Despite the challenges facing people with disabilities, strides made by government in policy and legislature over the past 30 years have earned the country’s recognition as a respected champion of the global disability inclusion movement.
During the parliamentary debate on Tuesday to close off the 2024 Disability Rights Awareness Month (DRAM) campaign, Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, said prior to 1994, government’s programmes for people with disabilities were rooted in a value system that viewed disability as a personal misfortune, necessitating a health and welfare approach to "rectify the individual and their circumstances".
The Minister said this narrative has changed significantly over the past 30 years.
“For the democratic government, disability rights are not merely a matter of advocacy -- they are a constitutional imperative enshrined in our Bill of Rights. Section 9 of the Constitution explicitly enshrines the rights of persons with disabilities, prohibiting discrimination based on disability and guaranteeing equality and human dignity.
“More recently, the White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities reflects our government’s shared vision for what must be done, now and in the future, to advance the rights and development of this community,” Chikunga said.
Over the past 30 years, disability inclusion into various laws that comprise the country's legislative framework has been prioritised.
These include the recently gazetted Framework on Self Representation, which has implications for the composition of boards of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs); the National Strategic Framework on Reasonable Accommodation, and the Universal Access and Design Framework, with norms and standards for universal accessibility in the built environment.
Task team on inclusive education
To address education challenges, including accessibility standards in buildings, among others, the Minister said the department, in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education, has established a task team on inclusive education.
The initiative focuses on equipping schools with infrastructure, teaching resources and trained educators to support learners with disabilities holistically, laying a strong foundation for the future.
Achievements in education to date include the number of special schools, which has increased from 295 in 2002 to 489 in 2022, leading to the number of learners in special schools increasing from 64 000 in 2002 to 139 000 in 2022.
The number of full-service schools has also increased from 30 in 2002 to 832 by 2022, as well as an increase in the number of learners with disabilities in ordinary schools from 77 000 in 2002 to 121 000 by the year 2022.
“For tertiary education, the Department of Higher Education and Training has established the Strategic Policy Framework on Disability for the Post School Education and Training (PSET) System, which mainstreams disability considerations across institutions to foster an enabling environment, and the Framework and Guidelines for Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, equipping them to accommodate students with disabilities and provide essential support,” Chikunga highlighted.
She commended Higher Education and Training Minister, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane, on the recent launch of Phase One of the National Skills Fund Disabilities Programme.
The transformative initiative, with a budget of R1 billion, aims to empower people with disabilities across South Africa through tailored skills training programmes.
“In social security, persons with disabilities receive monthly Disability Grants that provide much needed financial support. South African Sign Language is now recognised as the 12th official language in South Africa.
“To this end, we will advocate across all government departments and entities for more of such deliberate and targeted interventions with clearly defined exit opportunities for persons with disabilities,” Chikunga said. – SAnews.gov.za
