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ActionSA has expressed shock and sadness with the filth and horrendous situation at Atec School of people living with disabilities in Standerton, Mpumalanga.

The school infrastructure is in a dire state and no person will accept the condition of the learners attending the school.

This comes after I and the ActionSA Mpumalanga Team went to visit the Atec School for learners with disabilities. During our visit to the school as part of our public engagement campaign ahead of the State of the Nation Address (SoNA) we discovered the following:

·       There is no electricity in the school;

·       There is asbestos roofing in the school despite knowing the health risks of asbestos;

·       Classrooms, kitchen and toilet are all in one room with no separation of the facilities;

·       There is no separation of learners living with down syndrome and physical disability, they are clubbed together in one class despite the divergent needs;

·       Limited food nutrition programme provided for the learners in the school;

·       The building is very old with no maintenance done in the school for quite some time;

·       No scholar transport provided to the learners.

These is definitinely a case for the government to answer for here. Often in situations like this it is the schools who are deprived of resources from the public purse and as such, ActionSA has written to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to urgently investigate whether any human rights are being violated and to make recommendations to ameliorate the situation.

Basic education and a safe and healthy environment are rights that all South Africans enjoy according to the Constitution, and it is the job of the Mpumalanga Education Department to deliver on these rights.   

ActionSA will maintain pressure on the Mpumalanga Education Department to ensure that conditions improve at Atec School of people living with disabilities in Standerton as soon as possible, and that the rights of pupils are protected. 

ActionSA believes that the truest path toward economic empowerment and a more equal distribution of economic prosperity is through quality education for all, and we will do everything in our power to ensure that all South Africans have access to it.

Issued by ActionSA