Education minister visits Formosa
Western Cape Minister of Education Debbie Schafer paid her first ever ministerial visit to an ELSEN (Education for Learners with Special Educational Needs) unit on Monday, November 10, when the ELSEN unit at Formosa Primary School in Plettenberg Bay celebrated its fifth anniversary.
“For special learners we need special teachers,” said Schafer. “We do not want to exclude people.”
ELSEN units were established within government schools so as to offer learners with impaired cognitive ability the opportunity to be part of their peer community whilst following a curriculum adapted to meet with their unique educational needs.
Inclusive education has been a consideration for educators since it became an integral part of the vision of the National Department of Education as published in White Paper 6. Traditionally, learners with special needs were segregated from their peers and sent to schools dedicated to special needs education.
Formosa Primary School has a significant history in that it had had a special needs adaptation class for many years prior to the adoption of inclusive education in 2000. This meant that learners who would ordinarily have been educated at dedicated schools in larger centres could be educated in their home town. The adoption of inclusive education saw these types of learners being absorbed into the mainstream classes with remedial support educators on site.
For inclusive educational practices to be effectively implemented in the classroom situation, it requires dedication and perseverance from the educator. Lessons need to be structured in such a way that the content can be engaged with on different levels by learners with varying cognitive abilities in one classroom.
Poor systemic evaluation results following the re-integration of learners with specific cognitive disabilities led to the ELSEN unit being established at Formosa Primary School in 2009 with Leigh Dunn as educator, a first in the Plettenberg Bay region.
Dunn has established relationships with various local NGOs, businesses and individuals all of whom contribute to the continued success of this pioneering educator in providing the learners under his charge with the best opportunities for self-development through access to equal education by means of the latest technology and extra-curricular activities aimed at mental, physical and emotional development.
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Source: Knysna-Plett Herald