2.3. INCLUSIVE EDUCATIONAL POLICY IN SOUTH AFRICA
2.3.2. THE LIMPOPO PROVINCE
In the Limpopo Province, the system appears to be very much behind the schedule as proposed in the White Paper 6 (S.A. 2001:42).
The system of education in the Limpopo Province is not yet as inclusive orientated as it should be. This is evidenced by the fact that when presenting his budget speech for the financial year 2005/2006, the MEC for education in the Limpopo Province did not explicitly and effectively include the aspect of inclusive education and training system.
He prioritised his infrastructure provisioning into what he called ―categories‖. His fourth category consists of ELSEN schools (Schools that provide education for learners with special needs) in the Limpopo Province.
The MEC mentioned that these learners have peculiar problems of their own‖. To deal with some of social problems we will comprehensively audit all the 24 schools and provide infrastructure this year that will bring an immediate end to the waiting list‖
(Department of Education Budget Speech 2005/2006: 14-15).
The focus was, amongst others, on the waiting list and how to bring this issue to an end.
This was a positive gesture which the ELSEN Schools‘ management appreciated.
However, the MEC did not explicitly and effectively dwell on the issue of inclusive education and did not indicate how ELSEN schools will be managed and governed within the context of inclusive education and training system in the Limpopo Province.
The MEC did not direct how the initial facilities would be set up and how the additional resources required would be accessed in the Limpopo Province.
The MEC further indicated in his budget speech that ―the massive training that is needed also demands of us to establish an in-service training centre for teachers. We shall establish a provincial in-service training centre where teachers will go and spend a year or even two where necessary (Department of Education Budget speech 2005/2006:19).
It is not known as to whether these provincial in-service training centres will be integrated into the ―place and role of special schools in an inclusive education system‖
(White Paper, 6. S.A. 2001:21). The White Paper explains that to ―assist special schools in functioning as resource centres in the district support system, we will focus especially on the training of their staff to their new roles. There will be a qualitative upgrading of their service, White Paper 6. S.A. July 2001: 21).
Past experiences have shown that the provincial in-service training centres focus on Mathematics and Science for teachers for mainstream schools in-service training and nothing in Sign Language (the first language for learners with a hearing disability in the Limpopo Province).
In retrospection, the time-frame as proposed in the White Paper 6, the immediate to short term steps (2001-2003) has expired. Almost all the programmes which fall within the scope of these term-steps, are not yet in place in the Limpopo province.
This is further supported by the empirical data gathered through focus group interviews conducted during field work (Focus group interviews: Phase 2 of 2005 and responses from the interview schedules).
The situation of non-implementation of the term-steps is further argued by Engelbecht et al (2000:13) that ―both the South African Schools Act and Curriculum 2005 signal a change of direction, but neither prescribes with sufficient clarity how an inclusive integrated education system that caters for the rights of all learners is to be implemented‖.
The major challenge that is encountered regarding inclusive education in the Limpopo Province seems to be associated with implementation.
In his opening address on ―literacy education‖, the former National Education Minister, Prof Kader Asmal said: ―I wish to take this opportunity to invite all our social partners to
support us in this important and vital task of building an inclusive education and training system in South Africa. We are addressing an issue of urgent importance.
(International Conference on Deaf Education 2001:6)
The fact that the implementation of the inclusive education and training system in the Limpopo Province is not yet in place or explicit, is one of the challenges of the management and governance of schools for the hearing impaired. The argument is: To what extent it is an ―issue of urgent importance‖ if the following flaws still exist:
It is not yet known who, when and where the school governing bodies will be trained.
Programmes to ensure the development of Sign Language trainers have not yet been developed.
With regard to the implementation of the new Curriculum 2005, introduced in 1998, educators of the Deaf are being trained by facilitators who know very little about Sign Language.
Learners‘ support materials supplied to schools are often not Deaf-learner- friendly.
The National Curriculum statements on Languages did not include Sign Language in the official languages when mapping learning outcomes and assess standards (Sunday Times: ReadRight: 26 August 2001: P26).
Funds for resources and facilities were not been budgeted for financial budget for education in the Limpopo Province budget speech for 2005/2116.
The mismatch between policy stipulations and the implementation process places the management and governance of schools for the hearing-impaired in the Limpopo Province in a predicament. Managers and governors (SGB) are confronted with problems in trying to bring home what is expected of them as managers and governors of schools for the hearing impaired in the Limpopo Province. One of the basic challenges of schools for the hearing impaired in the Limpopo Province is that of training.
School managers, that is, principals, deputy principals and heads of department are usually trained, equipped with and experienced in certain managerial skills in specialised education. Transfer for these managers to manage SHI within the context of inclusion implies different and specialised managerial skills which are not part of their repertoire.
When these managers‘ are transferred to manage tasks in SHI, they will often feel incompetent and inefficient because they are not trained in the gamut of inclusive education and training system.
Educators in mainstream schools are not normally specially trained to teach the hearing impaired learners. This statement is supported by Baloyi (1997:174) when stating that
―the principal and educators in the mainstream schools are not trained to teach the disabled pupils. e.g. blind, deaf and mentally retarded pupils‖. Storbeck echoes the problem of lack of teacher retraining by indicating that teachers for the Deaf in South Africa are not trained to address the special needs of Deaf learners, namely, there is limited cohesive instructional theory and the educational policy focusing on the needs of Deaf learners is limited in both range and depth (Strobeck, 1988: iii).