Festival held, with Miss SA at Transoranje school to showcase learner skills

The Gauteng Department of Education recently held a Sign Language and Music Enhancement Mini Festival at the Transoranje School for the Deaf.

The event was attended by the provincial MEC of Education, Sport, Arts, Culture & Recreation, Matome Chiloane and special guest, Miss South Africa, Mia Le Roux.

The event took place on September 10 and was part of a series of mini-festivals hosted by the GDoE to showcase the skills learners have acquired through the Multi-Certification Skills Programme.

“The festival exemplifies our commitment to inclusivity, breaking barriers, and building a society where no learner is left behind. Through SASL, we are fostering empathy and understanding between hearing and deaf learners, providing them with opportunities to become advocates for the deaf community,” said MEC Chiloane.

The Multi-Certification Skills Programme was accredited for the Introduction of Basic South African Sign Language (SASL) to hearing learners from Grade 5 back in 2019.

While SASL is typically taught at National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Levels 4 and 5, the department has adapted the curriculum for Grade 5 learners, ensuring that inclusivity begins early in the education system.

This initiative aims to bridge the gap between the deaf and hearing communities by providing foundational skills in Sign Language.

“There’s one deaf lawyer in the entire country, that’s not right. So we know with this programme we have many more deaf lawyers, that I can assure you. Including a lot of deaf engineers, a lot of deaf doctors, so we are really increasing the pool of the skills required to build our country,” said Chiloane.

He added that increasing the number of non-hearing people with skills will reposition South Africa on a global scale not only by stereotypes but efficiency.

“This festival is more than an event, it is a movement towards inclusivity and understanding. It calls on each one of us to recognise and celebrate the richness that diversity brings to our lives,” said Chilone.

The festival also featured a music enhancement segment that incorporated innovative techniques to allow deaf participants to experience music through vibrations.

Deshni Naidoo, from the Inclusion and Special Schools Directorate, said instilling social cohesion between deaf and hearing children was one of the main aims of the SASL during its conceptualisation.
Naidoo added to date, the programme has reached over 13 000 learners.

“I think that we still have a long way to go but by starting programmes like this, we create that awareness and acceptance. We have a long way to go but we’re going in the right direction,” Naidoo said.

Miss South Africa said she felt compelled to attend given her platform and the need to shine a light on the marginalised community.

“Stop apologising for being different, stop apologising for being what society didn’t expect from you, earn yourself, trust in yourself and believe in yourself because you are capable of so much,” Le Roux said.

Le Roux encouraged others to take the initiative and research the subject further and incorporate the learnings into their personal life.

“We all bring something different and unique to the table and when we bring all of that together, it makes South Africa so much stronger,” Le Roux.

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