Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik GroundUp
The National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities will be sending a delegation to the Ikhwezi Lokusa Special School in Mthatha this week amid long-standing reports of neglect and abuse of the children at the facility.
The director of the NCPD, Therina Wentzel, says conditions at the school present "clear evidence that both the Department of Basic Education and the school principal, are in violation of the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities".
She says there has to be accountability and repercussions for what is happening.
Officials from the organisation and Equal Education Law Centre will meet this week in Mthatha with the parents of the children and other stakeholders to find a solution to the dire situation and to demand improvements.
The Council said conditions at the school for children with disabilities are "appalling", while it said "neglect and abuse" were pervasive.
"There are well-founded fears that the provincial department of basic education will reopen the school at the beginning of the 2024 academic year."
According to Wentzel officials were also disregarding the Constitution which states that all persons, including those with disabilities, are entitled to human dignity and safety.
"In fact, the constitution guarantees this. There has to be accountability and repercussions for what is happening at Ikhwezi Lokusa," said said.
A former learner, Lubabalo Mbeki, also lamented the situation, saying despite many pleas to improve the situation, learners "continue to be exposed to brutal and dehumanising mismanagement of their basic needs".
He said their concerns and the distress of parents are well-recorded, despite undertaking by the school and province to act.
"Litigation is now being considered as a last resort," Mbeki said.
According to a report in GroundUp on 9 November, the spokesperson for the National Department of Basic Education, Elijah Mhlanga, said they had received a report from a task team following a visit to the school.
He told the new organisation that the report and its findings would be released once it was ready.
