Children

 Child welfare experts say a Tshwane day- mother who has been accused of assault after an eight-month-old baby was allegedly abused at her house acted ‘irresponsibly’ and was ‘neglectful’.

Lidia Venter, from the Pretoria Day-Mothers Association which the accused day-mother belongs to, says it is the duty of a day-mother to ensure the person they leave children with is responsible.

“You cannot leave the children with a stranger. It has to be someone responsible, someone you know very well,” says Lidia.

To read the article titled, “Day mother blamed over alleged child abuse,” click here.

To mark the occasion of International Human Rights Day today, organisations focusing on children’s rights and the rights of persons with disabilities, have launched a campaign to promote the right to education of children with disabilities.

South Africa has ratified a number of important international treaties, which means that the government has committed to providing free primary or basic education to every child and to develop secondary education. “Importantly, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires the provision of inclusive education at all levels and the UN committee that implements the Convention on the Rights of the Child has emphatically stated that all children have the same right to education, including children with disabilities,” says Lorenzo Wakefield, researcher at the Children’s Rights Project of the Community Law Centre at the University of the Western Cape.

The South African Constitution guarantees the right of South African children to basic education. In 2001 the Department of Education developed White Paper No 6, which sets out a 20-year plan for developing the system of inclusive education. However, Dr Heléne Combrinck of the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at the University of the Western Cape raises concerns about this: she notes that “the right to basic education is not subject to the qualification of progressive realisation, which means that the 20-year timeframe is problematic and may be unconstitutional.”

In spite of the strong human rights framework, significant numbers of children with disabilities in South Africa don’t have equal access to education. In addition the quality of the education that is provided is very often substandard.  For example, Cara Loening, Director of Sign Language Education and Development, notes that, “Despite 13 years of school most Deaf children leave school functionally illiterate.”

The quality of teaching available to children with disabilities in mainstream and in special schools is a significant problem in many cases. Tessa Wood, Director of the Western Cape Forum for Intellectual Disabilities, points out that, “Realising the right of all children to education means that we must prioritise investment in training and support for teachers at a range of different levels.”

Children may experience multiple disabilities, which result in different barriers to learning. These barriers need to be addressed by providing different forms and levels of support to children. “Using a ‘one size fits all’ approach results in further discrimination, often limiting children’s ability to reach their full potential in society,” cautions Robyn Bath, Manager of Inclusive Education Western Cape.

Children with disabilities are often limited in their options for secondary and tertiary education. Some special schools only offer education to Grade 9 level. In addition, children who have followed the path of attending Schools of Skills find that the range of subjects offered severely limit their career paths. The costs of pursuing further training can also be a serious obstacle. “Socio-economic circumstances play a major role in realising the right to education; poorer families face significant obstacles to ensuring that their children receive quality education and that their children can pursue the career of their choice,” says Jabaar Mohamed, Director of DEAFSA Western Cape.

Another barrier is that special schools for children who require higher levels of support are generally located far from where the learners live. “Transport becomes problematic, as it is unaffordable for many and government transport programmes are inappropriate and dysfunctional. The Department of Transport must come on board in rural as well as urban areas,” notes Sandra Ambrose, Director of the Disabled Children’s Action Group.

Many non -governmental organisations are working successfully with schools and the Education Departments towards addressing these obstacles, so that children with barriers to learning, and especially those from under-resourced communities, have the same opportunities as other children.

This campaign will seek to monitor access to quality education for children with barriers to learning. “We plan to work with a number of government departments at national and provincial levels. In addition we will approach the National and Provincial Legislatures to promote parliamentary oversight over the implementation of policy,” says Sam Waterhouse of the Community Law Centre’s Parliamentary Programme. “Existing policy must be strengthened and its implementation must be prioritised. This includes ensuring that these issues are firmly on the table in debates and discussions on provincial budget allocation,” she adds.

“Government, and especially the Department of Basic Education, must consult more widely with experts in the disability sector when developing programmes and curriculums,” states Mohamed.

We are calling for the implementation of education policy that is in line with the international and constitutional human rights framework.  “The right of all children in our society to learn and to develop to their full potential must be taken seriously,” confirmed Sharon September, Education and Training Coordinator at the Alliance for Children’s Entitlement to Social Security.

Ends.

For comment contact:

Ms. Robyn Bath
Inclusive Education Western Cape (IEWC)
082 927 2996

Ms. Tessa Woods
Western Cape Forum for Intellectual Disability (WCFID)
082 421 4120

Mr. Jabaar Mohamed
DeafSA Western Cape
072 472 1852 (SMS only to arrange interview)

Ms. Sharon September
Alliance for Children’s Entitlement to Social Security (ACESS)
082 619 0304

Ms. Sandra Ambrose
Disabled Children’s Action Group (DiCAG)
084 548 2861

Ms Cara Leoning
Sign Language Education and Development (SLED)
082 375 3075

Ms. Sam Waterhouse
Parliamentary Programme Community Law Centre, UWC
084 522 9646

Dr. Helene Combrinck
Centre for Disability Law and Policy, UWC
083 440 9871

Mr. Lorenzo Wakefield
Community Law Centre, UWC
078 222 2144
 
Normal 0 false false false EN-ZA X-NONE X-NONE The campaign is supported by the following organisations:

Action in Autism KZN; Alliance for Children’s Entitlement to Social Security (ACESS); Autism Western Cape; Centre for Disability Law and Policy, UWC; Children’s disability Centre; Community Law Centre, UWC; DeafSA WC; Disabled Children’s Action Group (DiCAG); Disability Research Action Team; Down Syndrome South Africa; Epilepsy South Africa; Inclusive Education Western Cape (IEWC); Oasis Association for Intellectual Disability; Peter Pan Centre; Sign Language Education and Development (SLED); Western Cape Forum for Intellectual Disability; Western Cape Association for Persons with Disabilities.

This initiative receives financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of the release are the sole responsibility of the organisations listed and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.

To view other NGO press releases, visit: http://www.ngopulse.org/group/home-page/pressreleases.

The Teddy Bear Clinic Laws and Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (RAPCAN) say laws that make consensual sex between teenagers a crime are unconstitutional.

The Teddy Bear Clinic director, Lizette Schoombie, points out that the case involving the highly publicised Jules High School case in which a 15-year old girl was raped on the school grounds, ‘emphatically demonstrated’ the negative effects of the act for children.

Schoombie says that while the Sexual Offences Act aims to protect children and adolescents from older sexual predators, the way the legislation was drafted has the opposite effect and breached children’s constitutional rights.

To read the article titled, “Child rights groups challenge laws on sex,” click here.