This was done in order to establish the extent to which the department has responded to the recommendations of the SA Human Rights Commission on the state of mental health in South Africa. The focus area of the meeting engagement was on the following issues: a plan for introducing stigma reduction and awareness raising national strategy on learner attainment study on the implementation of the integrated schools health programme, mental health programming and draft policy for the provision of quality education and support to children with severe to profound intellectual disability.
Section 29 of our Constitution enshrines the right to a basic education and defines the positive responsibilities and accountabilities of the state in this regard. At the core of this is the duty of the basic education sector to ensure the uninhibited enjoyment of the right to a basic education. Since the release of the report of the SA Human Rights Commission on the state of mental health care in South Africa, the Department of Basic Education has taken significant steps to ensure the proper processing of the recommendations of the report. In 2016, Treasury awarded the department a Conditional Grant to the value of R477 million over the period 2017-2020. The strategic goal of the Conditional Grant is to ensure that learners with severe to profound intellectual disability access quality public funded education and support. As part of the implementation, the department has facilitated various engagements with government departments implicated in the Western Cape Court Order of 2010 on access to education for children with severe to profound intellectual disability.
As part of this collaboration, a decision was taken to incorporate in the plans the following: introduction of stigma reduction programme in schools and increasing access to health services; and mental health awareness raising efforts aimed at educators. In addition, the department has identified a need to improve the skills of Learning Support Agents on providing psychosocial support to learners.
In order to facilitate this, the department has developed a guide for Learner Support Agents, LSA, and schools on how to support learners in need of psychosocial services. The guide clarifies what psychosocial support is about and how Learner Support Agents, school management teams and school governing bodies must go about creating a psychosocially healthy school environment in order to prevent psychosocial problems, and to address existing problems early.
The document is entrenched in the department's Care and Support for Teaching and Learning, CSTL Programme, as well as the policy on Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support, SIAS. Already, training has been conducted for LSAs and schools in the North West and Northern Cape. In addition, provinces, like Gauteng have begun to train teachers on psychosocial support within the context of training in specialised areas. The draft policy on Education for Children with Severe to Profound Intellectual Disability was tabled at the Council of Education Ministers, CEM on 12 February 2018.
The portfolio committee is convinced that the basic education sector has demonstrated commitment in addressing the recommendations where it is reasonably feasible based on resource availability. The basic education sector believes that every learner is a national asset, and therefore matters, and is thus committed to building an inclusive education and training system, which will ensure that no learner is left behind. Significant progress has been made in this regard, although challenges remain, given the size of the backlog. This is to be expected though, given the fact that the realisation of human rights is a complex endeavour that cannot be resolved overnight through simple, axiomatic solutions. I therefore move that the House accept the report. Thank you, Chair. [Applause.]