“South Africa’s special education policies are designed to protect the country’s most vulnerable, but at Dukathole LSEN School in Ekurhuleni, those protections appear to exist only on paper.”

“Daily Maverick spoke to parents who voiced a list of concerns, ranging from the regression of their children to hygiene and safety violations.”

“We are not getting a clear vision of where the children are going,” one parent explained, noting that instead of progressing, learners were losing vital developmental milestones and confidence.”

“Despite the presence of speech and occupational therapists, specialised therapy is reportedly determined by subjective judgements, such as a child “not being that bad”, rather than clinical necessity.”

“Furthermore, while many learners at Dukathole are non-verbal, they have never been taught alternative communication systems such as Makaton, the Picture Exchange Communication System (Pecs), or other augmentative tools.”

“Another major concern for parents is the absence of Individual Support Plans (ISPs), which remain unaddressed well into the school year.”

“Children at the school are frequently left unattended, with some learners suffering epileptic fits or other medical conditions without any assistance, leading to injuries.”

“A child who soiled himself was reportedly locked in a toilet for an extended period. Rather than following a hygiene plan, the school allegedly called the mother to come and attend to her son.”

“The department knows about all of this yet we are told: ‘You need to give us time, you need to follow due process.’ Even when we follow due process, nothing happens.”

“A 9 September 2025 report by Dr Hester Costa, Gauteng Department of Education’s Director of Inclusion and Special Schools, outlined the findings of an investigation into Dukathole LSEN School.”

“Investigators found rampant inconsistencies in payment authorisations, with numerous Electronic Funds Transfer requisition forms missing mandatory signatures.”

“Investigators found no evidence that the district had been tracking the progress of recommendations made during a previous Whole School Improvement visit in February 2025.”

“The audit logged multiple illicit payments to SGB members for attending meetings, despite Section 27(2) of the South African Schools Act prohibiting such compensation.”

“Investigators found that Individual Support Plans were developed for learners needing extra help, but these were drafted without any collaboration with their parents.”

“The report emphasises in its conclusion that without consistent, visible and active district monitoring, Dukathole LSEN School faced a high risk of continued stagnation and regression.”

“The report ties many of these issues to a systemic and severe lack of departmental oversight.”

“The report addresses the lack of parental involvement in Individual Support Plans, the urgent need to finalise a student exit policy, and curriculum failures such as a lack of ingredients for cooking practicals and missing teaching worksheets.”

“During a classroom walk-through, investigators noted poor curriculum delivery, with some educators not actively teaching because they were still waiting for their departmental head to provide worksheets.”

“The school’s petty cash management is in disarray as there is no formal petty cash file, reconciliations are ignored, and monthly cash withdrawals routinely exceed the strict R3,000 limit.”

“Curriculum implementation has broken down as the food production programme has lacked practical cooking ingredients since April 2025, forcing educators to teach only theory.”

“The school lacks a detailed, updated asset register, and investigators flagged a highly suspicious pattern of unreferenced electronic bank payments, including nearly a dozen untraceable transfers of exactly R50,000 each.”

“A separate pre-audit conducted in September 2025 provides a paper trail of how school funds have been handled.”

“The audit revealed a pattern of payments made without mandatory quotations, including R103,596 for CCTV installation, R41,000 for general repairs, and R62,000 for cleaning materials.”

“The school also made payments to single service providers for lump sums of R250,000 and R200,000 for a skills development programme, without sufficient supporting documents.”