Human Rights Watch: 500000 Children With Disability Denied Education in South Africa

A new report released by Human Rights Watch has revealed that South Africa's education system has shut out about half-a-million children living with disabilities.

The report, �Complicit in Exclusion: South Africa's Failure to Guarantee Inclusive Education for Children with Disabilities,' was released last Tuesday.

According to the 94-page report severely criticizes the South African government, saying that it has failed to guarantee the right to education for many.

The report also pointed out that there is widespread discrimination against children with disabilities in school enrollments.

Children's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, and author of the report, Elin Mart�nez, said the research revealed that children with disabilities face discriminatory physical and attitudinal barriers right from their early years.

"The South African government needs to admit that it is not providing quality education to all of its children - in fact, no schooling at all to many who have disabilities," Mart�nez said.

Mart�nez also said that the job is not done until all children count just the same in the education system.

It will be recalled that the country was in the forefront of ratifying the UN Disability Rights Treaty. The government has in the past claimed it has achieved the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of enrolling all children in primary schools by 2015.



Source: Medindia