Abstract
Learners with disabilities have a right to quality education. They have earned their place in higher education and should be treated fairly and with respect. This is often not the case in South Africa, where students with disabilities are often marginalized or treated like tokenistic entrances. During post-democracy, the higher education sector in South Africa has inherent problems stemming from the apartheid regime. Post-democracy, in South Africa, the first thing on the agenda for the government was to transform the higher education arena. Universities had to increase entrance to historically disadvantaged learners who were marginalized during apartheid. In the new democracy, more learners with disabilities have entered higher education, and racial integration was also made possible at the university level.
TopThis researcher explores South African learners with disabilities, and it is essential to understand that South Africa is a contemporary democracy. Previously the country was under apartheid rule. Under apartheid only the White race, were given power. They were the privileged minority who were allowed to vote and occupy positions of power. Schools, hospitals, universities, parks, even suburbs and cities were designated along racial lines. Non-white members of South African society had no right to a vote. The quality of education and the universities provided for white university students were far superior to those offered to non-white learners. Universities were also designated along racial lines. Before 1994, it is essential to note that in South Africa during apartheid, learners with disabilities were also denied access to higher education opportunities. After a long political struggle, a new democracy was born in 1994. However, extensive work was needed by government and social activists to assist in country’s transformation. Many new laws, statutes and a new constitution were drawn to remedy the wrongs of apartheid. Higher education also required a major change to provide equity and access to certain marginalized citizens; learners with disabilities were one such group.
South Africa is in the process of healing from sustained exclusion, discrimination, segregation, colonisation, racism and many other social inequalities and injustices that have become ingrained in its’ society. Class, gender, race and disability have borne the brunt of much of the oppression. Students with disabilities were further segregated into special schools and mainstream schools (Naicker 2005). The perception was that these learners were not “normal”. They could not sit alongside other learners in the classroom. Their disability made them different, and that placed them in classrooms that excluded them from other learners. This period in South African history was a very unjust time for learners with disabilities. Although learners with disabilities were allowed to study at university, their exposure to being only limited with learners with disabilities at school put these learners at a severe disadvantage when they entered university. After democracy, the South African constitution recognized the rights of learners with disabilities and sanctioned equal rights. The policy was put in place by the government that was now more inclusive for children with disabilities.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Higher Education: This refers to post school learning institutions. An example is a university.
Assistive Technologies: This refers to learning technologies that provide assistance to the disabled learner.
South Africa: It is a country in the Africa continent. This is where Nobel prize winner Nelson Mandela comes from.
Disability: Refers to when a persons’ body function is impaired.