BlindSA CEO Jace Nair has criticized South Africa’s education system for isolating visually impaired learners, arguing it limits their opportunities and excludes them from mainstream society.
Speaking at the Basic Education Sector Lekgotla at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, he called for urgent reforms to ensure equitable access to quality education for blind and partially sighted learners.
“White Paper 6 for blind and partially sighted learners is special education. That is how the department has recognised inclusive education. They’re are then not integrated in their own communities. They become socially isolated. The only time they get home is during school holidays. So the only friends they have are at school,” said Nair.
One of the major barriers to quality education for blind learners is the lack of accessible learning materials, he said. “The 2012 CAPS curriculum textbooks are still in use at our schools today. Less than 50% of the textbooks are available in accessible formats for learners. And you’ll find that in some of the schools, the blind learners are using a version which is far older than what the partially sighted students in the same class are using. Two different versions of textbooks, and they’re expected to cope in the education.”
Nair said the shortage of assistive devices was another major challenge. “Like many of you would use a pen and a pencil, for a blind child a writing machine is that pen. You may pay about R10 for your pen, but the writing machine costs around R35,000. Not all our children have a writing machine in the class to use. They are sharing this equipment. There are very little low-vision devices for partially sighted children.”
Nair said adaptive technology was often inaccessible in schools. “We use screen reading software, we use computers. Some of these things are available in our schools, but nobody wants to educate or train the educators on how to use it. These things are generally kept in a computer lab. So the learners don’t get access to them in the class engagements.”
The CEO added that the blind learners were excluded from STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects. “Our learners are not given the opportunity to do STEM subjects. There is just one school out of a trillion schools in the country that offers that. That limits our access to the five points for university. Therefore, students who go to university have limited choices in career opportunities.”
Nair mentioned problems of lack of therapists at schools for psychological and social support, calling for urgent reforms. “If we do not transform our education system, blind and partially sighted learners will continue to be excluded from opportunities in higher education, in science and technology, and in society as a whole,” he said.
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