Section 29 of the South African Constitution (1996) stipulates that all citizens have the right to basic education. The government is obligated to realise this right and must ensure that access to education for children with disabilities is on the same basis as other children (Khumalo & Hodgson 2015: 113). However, DeafSA (2018) states that despite this stipulation, education for deaf learners is not designed to meet the needs of the individual, while the academic content/levels are below that of hearing children. These factors prevent deaf learners from receiving quality and inclusive education. 

As we celebrate the National Month of Deaf People, we recognize the importance of promoting and raising awareness on the rights of deaf individuals, primarily concerning education in South Africa. To garner a better understanding of the factors that limit deaf learners from receiving inclusive education, we speak to Dr Kirsty Bastable ― a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication at the University of Pretoria. The CAAC in collaboration with Leeds University and other Non-Governmental Organizations have received funding to focus on strategies to enable Deaf and vulnerable youth to be able to participate in decisions which affect their lives. 

Barriers to inclusive education

Dr Bastable states that inclusive education for deaf students faces several barriers; firstly, concerning language. According to Dr Bastable, ‘many children who are born Deaf, are born to hearing parents and only experience a full sign language environment once they begin school in a Deaf school.” For Deaf children included in mainstream schools this signing environment is often absent making it more difficult to learn sign language.

Secondly, Dr Bastable reports that there is a lack of support and curriculum development, as ‘Deaf children who speak sign language are often expected to be bilingual at school―they speak sign language and “oral” teaching occurs in sign language but are expected to read and write in the local language of teaching and learning’. Hence teachers require special training to support Deaf learners. Yet there is

limited training for teachers in South African sign language and Deaf education, combined with a lack of curriculum materials and support staff (Ngobeni, Maimane and Rankhumise, 2020). According to Dr Bastable, the overall poor quality of education received by Deaf learners is evident by the ‘Matric pass rate being 20% below the national average, and approximately 20% achieving a bachelor pass as reported by DeafSA (2018), which impacts the likelihood of Deaf learners obtaining tertiary education’.

Dr Bastable recognises the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified these barriers. Many of the schools for the deaf are residential boarding schools. The challenges of COVID-19 resulted in boarding schools being closed for longer periods than day schools. Furthermore, schools for the Deaf face barriers when making use of online teaching due to the need to use specific platforms which can support their learners through video content or the automatic subtitling of speech. Such platforms use a lot of data which can further make online learning inaccessible to Deaf learners.

Barriers and their contribution to discrimination and 'otherness'

DeafSA (2018) claims there are low academic expectations held by teachers for Deaf individuals. Dr Bastable stipulates that it is not due to the potential of Deaf learners, rather a lack of support for Deaf learners within the education system. This prevents Deaf learners from reaching their full potential. Challenges for Deaf learners are also intensified by lack of resources and limited teacher training. In addition, for Deaf individuals a lack of understanding of sign language in hearing communities can cause further isolation. Dr Bastable identifies that the lack of quality education received has a direct impact on the quality of life of Deaf individuals.

Concluding recommendations

The current schooling system may not always be serving the needs of Deaf students. Dr Bastable maintains that ‘addressing the challenge of achieving quality education for Deaf learners, and inclusive education requires a full shift in perspectives from seeing Deaf individuals as disabled, to differently abled and hence needing different supports to succeed in education’.

Bibliography

Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. 1996, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b5de4.html.  Accessed 1 September 2021.

DeafSA. 2018. Deaf Education. Internet: https://static.pmg.org.za/180912Deaf_Education.pdf. Access: 30 August 2021.

DeafSA. 2021. Who are we? Internet: https://www.sanda.org.za/. Access: 31 August 2021.

Khumalo, S., & Hodgson, T. 2015. The right to basic education for children with disabilities. Pretoria: Government Printers.

Ngobeni, W. P., Maimane, J. R. and Rankhumise, M. P. (2020) ‘The effect of limited sign language as barrier to teaching and learning among deaf learners in South Africa’, South African Journal of Education, 40(2), pp. 1–7. doi: 10.15700/saje.v40n2a1735.