International Deaf Awareness Month this year is celebrated at the time when the 18th constitutional amendment is now in draft form, and open to public comment, for the change that would make SA Sign Language (SASL) the 12th official language.
PanSALB is lauded for entering the deaf awareness months in style through the launch of the SASL dictionary. This will go a long way in promoting Sign language. Other establishments, especially educational institutions, should follow suit so that they enable the deaf community to access education. The irony of the interview with a PanSALB official on national television for the launch of Deaf Awareness Month was that the deaf community was excluded as Sign language interpretation was not provided.
Within the education sector, the South African Schools Act (1996), the Higher Education and Training Act (1997), the Further Education and Training Act (1998), and the Adult Basic Education and Training Act (2000) all call on educational institutions to ensure that students with special needs are able to access education. Despite this strong legislative and policy framework for addressing disability in the education sector, access and support for people with disabilities remains limited both at schools and institutions of higher learning. When it comes to the deaf community the situation is even worse as it is an invisible disability. Even the majority of churches do not cater for the deaf community. One wonders how then the community will be able to fulfil their spiritual needs.
Studies have shown that most deaf children start schooling after the age of 10 years or even older due to a number of reasons such as lack of facilities at schools for deaf children, as well as lack of translation services from verbal language to Sign language for deaf learners. Some, especially from rural communities, never saw the door of a classroom, as there are few deaf or hard-of-hearing schools, with about 44 in the country.
This is compounded by the fact that very few teachers and staff in many schools are trained to work with children with hearing loss. Taking kids to school at an older age may be problematic, because other pupils in the lower grades tend to make fun of older deaf kids. The hearing community would even ask a sarcastic question to confront a non-deaf interlocutor who has failed to hear something as being dumb.
The situation is the same at institutions of higher learning as few universities offer qualifications in Sign language within the linguistics and language practice curriculum. A few years ago, one study reports a situation where a university was not admitting students who require Sign language interpretation due to the unavailability of Sign language interpreters in that institution.
While Sign language interpretation is a rare skill in SA, it is high time that almost every government institution, including institutions of high learning, churches and schools appoint or engage the services of a Sign language interpreter.
As the rainbow nation, we should also learn the Deaf language and culture. It should not be the responsibility of only those who have deaf parents, siblings, or children. More and more institutions of higher learning should also offer courses in Sign language, either as formal programmes or short learning programmes. This may in turn help to reduce cases of the abuse of deaf children in schools we often hear about.
These children are a particularly victimised group because, without an interpreter, they are unable to communicate their plight. Failure to recognise Sign language will prevent the deaf community from enjoying access to full participation in the social, political, and economic life of the country.
• Prof Ngoepe is an archivist, author and academic
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