A Call to Action: Bridging the Divide in South Africa’s Inclusive Education

A Crisis Unfolding Now

In October 2025, as children across South Africa returned from school holidays, 38 special schools in KwaZulu-Natal remained silent. Gates locked, classrooms empty. These weren’t scheduled closures—they were desperate protests by parents and educators pushed beyond breaking point by the provincial Department of Education’s failure to pay overdue subsidies.

Dr Khetha Khumalo, deputy chairperson of the South African National Association for Special School Education (SANASE), explained: “Without transport, parents have to spend money on scholar transport. Without support staff and buses for learners, we will not issue a reopening notice.”

Truro Prevocational School in Chatsworth closed permanently due to insolvency. Pro Nobis School in Dundee, serving over 300 children, teetered on the brink. Schools could not pay staff salaries, electricity bills, security costs, or insurance premiums.

MEC Sipho Hlomuka apologised, attributing the delays to “technical glitches”, and promised payments by 23 October. Yet even after funds arrived, many schools remained closed. Money alone could not address chronic shortages of transport, support staff, and infrastructure.

This is not isolated. In March 2023, parents from 74 special schools in Durban kept their children home for two months, protesting the same neglect. The pattern is unmistakable: South Africa’s most vulnerable learners bear the heaviest burden of systemic failure.

The Broader Reality

The KZN crisis exemplifies a national tragedy. Research demonstrates that between 500,000 and 600,000 children with disabilities are excluded from South Africa’s education system, with studies suggesting up to 70% (up to 950,000) are out of formal education entirely.

These are not merely statistics. They represent real children—like the eight-year-old boy with Down’s syndrome from KwaZulu-Natal whose mother, Qinisela, shares her frustration: “We tried to put him in a school, but they said they couldn’t because he has disabilities. Because of Down syndrome, he isn’t like other children, so they said they can’t teach him. At the therapy, they promised to phone if there’s a space in a special school. I’ve been waiting since last year.”

When Dignity Becomes a Distant Dream

For children who access education, challenges persist. Consider Ikhwezi Lokusa Special School in Mthatha, Eastern Cape—emblematic of systemic failures.

In December 2023, the Eastern Cape Department of Education announced an R11 million renovation project, promising to replace 318 brick beds, upgrade ablution facilities, install running water, and improve accessibility. Yet when the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) staff visited in early 2025, conditions had deteriorated further.

“We were afraid this would happen,” says Therina Wentzel, NCPD’s National Director. “What they discovered was devastating: learners still sleeping on hard, cold brick beds and no secure fencing.”

Nokhaya Bhudu, a Mthatha mother, found her disabled son lying alone on a brick bed, severely ill and neglected for three days. “The school did not inform me. He had not eaten, and no one bothered to check on him. They gave him two Panadols, but he could not swallow the tablets because he had not eaten.” Her son spent five weeks in the hospital.

These children were called “fayidukhwe”—dishcloths worth not much more than wiping the floor with.

Wentzel notes: “The children are being denied the most basic of their human rights: the right to dignity and the right to an education. What is happening at Ikhwezi Lokusa School is criminal.”

The Implementation Gap

South Africa’s policy framework for inclusive education is exemplary on paper. White Paper 6 of 2001 established a clear vision. The country was among the first to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007. Yet the chasm between policy and practice widens.

During the 2025 Disability-20 Inclusive Education engagement sessions, gathering insights from 307 workstream members, lived experiences painted a damning picture.

“We’ve got a beautiful policy document, but it’s not being enacted.” Another participant added, “Most children with disabilities only begin accessing learning at 6 or 7, beyond the developmental window.”

Teachers managing classes of 60 or more learners lack preparation. “They cannot attend to special needs learners effectively. You don’t know who hasn’t eaten, who comes from a child-headed home. That’s inclusion, too.”

Many mainstream schools turn children with disabilities away, referring them to special schools where waiting lists stretch for years. Human Rights Watch research found that families were waiting up to 4 years for placement. Those gaining access to special needs schools often face fees that other children do not pay.

A Roadmap for Transformation

Andrew Hofmeyr, Project Lead for the Disability-20 initiative, emphasises that transformation requires more than good intentions.

“We cannot place the full responsibility for inclusion on teachers without transforming the system around them.”

The D20 recommendations offer a comprehensive pathway forward.

• Inclusive pedagogy must become compulsory across all teacher education programmes. Currently, educators enter classrooms unprepared. “Some educators still believe learners with disabilities should go straight to special schools”—perpetuating segregation.
• Universal Design for Learning standards must be adopted as the default across curricula, assessments, and digital platforms.
• Educational technology must meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines; assistive technology must be funded and integrated within mainstream systems.
• Data drives accountability. D20 recommends legally mandated disability-disaggregated data collection, including intersectional markers. A National Inclusive Education Data Registry should track progress. Too many learners remain “invisible” in statistics.
• Financial investment must be strategic and ring-fenced. D20 proposes creating a National Inclusive Education Fund, incentivising public-private partnerships, and conducting fiscal audits. Early intervention funding must be prioritised; delays have lifelong consequences.
• Infrastructure and support systems require urgent attention. Class sizes must be reduced. District-Based Support Teams need strengthening. Schools must employ therapists and sign language interpreters. Resource centres require upgrading. Physical infrastructure must adhere to Universal Design principles.

Cross-sectoral collaboration is essential. Education cannot operate in isolation from health and social development. D20 mandates coordinated approaches with public accountability dashboards tracking metrics across departments.

Pathways into teaching must open for persons with disabilities. “There are many qualified persons with disabilities, but they’re excluded from teaching roles.” Creating inclusive pathways enriches education and provides crucial role models.

Beyond the Statistics

Behind every statistic is a child whose potential is being constrained, a family navigating a system that works against them, and communities fractured by exclusion.

Hofmeyr reminds us: “System-wide transformation is needed; siloed approaches undermine inclusion.”

The D20 recommendations, grounded in 307 voices from the disability community, offer a blueprint. What remains is political will, sustained investment, and unwavering commitment to the idea that every child deserves quality, dignified, inclusive education.

The question is not whether inclusive education is achievable, but whether we dare to bridge the divide between policy and practice. The answer will determine the future not just for children with disabilities, but for South African society. An inclusive education system benefits everyone—creating a more equitable, compassionate, and prosperous nation.

The time for action is now. The children cannot wait. They need accessible toilets, trained teachers, appropriate support, and above all, dignity. They need South Africa to transform its beautiful policy documents into a lived reality.