Speaker, could the Minister possibly indicate whether her department has conducted any research on the efficacy of mainstreaming children with special needs in South Africa over the past 20 years, and whether the department has considered international best practice of other progressive and developing countries? If so, could the Minister please tell the House about these findings?
The MINISTER OF WOMEN, CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: Speaker, one of our responsibilities and part of our mandate is to ensure mainstreaming of the rights of women, children and persons with disabilities. We have begun to ensure that these rights are mainstreamed and we have done surveys and research into the standards and the needs of persons with disabilities. Part of this audit has been precisely to look at these issues.
There is a lot that still needs to be done in South Africa. We know that we have more than 400 000 children with disabilities who are not at school. However, we are working very closely with the Minister of Basic Education to ensure that our schools are accessible. Most importantly, because not all children with disabilities need special schools, only those that have severe disabilities need to attend a special school.
So we are ensuring that the policy on inclusive education is implemented in the country through awareness-raising and educational programmes in our provinces and in our communities. We want our teachers and school principals to work together with the government to ensure that our schools are accessible. Thank you.
Steps to monitor implementation of Child Protection Register
311. Mr M Waters (DA) asked the Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities:
Since the inception of her department, what steps has she taken to monitor the implementation of the Child Protection Register?