As the country wraps up its commemoration of Human Rights Month, the plight of out-of-school children with disabilities remains a stark reminder of the legacy of segregated education, and the urgent need for a fundamental mindset shift in the way education officials, schools, and society regard special education needs and disability.
The National Task Team (NTT) on the Placement of Out-of-school Children with Disabilities convened a meeting from 23 to 24 March 2026, in Rustenburg with the North West Department of Education (NWDoE) Provincial Task Team (PTT), provincial officials and school principals to, among others, ensure alignment between inclusive education principles, national directives and provincial implementation. During his presentation, Mr Jabulani Ngcobo, Director for Inclusive Education at the DBE, implored officials to accelerate the placement of children with disabilities from community-based special care centres into public ordinary schools. “The failure to place these learners in schools means they are missing out on basic education, which can have long-term consequences for their cognitive, social, and emotional development. Learners with intellectual disabilities are already vulnerable due to their disability. The failure to provide them with access to education exacerbates this vulnerability, making them more susceptible to exploitation, abuse, and neglect,” said Mr Ngcobo.
Recent data indicate that there are over 7,000 children with disabilities attending community-based special care centres, with no access to basic education. According to Ms Christinah Banyini, Chief Education Specialist, Inclusive Education at the DBE, the role of the PTTs is not only to place children in schools, but also to track their progress and provide regular curriculum support and other support to the schools where they have been placed. Ms Banyini expressed that improving access, participation, and support for learners with disabilities in public ordinary schools is highly dependent on the NWDoE supporting districts and schools with guidance, training, and resources, whilst also being quick to identify and address systemic barriers and to escalate critical issues for intervention. This would prevent the revolving-door effect, in which inadequate support channels placed learners back in special care centres.
Led by Chief Director for District Coordination and Management at the NWDoE, Mr Benny Monale, the province shared its progress in implementing Circular S28 of 2023, highlighting ongoing challenges in system readiness, including infrastructure and teacher capacity. Despite this, the PTT indicated that implementation continues, supported by responsive leadership, parental engagement, school mapping and identification, and stakeholder collaboration.
Acknowledging that there might be possible resistance and challenges encountered that may delay the placement of children with disabilities into ordinary schools, Mr Ngcobo reminded both the officials and school principals of the country’s constitutional, legal and international obligations to ensure that the right of children, including those with disabilities, to basic education is immediately realisable. “An obligation is not a request. Education White Paper 6 does not ask whether inclusion is desirable. It assumes inclusion and asks whether our policies, budgets, systems, and decisions are aligned with that assumption. Therefore, as officials and managers, we need to use the data at our disposal to anticipate our schooling communities’ needs, leading to better education planning,” added Mr Ngcobo.
The North West engagement concluded with a visit to Rankelenyane Primary School, a full-service school located in Rankelenyane Village. During the visit, school principals and officials observed inclusive education in practice, within an authentic classroom environment. Having recently taken in three learners from a special care centre into Grade R, the school was able to let the group assess the support provided to the learners, including teaching strategies, classroom accommodations, and peer inclusion practices. Contrary to popular belief that educators are not ready to teach these learners, the Grade R educator shared innovative ways she had used to ensure the learners were adequately supported.
Government is committed to inclusive education being an integrated component of the basic education system. In the words of former Minister of Education, Prof Kader Asmal, what is required of us to build an inclusive education system is “persistence, commitment, co-ordination, support, monitoring, evaluation, follow-up and leadership”.