Madam Speaker and hon members of this House, section 9 of the Constitution provides for the enactment of national legislation to prevent and prohibit unfair discrimination and to promote the achievement of equality. The Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act was passed in 2000 to give effect to this constitutional requirement by prohibiting practices that perpetuate inequality and by promoting equality in all spheres of South African life.
In 2006, ten years after the passing of our extraordinary and far-reaching Constitution, Parliament embarked on a process of reviewing the impact of the Equality Act on the lives of women and people with disabilities. Public hearings were held and a report was issued on the findings of that review process.
The concept of equality and its implementation impacts on every aspect of human life. It is what humanity is all about, it is what democracy is all about and it is what true justice is all about. There is no doubt that within the human framework that constitutes what we know as society, huge inequalities exist everywhere. Some of these inequalities are there from birth and I would like to spend a few moments speaking on this subject.
Through absolutely no fault of their own, there are children born with visual or hearing impairments or profound intellectual disabilities. Others have disabilities such as epilepsy, cerebral palsy or other physical handicaps. For them playing fields are never going to be level. In fact, the great majority of them are never ever going to get onto any playing field. For them, from day one, life is going to be a fearful and exhausting battle - and not only for them, but also for their families.
Yet, each and every one of these children have the same rights as you or I and that is the right not to be discriminated against because of his or her disability. It is critically important for them to receive a basic education that will maximise his or her capabilities so that he or she can experience a good quality of life and in many cases be able to become a useful member of society.
It must be noted that so often these special members of communities, perhaps because of the massive obstacles they have had to face and overcome, make just as great, and indeed time and again, far greater contributions to the common good than do our able-bodied citizens. A prime example of this is the ongoing commitment and dedication our disabled Members of Parliament give to their responsibilities. I would like to take this opportunity to salute you, honourable comrades and colleagues.
In 2005, our Department of Education issued guidelines for inclusive learning. This was a follow-up to Education White Paper 6 of 2001 on an inclusive education and training system. The challenges confronting the implementation of inclusive education nationwide are extremely daunting and it is clear that the current situations leave much to be desired. It means the buy-in and the will of the provinces to implement, yet some provincial departments are reluctant to campaign, to get the out-of-school youth back into public and/or special schools.
Given the will and desire to implement, it requires a secure funding, which is lacking, and implementation capacity as well as training policies. In addition, serious gaps still exist with regard to accurate numbers of potential learners, which makes it very difficult to set targets and annual benchmarks. The infrastructure provisioning in public schools to deal with students with special needs remains extremely precarious.
I could continue at length but I am aware that the issue of the education of children with disabilities is but one of the challenges facing our education department at this time. I'm aware too that resources are limited and fought over vigorously with the inevitable result that what gets done does not emanate from stated policy but rather from available financial and other capacity. But my plea is that the situation of these children must not be allowed to remain on the drawing board.
It is a well-known medical and sociological fact that the earlier a child's disability is identified, the sooner remedial treatment can begin on a pathway established for his or her education. It is also a well- known fact that in both financial and social terms, it will cost far less to maintain an adult who as a child was enabled to care for himself and received the appropriate education or skills training that would help him to earn a living as he/she would not be dependent on the state.
The target set within the inclusive education policy can never be attained without the allocation of appropriate resources, training of personnel, data for monitoring and evaluation of programmes and, most importantly, raising awareness amongst and the buy-in of implementers at national and provincial level to take the process forward more vigorously.
Without the aforementioned, children and youth with special educational needs will not benefit optimally from attaining their right to education. I don't think those of us fortunate enough to be able- bodied have any real idea of what it is like to live in the world of the disabled. I would like to talk briefly on just one aspect: the situation of deaf people in South Africa. In our country approximately 500 000 of our citizens use sign language as their first language and yet, despite fine and dedicated work by DeafSA and other NGOs, there remains in both the public and the private sector a lack of interest, of funding, of education, of knowledge and indeed of caring for their situation. In particular there is a critical need for trained sign language interpreters.
Without signers to interpret in a hospital, how does a deaf person communicate his or her condition or problem? In the courts or at the departments of social development and in the rural areas, where literacy is also a factor, the person who is deaf and illiterate can only communicate and express himself/herself in sign language. Without appropriate resources, support and education a deaf person is at risk of leading a life encapsulated in a world of silence. For those of us in the hearing world this seems unimaginable, but it is a fact.
The Equality Act is guided by the principles of equality, fairness, equity, social progress, justice, human dignity and freedom. On this occasion I would like to use this platform to make a special plea for our government, the private sector and society in general to turn the vision of the Equality Act into a vibrant and effective reality in order for those living with disabilities to be enabled to enjoy a richer and better quality of life; after all, it is their constitutional right. Thank you.