26 May 2025
Joint statement: Blind SA and Equal Education Law Centre take legal action to uphold the rights of visually impaired learners
Blind SA, represented by the Equal Education Law Centre (EELC), will appear in court this week, and again in the week of 2 June 2025, to protect and advance the rights of blind and partially sighted (visually impaired) learners. These two separate legal matters relate to serious concerns at the school hostels of Filadelfia Secondary LSEN School and Arthur Blaxall School.
This week, Blind SA, we will appear before the North Gauteng High Court in relation to conditions at the Filadelfia Secondary LSEN School hostel in Soshanguve, Pretoria. These proceedings follow disturbing reports of ongoing violence among learners and between educators and learners, sexual harassment of learners by educators, critical staff shortages, and deteriorating hostel infrastructure. These issues have been raised over the years by the media, concerned parents, and members of the public.
Despite repeated efforts to engage both the Filadelfia Secondary LSEN School, the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) and National Department of Basic Education (DBE), Blind SA received no response that meaningfully addressed or resolved the serious concerns raised. Consequently, in 2024, Blind SA, represented by EELC, filed an application to appoint a curator ad litem, based at the Centre for Child Law, to conduct an independent and impartial assessment of the conditions at Filadelfia. This step was taken to safeguard and advance the rights of learners attending the school. The curator’s mandate would include investigating the situation on the ground and reporting back to the court with findings and recommendations.
Disappointingly, rather than supporting this uncontroversial and child-focused intervention, the GDE has chosen to oppose the application. The opposition is based on highly technical procedural technicalities, including the claim that the Minister of Basic Education was improperly joined to the proceedings.
The situation at Filadelfia is not an isolated incident, but part of a broader, systemic failure affecting hostels for learners with disabilities across South Africa. Blind SA and the EELC have recently highlighted the dire conditions at several schools, including the hostels of Arthur Blaxall School, Ikhwezi Lokhusa Special School, Setotolwane LSEN Secondary School and Prinshof School. Media investigations have brought to light deeply troubling accounts of neglect, with learners subjected to unhygienic, unsafe, and unlivable hostel environments, conditions that violate their dignity, safety, and right to quality education and care.
Through this application, we hope that the appointed curator will be able to make informed, independent recommendations that lead to meaningful improvements at Filadelfia, ensuring that learners with disabilities can access education and live in conditions that respect their dignity and rights. More broadly, we hope that this legal action, along with next week’s 2 June court matter, will shine a spotlight on the unacceptable conditions faced by learners with disabilities nationwide and serve as a catalyst for systemic reform and accountability.
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For more information contact:
Jay-Dee Booysen (Equal Education Law Centre Media and Communications Specialist) jay-dee@eelawcentre.org.za – 082 924 1352
Lerato Jiyane (Blind SA Public Relations) pr@blindsa.org.za – 068 039 4857
