DA calls on MEC Lesufi to investigate allegations of mistreatment of learners with special needs

19 October 2019

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling on the Gauteng MEC for Education, Panyaza Lesufi to investigate the allegations of the mistreatment of learners with special needs in Gauteng schools.

This shocking incident was revealed to the public by ENCA’s Checkpoint.

The programme also shows learners with special needs expressing how they are mistreated at school. These learners are teased and belittled because they are struggling at school.

They are also discriminated against by their teachers who call them insulting names and they are then told to sit at the back of the classroom because they are not smart.

These learners are vulnerable and unable to read yet nothing has been done to assist them.

It is the responsibility of the Gauteng Department of Education to ensure that all learners are taught in a dignified manner irrespective of their learning needs.

The DA calls on MEC Lesufi to intervene as a matter of urgency to ensure that these learners with special needs are given a fair chance to learn and develop.

The department also has a responsibility to assess the needs of learners where it is evident that they are not coping with their schoolwork in order to ascertain what proper interventions need to occur.

Issued by Nkele Molapo, DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Education, 20 October 2019