READ: Law student aspires to bridge communication gap
About 2,654 students had enrolled at universities and 66 at ten TVET colleges in the country have voluntarily disclosed that they are hard of hearing or Deaf.
This is according to the 2021 preliminary data that was released to the Diary Series of the Deaf People, by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). Regrettably, the preliminary data revealed that there were few or no South African Sign Language Interpreters (SASLIs) at some of the ten TVET Colleges that the DHET referred to. Although there are 50 TVET Colleges in the country, the DHET only released the preliminary data for ten colleges.
The DHET released the data based on the media enquiry by the Diary Series of the Deaf People, pertaining to the plight of Deaf students in universities and TVET Colleges across the country.
Asked whether there were SASLIs at TVET colleges in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Spokesperson for the DHET, Ishmael Mnisi had said, “In terms of data received from KZN region, Majuba TVET College was the only college with a partially Deaf student, and it did not have SASLIs” at that time.
The data also showed that there was one student at the Tshwane South in Gauteng and four at the Goldfields in Welkom, Free State. There were no SASLIs at both TVET colleges. Although there were two Deaf students at the Western TVET college in Ekurhuleni there was no data of SASLIs.
There were three Deaf students at the Central Johannesburg TVET College and two SASLIs on the persal payroll. In Free State, there were 11 Deaf students at Motheo TVET College with seven SASLIs and two interns on the persal payroll. Maluti TVET College had two Deaf students and one SASLI who was paid by the college council.
There were 23 Deaf students at the Vhembe TVET College in Limpopo and two SASLIs. One SASLI was paid through persal payroll and the other by college council.
There were nine Deaf students at Waterberg TVET College also in Limpopo. The college had two SASLIs, one was paid through persal payroll and the other by college council. There was no record of Deaf students or SASLIs at the TVET Colleges in Eastern Cape.
The Taletso TVET College in the North West province showed a record of four Deaf students and two SASLIs who were paid by the college council. There were six Deaf students at Boland TVET College in Western Cape and two SASLIs paid through the DHET Special Needs Allocation (SNE) Funding.
However, Mnisi did not respond to follow-up questions sent to the DHET concerning the number of SASLIs for the Deaf students at universities. Mnisi had said, “For our universities during the 2020 academic year, there were 2,035 students with a hearing disability (including hearing aids).
"Preliminary data for 2021, which is currently being verified, indicates that there are 2,654 students with a hearing disability (including hearing aids). Fifty-seven Deaf students are enrolled in TVET colleges. This is the number of those students who have voluntarily disclosed their disability.”
READ: Law student aspires to bridge communication gap
However, Mnisi said there is no budget allocated by the DHET for SASLIs at TVET Colleges. In relation to universities, he said the DHET does not determine the budgets for SASLIs because this is decided at an institutional level.
Mnisi said the DHET Disability Fund assisted a total of 1,281 students across its 26 universities during the 2022 financial year.
He said this consisted of 979 enrolled students and 356 freshmen. The DHET’s budget allocation for 2022/2023 was R387,100,000 Mnisi had said.
He had said included in the funding of Special Needs Education within TVET Colleges were categories such as blindness, deafness, deaf-blindness, partial sightedness, or low vision, hard of hearing and others.
For the TVET Colleges, DHET has established a working forum on disability support. This forum is intended to support students with disabilities in TVET colleges. Mnisi had previously said that the forum was investigating the level of support provided to Deaf students during assessment.
About 2,654 students had enrolled at universities and 66 at ten TVET colleges in the country have voluntarily disclosed that they are hard of hearing or Deaf.
This is according to the 2021 preliminary data that was released to the Diary Series of the Deaf People, by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). Regrettably, the preliminary data revealed that there were few or no South African Sign Language Interpreters (SASLIs) at some of the ten TVET Colleges that the DHET referred to. Although there are 50 TVET Colleges in the country, the DHET only released the preliminary data for ten colleges.
The DHET released the data based on the media enquiry by the Diary Series of the Deaf People, pertaining to the plight of Deaf students in universities and TVET Colleges across the country.
Asked whether there were SASLIs at TVET colleges in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Spokesperson for the DHET, Ishmael Mnisi had said, “In terms of data received from KZN region, Majuba TVET College was the only college with a partially Deaf student, and it did not have SASLIs” at that time.
The data also showed that there was one student at the Tshwane South in Gauteng and four at the Goldfields in Welkom, Free State. There were no SASLIs at both TVET colleges. Although there were two Deaf students at the Western TVET college in Ekurhuleni there was no data of SASLIs.
There were three Deaf students at the Central Johannesburg TVET College and two SASLIs on the persal payroll. In Free State, there were 11 Deaf students at Motheo TVET College with seven SASLIs and two interns on the persal payroll. Maluti TVET College had two Deaf students and one SASLI who was paid by the college council.
There were 23 Deaf students at the Vhembe TVET College in Limpopo and two SASLIs. One SASLI was paid through persal payroll and the other by college council.
There were nine Deaf students at Waterberg TVET College also in Limpopo. The college had two SASLIs, one was paid through persal payroll and the other by college council. There was no record of Deaf students or SASLIs at the TVET Colleges in Eastern Cape.
The Taletso TVET College in the North West province showed a record of four Deaf students and two SASLIs who were paid by the college council. There were six Deaf students at Boland TVET College in Western Cape and two SASLIs paid through the DHET Special Needs Allocation (SNE) Funding.
However, Mnisi did not respond to follow-up questions sent to the DHET concerning the number of SASLIs for the Deaf students at universities. Mnisi had said, “For our universities during the 2020 academic year, there were 2,035 students with a hearing disability (including hearing aids).
"Preliminary data for 2021, which is currently being verified, indicates that there are 2,654 students with a hearing disability (including hearing aids). Fifty-seven Deaf students are enrolled in TVET colleges. This is the number of those students who have voluntarily disclosed their disability.”
READ: Law student aspires to bridge communication gap
However, Mnisi said there is no budget allocated by the DHET for SASLIs at TVET Colleges. In relation to universities, he said the DHET does not determine the budgets for SASLIs because this is decided at an institutional level.
Mnisi said the DHET Disability Fund assisted a total of 1,281 students across its 26 universities during the 2022 financial year.
He said this consisted of 979 enrolled students and 356 freshmen. The DHET’s budget allocation for 2022/2023 was R387,100,000 Mnisi had said.
He had said included in the funding of Special Needs Education within TVET Colleges were categories such as blindness, deafness, deaf-blindness, partial sightedness, or low vision, hard of hearing and others.
For the TVET Colleges, DHET has established a working forum on disability support. This forum is intended to support students with disabilities in TVET colleges. Mnisi had previously said that the forum was investigating the level of support provided to Deaf students during assessment.
The initial interview was conducted with Mnisi in 2022. To update the article, the Diary Series of Deaf People sent follow-up questions to Mnisi on the 13th of January 2024, but he had not responded at the time of going to press. The article will be updated with the response from the DHET.
