My sincere thanks to you for inviting me to this important conference of the National Association for Persons with Cerebral Palsy and for your friendly words of welcome.

It is indeed a pleasure to be included in a conference of this nature. I feel very privileged to have been asked to be the keynote speaker on the second day of the conference.

I would like to share a few thoughts with you on the education of learners with specialised educational needs, including learners experiencing cerebral palsy as a barrier to learning.

In the last decade, and also in the last few months, there had been a lot of developments in education, which will in the years to come, impact significantly on the development of our society and our economy.

Some of these developments include the adoption of the Constitution of our country, the Disability Rights Charter of South Africa, the SA Schools Act and Education White Paper 6.

More recently we have launched what we call our Human Capital Development Strategy, which has as its prime objective the provisioning of skills for our youth.

This strategy is one of several lead strategies for Ikapa Elihlumayo, which is the provincial government's economic and development blueprint, aimed at realising the vision of a Home for All.

Our Human Capital Development Strategy spells out clearly, that Learners with Special Education Needs "must continue to be supported, as the sector covers education for those with barriers to learning, as well as the conventionally known 'gifted learners'".

Our strategy document caution thought, that "it is doubtful, however, whether resource allocation to this sector can be increased in the short term, but it is imperative that we do because the demand is great, and currently we are able to provide access only to a few.

"More important, perhaps, is the need for us to consider the establishment of more schools of skill, as these schools are able to accommodate those learners whose abilities only allow them the acquisition of skills such as metalworking, upholstery, etc. and with which they are able to access the labour market, and even the small business world in the form of enterprises in their chosen fields of education."

Transformation is not just about enhancing learning, but is also about finding a balance between imperatives such as social development and citizenship on the one hand and economic and employment objectives on the other.

The reason why our Premier Ebrahim Rasool says we must build this province as a "Home for All", is so that everyone can participate in the life of our province, and enjoy the benefits of what this province has to offer, including those with different abilities and special needs.

Our responsibility in the Western Cape is to ensure that each and every learner, including those who suffer from cerebral palsy, acquires the knowledge, skills and values he or she needs to lead a fulfilling life as an empowered and productive citizen and to contribute to the development of the province and the country.

The learners of South Africa have great expectations and an even greater hope for the future. We, who are involved in the education and training of children, cannot and will not fail them - not only the learners without barriers to learning in mainstream schools, but also especially those with barriers to learning in special schools and mainstream schools.

I personally believe that the needs of learners with disabilities have often been neglected and disregarded in the past. We therefore need to be passionate about serving every school and child - but we must be more passionate about making a real difference in the lives of the learners who experience barriers to learning.

It is estimated that at least 40% of the learners in South African schools experience barriers to learning and development, and need low, moderate or high-level specialised education support.

In the so-called developed countries, only about 12 to 15% of the learners experience barriers to learning. In South Africa there are therefore many more learners experiencing barriers to learning than in the developed world, while our resources are much more limited than the resources available in the developed world.

We are confronted with quite a dilemma: We find ourselves in the global village, where we need to be able to compete with the rest of the world on the economic level (besides others) if we wish to survive, but in order to do this, we need to ensure that our learners can learn effectively.

It is clear that a strategy is required that will ensure that learners who are experiencing barriers to learning will be supported effectively in order to progress optimally in spite of their epilepsy, blindness, deafness, cerebral palsy, or learning difficulties and will be empowered with the knowledge and skills they require to lead self-supporting lives.

Based on the Constitution of our country and the legislative reform packages, a new vision for the education and training of learners with barriers to learning, namely inclusive education, has emerged as such a strategy.

Inclusive education is based on the principles of human rights and social justice for all learners, equal access to education, support for all learners with barriers to learning and community responsiveness.

The main underlying principle is education for all in a single, integrated, inclusive education system, where mainstream and special schools do not function as two separate entities, but as equal partners in a single, inclusive setting.

The implementation of the principles of an inclusive education system includes the transforming of the education system in order to address and reduce barriers to learning.

By implementing such a system, all learners will be placed in a position to participate actively in the education process so that they may demonstrate their competence in a manner that is most appropriate to their abilities, despite the barriers to learning they may experience.

The aim is to support these learners according to their educational needs. As already mentioned, the intensity of the support to the learners experiencing barriers to learning will be determined by the nature of those learning barriers and could be on a low, moderate or high level.

The above-mentioned vision is thus based on the following premises:

• All children and youth can learn.
• All children and youth who need support should get such support.
• The education system should be accessible and responsive to all learners.
• Each learner has the right to quality education, and to be treated with dignity and respect.
• Each learner has the right to equal access to the curriculum based on the principle of equity and redress.

All learners must be given the opportunity to participate in their communities and be provided with the widest possible education and social opportunities.

No learner should be prevented from participating in an appropriate and effective education system, regardless of his or her physical, intellectual, social, emotional, language or other differences.

All learners must have equal opportunity to benefit from the education system as a whole. Barriers, which previously isolated particular learners from education should be removed and particular attention should be given to improving access to lifelong learning for learners with disabilities in disadvantaged areas, in particular to those excluded from education in the past and present.

To accommodate the goal of "education for all", the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) implemented a specific support system with regard to learners with barriers to learning as part of inclusive education.

This system provides for support on four levels. At the first level of support, learners identified as learners with barriers to learning are to be supported in mainstream classes.

If learners do not benefit enough from the support rendered by the ordinary class teacher, they can be temporarily withdrawn from the class to receive help from the teacher specialising in the education for learners experiencing learning difficulties at the second support level. At the end of these support sessions they return to their mainstream classes.

If the learners do not benefit enough from being temporarily withdrawn from their classes for specialised help, they can be accommodated in separate classes or full service schools.

Some learners with barriers to learning have needs, which cannot be met on any of the three levels I have just mentioned, and they may be catered for in separate special schools, such as the schools for learners with cerebral palsy.

It should be the aim of these schools to return learners to the mainstream as soon as it is educationally feasible. However, we must accept that there may be a number of learners who will never be able to cope in mainstream schools and should always be educated in such schools.

To put inclusive education into practice, the WCED has already taken or is implementing the following steps:

• An infrastructure has been established through the creation of multi-functional district support teams, as described in Education White Paper 6, which consist of members from various disciplines, such as specialised support services, curriculum support and institutional management.
• Some mainstream schools have been, or are being developed into full-service schools to cater for a range of learning needs for learners requiring low to moderate levels of support.
• Institutional-level support teams (education support teams (ESTs)) have been established at most mainstream schools to support the learning and teaching process by identifying and addressing the needs of learners, educators and the institution.
• Learning support teachers, whose services focus on the provision of support to educators regarding the curriculum, alternative assessment, developing learning material and identifying and addressing barriers to learning, have been appointed.

Special schools are being gradually transformed into resource centres. They have a pivotal role to play in the implementation of inclusive education and will therefore be strengthened to serve as resource centres and to accommodate learners with barriers to learning requiring high intensity educational support.

The key function of special schools as resource centres will be to provide physical resources, specialised material and professional support to all concerned - including full-service schools and other mainstream schools - in respect of, among others, the curriculum, assessment and instruction.

This simply means that the specialised knowledge and expertise of teachers and other staff members at special schools will be shared with mainstream schools and that the support and the educational services of special schools will be integrated into that of the district-based support teams on education district level.

The special school as resource centre will thus function as part of the education district service delivery team on a multi-functional basis. Further to this, it means that the specialised support to learners with barriers to learning will be intensified, while learners who need high-intensity support will still be educated in special schools.

In line with Education White Paper 6, the focus of service delivery will be moving to the levels of support the learners with barriers to learning need, and away from the traditional medical deficit paradigm.

Special schools will also be transformed to be in a position to accommodate learners who experience different barriers to learning. This will also lead to some other challenges, which will include the following:

• The capacity of schools to provide quality education support services to learners with high intensity educational needs must be upgraded.
• The physical facilities in schools must be upgraded as far is as possible within the constraints of the available funds.
• All educators must be trained and reorientated with regard to the principles and practices of inclusive education.

The main functions and role of special schools as resource centres will therefore be the following:

• To assist in the development of learning materials for all learners with barriers to learning;
• To provide education to learners with diverse educational needs (based on a wide range of barriers to learning) who require high level of support;
• To ensure that maximum use is made of existing physical resources (e.g. workshops for vocational training);
• To play a vital role in the professional development of educators (including teachers at mainstream schools);
• To contribute to a process to provide a network of support to mainstream schools in collaboration with other support structures;
• To provide curriculum support, including assessment, specialised teaching methodologies and guidance in the use of specialised equipment to educators and learners on a multi-functional basis as part of the support structures;
• To work collaboratively with district-based support teams and full-service schools and assist in capacity building of education support teams (ESTs) in mainstream schools; and
• To provide therapeutic support to learners with barriers to learning in need of such support.

It should be borne in mind that the transformation of special schools into resource centres is not going to happen overnight. The roll-out will follow a process of over 20 years as indicated in Education White Paper Six.

The WCED is committed to the thorough step-by-step implementation of inclusive education in such a way as to accommodate all the role players.

While many internal and external factors, including the availability of funds and resources, will contribute to the duration of the implementation process, care will be taken to ensure that the process is finalised within the time-frame set by the national Department of Education.

I am convinced that the implementation of the principles of inclusive education as indicated will be in the best interests of all learners with barriers to learning, including learners with cerebral palsy, and that these principles will eventually contribute to more effective specialised education support to all those in need of it and to the strengthening of all special schools in South Africa.

I am sure this will also contribute to better educated and better empowered young women and men who will be fulfilled and be productive citizens of South Africa.

I thank you for your attention.

For enquiries:
Gert Witbooi
Media Liaison Officer
Office of the MEC for Education
Western Cape
Tel: 021 467 2523
Fax: 021 425 5689
Email: gwitbooi@pgwc.gov.za
Visit our website: http://wced.wcape.gov.za