Statement by Adv. André Gaum, Minister of Education in the Western Cape

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has noted the protest today (Thursday, 18 March 2004) by members of the Western Cape Forum for Intellectual Disability (WCFID).

We share the deep concern of the forum for children with profound intellectual disabilities.

Members of the forum include 24 Special Day Care Centres for these children. The Department of Health subsidises these centres.

It should be noted that the children at these centres would find it extremely difficult to achieve the outcomes required for Grade One learners.

Nevertheless, we share the forum’s belief that these children have a constitutional right to education.

The WCED has taken the initiative, on both provincial and national levels, to develop draft policy on providing education for these children, and is committed to developing this initiative.

The WCED has discussed this matter in depth with national role players and the Western Cape Department of Health (WCDH).

This is a complex issue, and it appears that it will take some time to develop national policy. As a result, the WCED and the WCDH have decided to develop an interim policy.

In terms of this draft policy, the WCED will, in principle, take responsibility for rendering professional support to Special Day Care Centres within the parameters of its current budget, and the availability of staff and other resources.

The WCDH will continue to subsidise the Special Day Care Centres. The two departments must still ratify this draft policy.

At this stage, further funding falls outside the scope of the WCED, and the issue can only be addressed when national policy has been declared.

At our request, the national Department of Education has been engaged in discussions on this issue with other relevant national departments for some time now, to determine policy.

At the moment, national policy is to subsidise Special Day Care Centres via the Department of Health.

To finance education in these centres, the WCED would have to register them as special schools and run them at a cost of over R30-million a year.

Without additional funding, the department would have to spread the current budget over these centres and other special schools, and would have to reduce funding currently allocated to all special schools to make this possible.

The WCED would also have to review the status of current staff at Special Day Care Centres, because the department may only pay the salaries of qualified teachers.

There is a slight possibility that current staff could be employed as class assistants, but this would have to be on a contractual basis. All changes in the status of staff would have to be negotiated with unions.

The WCED will continue to engage all role players in developing national policy on this issue. In the meantime, we will also continue to engage with role players on interim policy on this issue in the Western Cape.