The Right to Basic Education for Children with Disabilities: South Africa’s Quest for an Inclusive Education System

This article highlights the urgent need to move away from policy aspirations towards an Act of Parliament tailored explicitly for inclusive education in South Africa. The right to basic education is guaranteed for everyone, including children with disabilities. The nature and context of this right is inclusive, and South Africa has alluded to this through policy. South Africa is a member state of various legally binding international law instruments that recognise inclusive education as a fundamental human right, which the government must realise, respect, protect and promote through legislative and other appropriate measures. In light of the above, the paper argues that the time of keeping inclusive education as a policy aspiration has long passed. There is a need for a defined legislative framework to bridge the gap between policy aspirations and the actual realities of children with disabilities. A legislative framework will foster accountability and define consequences for the persistent exclusion of children with disabilities from the education system. International, regional and constitutional law provide the basis within which legislative measures can be taken on inclusive education.