The DBE, in collaboration with the Eastern Cape Department of Education, convened a two-day monitoring and support engagement with the Provincial Task Team (PTT) from 3 to 4 March 2026. The meeting took place at two strategic locations: Mentors Country Estate in Jeffreys Bay and Hankey Primary School in the Amathole West District.
The purpose of the engagement was to strengthen and support the work of the Provincial Task Team, particularly its efforts to facilitate the placement of out-of-school children with disabilities currently residing in special care centres into appropriate schooling settings.
The meeting was chaired by Mr Lourens Putter, Acting Director for Inclusive Education in the Eastern Cape Department of Education. Proceedings commenced with an opening address by Ms Christinah Banyini, Chief Education Specialist for Inclusive Education and Programme Manager of the National Task Team on the Placement of Out-of-School Children with Disabilities. In her remarks, Ms Banyini outlined the objectives of the engagement and emphasised the importance of coordinated action between national and provincial structures to ensure that children with disabilities are not excluded from education due to systemic barriers or lack of placement.
The first day of the engagement focused on policy and legal foundations, as well as procedural and operational matters relating to the work of the Provincial Task Team. Mr Jabulani Ngcobo, Director for Inclusive Education at the DBE, presented on South Africa’s legal obligations regarding the right to education. His presentation highlighted key international and domestic frameworks, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa,1996, and the South African Schools Act,1996.
Mr Ngcobo emphasised that the right to basic education in South Africa is immediately realisable and not subject to progressive realisation. He underscored that this obligation requires urgent and decisive action to ensure that no learner remains outside the education system. In this regard, he called on the Eastern Cape Provincial Task Team to accelerate the implementation of Circular S28 of 2023, which directs provinces to prioritise the placement of out-of-school learners with disabilities.
Mr Putter subsequently presented an overview of the Provincial Task Team's work. His presentation reflected on progress in implementing Circular S28 of 2023 and on strategies to increase access to education for learners with disabilities, particularly in ordinary public schools.
The second day of the engagement shifted focus to school-level practice and community experiences of inclusion. A particularly powerful moment was a testimony from a parent whose child with a disability had recently been enrolled at the school. Reflecting on the impact of local access to education, the parent said: “Now I can use the money that I used to spend on transport to a special school far away to buy food and clothes for my children. It was painful for him to travel so far to attend school.”
The principal of Hankey Secondary School, sharing the joy of the imminent opening of a Wellness Centre at their school, established in collaboration with the Department of Health, noted: “We realised that many learners were unable to access health services because the school closes late and by the time they reach the local clinic, it is either closed or there is a long queue. We decided to bring the service closer to where learners are. Through the Wellness Centre, our learners will be able to consult a nurse privately at the school.”
The engagement concluded with a strong call to action for all stakeholders to support the implementation of Circular S28 of 2023, shift entrenched mindsets, strengthen inter-sectoral collaboration, and support innovative leadership by school principals.