Elitheni Primary School learners receive school uniform from DSD
The school is a Mild Intellectual Disability (MID) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) combined school.
Elitheni LSEN Primary School in Diepkloof Zone 1 is happy to have received a school uniform from the Department of Social Development (DSD). The school is a Mild Intellectual Disability (MID) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) combined school. According to the school’s principal, Mathoto Molefe the donation was much needed since these children are vulnerable with some of their parents unemployed and some having suffered job losses due to the global pandemic.
“All our learners received the uniform, except those who are leaving for high school next year, the uniform that was meant for them will be given to those who come next year. We appreciate what the social department has done for our learners,” said Molefe.
ALSO READ: Local news Pimville man arrested for possession of an unlicensed firearm
Most of these learners come from underprivileged backgrounds, parents are not working and some are staying with their grandparents who are not employed and the grant they receive is not enough to cover everything and support these children. As a school we provide nutrition for our learners, so you can imagine, if they can’t afford to buy the basics, getting full school uniform will be a hassle, so this donation will be of great benefit for them and we are grateful for what DSD has done for us,” Molefe added. Teachers at the school said that the donation serves as motivation since the disorder can present a broad range of challenges when it comes to learning, teaching these learners comes with challenges that teachers face accommodating them, at least they won’t have to worry about learners without uniform. Research says 1 autistic learner equals 6 non-autistic learners in class, so if an ASD teacher has 6 learners the weight is the same as a teacher in a non-autistic class with 36 learners.