships passing from
Europe to Asia.
They lived the hard frontier life of settlers,
supporting themselves through farming,
ranching, and hunting.

8. - South Africa is a republic with two legislative
bodies. Its executive branch is its Chief of State
and Head of Government—
- The legislative branch is a bicameral Parliament
composed of the National Council of the
Provinces and the National Assembly.
-South Africa's judicial branch is made up of its
Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of
Appeals, High Courts, and Magistrate Courts.
POLITICS

9. - South Africa has a growing market economy
with a plethora of natural resources. Gold,
platinum, and precious stones such as
diamonds account for nearly half of South
Africa's exports.
ECONOMY

10. ECONOMIC SECTORS
ECONOMIC SECTORS

11. - South Africa has a growing market economy
with a plethora of natural resources. Gold,
platinum, and precious stones such as diamonds
account for nearly half of South Africa's
exports.
- Auto assembly, textiles, iron, steel, chemicals,
and commercial ship repair also play a role in the
country's economy. In addition, agriculture and
agricultural exports are significant to South
Africa
ARTS AND CULTURE

12. -
-
ARTS AND CULTURE
There are many traces of ancient cultures that
existed in southern Africa in the distant past.
Experts estimate that there are 250 000 rock-
art sites south of the Zambez
With its scenic beauty, abundant wildlife,
diversity of cultures and rich historical
heritage, SouthAfrica is a photographer’s
paradise

13. ARTS AND CULTURE

14. ARTS AND CULTURE

15. RELIGION
Almost 80% of South African population
adheres to the Christian faith. Other major
religious groups are Hindus, Muslims and
Jews.
A minority of South African population does
not belong to any of the major religions, but
regard themselves as traditionalists or of
no specific religious affiliation.

16. EDUCATION
1806 to 1900
The earliest European schools in South Africa
were established in the Cape Colony in the
late seventeenth century by Dutch Reformed
Church elders committed to biblical
instruction, which was necessary for church
confirmation.

17. EDUCATION
By the late nineteenth century, three types of
schools were receiving government
assistance--ward schools, or small rural
schools generally employing one teacher;
district schools, providing primary-level
education to several towns in an area; and a
few secondary schools in larger cities

18. EDUCATION
1900 to 1948
The British High Commissioner for Southern
Africa, Sir Alfred Milner, brought thousands of
teachers from Britain, Canada, Australia, and
New Zealand to instil the English language and
British cultural values.

19. EDUCATION
1948 to 1974
Before 1953, many black people attended schools set up by religions organisations. These
schools provided schooling of the same quality that white children received in state
schools
1974 to 1983
In 1974, the Minister of Bantu Education and Development issued a decree commonly
known as the "Afrikaans medium decree" in which the use of both English and Afrikaans
was made compulsory in black secondary schools.

20. EDUCATION
1984 to 1990
The National Policy for General Affairs Act (No. 76) of 1984 provided some
improvements in black education but maintained the overall separation
called for by the Bantu education system
1990 to 1993
The white education system was restructured, in anticipation of
democracy, by the apartheid government. From the beginning of 1991,
white schools were required to select one of four "Models": A, B, C, or D.
"Model C" was a semi-private structure, with decreased funding from the
state, and greatly increased autonomy for schools.

21. EDUCATION
1994 to 1997
Under Apartheid South Africa, there were eight education departments
that followed different curricula and offered different standards of
learning quality.
1997 to 2005
In 1997 the government launched its new education system called
Curriculum 2005, which would be based on "outcomes based education"
(OBE). By 2006 it was clear that OBE as a social experiment had failed,
and it was quietly shelved

22. EDUCATION
2006 until now - use of English
South Africa has 11 official languages and the first year of schooling is
provided in all these home languages.
Before 2009, schools serving non-English speakers had to teach English as a
subject only from grade 3 and all subjects were taught in English from grade
4 (except in Afrikaans language schools). Since 2009, all schools teach
English as a subject from grade 1 and all subjects are taught in English from
grade

23. BASIC EDUCATION
The DBE officially groups grades into two "bands" called General Education
and Training (GET), which includes grade 0 plus grades 1 to 9, and Further
Education and Training (FET), which includes grades 10-12 as well as non-higher
education vocational training facilities.
The GET (General Education and Training band) is subdivided further into
"phases" called the Foundation Phase (grade 0 plus grade 1 to 3), the
Intermediate Phase (grades 4 to 6), and the Senior Phase (grades 7 to 9).

24. IMPACT OF HIEV ON EDUCATION
• The HIV/AIDS epidemic is diminishing the progress being made in the education
sector.
• There is a reduction in the supply of educational services due to teacher deaths
and absenteeism.
• There are high medical and other costs being imposed on the educational
system for medical care and death benefits for infected teachers and for
recruiting and training replacements for teachers lost to AIDS.

25. • There is a reduction in the number of school-aged children due to HIVAids.
When children are born with the virus, they rarely live long enough to attend
school.
Orphaned children are often neglected and less likely to attend schools
than nonorphans. Children drop out of school to assist ill parents and
provide care or help financially with menial jobs
The quality of education is reduced through the impact of HIV/AIDS.
Teachers that are infected are often absent or too sick to provide
acceptable education

26. 2018
South Africa has the biggest and most high-
profile HIV epidemic in the world, with an
estimated 7.7 million people living with HIV in
2018.1
South Africa accounts for a third of all new HIV
infections in southern Africa.2 In 2018, there
were 240,000 new HIV infections and 71,000
South Africans died from AIDS-related
illnesses.3

27. SPECIAL EDUCATION
TThe history of education for learners with
'special educational needs' and of education
support
services in South Africa, reflects massive
deprivation and lack
of educational provision for the majority of
people

28. SPECIAL EDUCATION
The search for an appropriate definition ofspecial needs, however, continues.
A definition given by Brennan (in Donald 1993: 140) states:
"A special need exists when any disability (physical, sensory, 30 intellectual,
emotional, social or any combination ofthese) affects learning to the extent
that special access to curriculum, a special or modified curriculum. or specially
adapted conditions oflearning, are necessary ifthe pupil is to be appropriately
and effectively educated. "

29. SPECIAL EDUCATION
In South Africa it is questionable whether the majority of children with special
needs have any intrinsic disability at all. The most extensive special needs are
extrinsic to the children concerned and influence their capacity for learning
(Kriegler, 1989: 165).
Donald (1991), who has studied the nature oflearning disabilities in the South
African context, argues that identification and assessment should focus on a
systematic analysis of a particular context, whether at the level ofclassroom,
school or wider systemic context.

30. SPECIAL EDUCATION
Intrinsically generated special needs imply a
deficit within the learner and relate to needs
caused by:
• Hearing Impairment
• Visual Impairment
• Intellectual Impairment
• Neurological disability
• Physical disability

31. SPECIAL EDUCATION
Extrinsically generated special educational
needs:
An extrinsically generated special educational
need does not imply a deficit within the learner.
The need is structurally and systemically
created and results in the learners not
acquiring basic educational skills.

33. PHASE TWO- WHITE-DOMINATED PROVISION, AND
THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF THE CHURCH (FROM LATE
1800S 1963)
- Stage One: Provisioning by Church, Private Organizations and Society, and
the Racist Nature of the State from the title itself
- The church played an important role during this phase. It initiated the f irst
provision of special education for children with disabilities for both white and
‘non-white’ children, through the Dominican Grimley School for the Deaf in
1863.

34. Stage Two: Development of Tests as a Precursor to Institutional Special
Education and Education Support Services
- The 1920s saw the first development of intelligence tests in South Africa.
- In 1939 , Dr. Fick developed the individual Scale of General Intelligence for
South African Schools. This scale was used in schools to assess the
cognitive capacity of students with disabilities until the mid-60s

35. Stage Three: The Genesis of the Medical Model
The 1948 Special Schools Act in white
education introduced into special education a
model that incorporated a medical and mental
diagnosis and treatment

36. PHASE THREE: ABSENCE OF PROVISION (1700S 1800S)

37. PHASE THREE: ‘SEPARATE DEVELOPMENT’ AND ITS
PHASE THREE: ‘SEPARATE DEVELOPMENT’ AND ITS
IMPACT ON SPECIAL EDUCATION AND EDUCATION SUPPORT
IMPACT ON SPECIAL EDUCATION AND EDUCATION SUPPORT
SERVICES (1963 1994)
SERVICES (1963 1994)
Stage One: Institutional Apartheid and Disparate Service Provision for the
Four Race Groups
- The National Party’s policy of separate development ensured apartheid by
dividing students into four groups, namely, ‘Africans’, ‘coloureds’, ‘Indians’ and
‘whites’

38. Stage Two: Segregated Education Departments Take Control of Special
Education and Education Support Services Provisio.
- Education, as one of the pillars of separate development, was used as an
instrument to ensure that all four groups accepted the idea of that policy.
The passing of the Coloured Persons Education, Bantu Education and Indian
Education Acts, in 1963, 1964 and 1965 respectively, saw special education
and education support services being taken over by the various
departments.

39. PHASE THREE: ABSENCE OF PROVISION (1700S 1800S)

40. Stage Three: The Homeland or Bantustan Phase
In 1968, the South Africa state conferred Territorial Authorities to six
‘Homeland’ government departments, with each having a separate education
department. However, this did not result in any significant changes for African
children with special education needs.
-

41. PHASE FOUR: DEVELOPMENTS IN THE NEW DEMOCRACY; FROM SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION TO
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
- This included the unification of 19 education departments into a single
Ministry of Education.
- The introduction of a general curriculum, namely, the Outcomes-Based
Education (OBE).
- NCSNET and NESS were established as separate entities by the Ministry of
Education. they worked together in the light of overlapping functions.
-

42. EDUCATION WHITE PAPER 6: THE PRIMARY SOUTH AFRICAN
POLICY DOCUMENT ON INCLUSIVE EDUCATIO
A framework policy document called White Paper 6: Special Needs
Education, Building an Inclusive Education and Training System.
The document was a response to the post-apartheid
state of special needs and support services in education and training.
Two main findings were that only a small percentage of learners with
disabilities
were receiving specialised education and support, usually on a racial
basis, and
that the education system had generally failed to provide services
appropriate
to the diverse needs of learners

43. Education White Paper Six on Special Needs
Education: Building an Inclusive Education and
Training System ) suggests a 20-year plan to
transform the system from a dual to a single
system of education ( Full service/inclusive
School; Special Schools as Resource Centres)

44. -
- The focus is not merely on disability but
rather on all vulnerable children, including over-
age learners, children in prison, learners who
experience language barriers, or barriers such
as the attitudes of others, lack of parental
recognition and poverty

45. What is inclusive education?
As used in White Paper 6, ‘inclusive education and training’ means:
• Acknowledging that all children and youth can learn
• Acknowledging that all children and youth need support
• Enabling the education system to meet the needs of all learners
• Acknowledging and respecting differences in learners while building on
similarities
• Acknowledging that learning is more than just formal schooling; learning
happens in the home and in the community as well

46. Fostering attitudes, behaviour, teaching
methods, curricula and learning
environments that meet the needs of all
learners
Maximising learner participation in
educational culture and curriculum
Uncovering and minimising barriers to
learning

47. What does White Paper 6 call for?
To bring about the changes, White Paper 6
sets out various actions, including:
• Orientating management, staff, and
governing bodies to the inclusion model;
classroom educators are recognised as the
primary resource needed to form an inclusive
system
• Identifying learners experiencing barriers to
their learning as early as possible
• Mobilising out of school youth to motivate
them to return to school support team

48. • Converting 500 primary schools to full-
service schools by 2021
• Setting up district-based support teams •
Making special schools into resource centres
that work together with district-based teams

49. made concerning barriers to learning.
- The need to focus on the employment of
specialists and support personnel.
- Teacher training should focus on content
knowledge but also provide teachers with
effective instructional and intellectual tools to
deal with poverty
- The alienation of South African children who
experience barriers to learning due to hearing
and visual impairments is problematic.

51. THANK YOU!!
THANK YOU!!