Parents of learners at the North West School for the Deaf in Leeudoringstad, near Wolmaranstad, are outraged that all 28 matriculants at the school have failed.
The City of Life Christian School in Brits is another school where all learners failed the exam.
Parents and the SGB blamed the zero-percent pass rate on the lack of sign language.
The Chairperson of the SGB Matshidiso Tlhole, said the children were the ones teaching their teachers sign language because there were no teachers who knew how to do that.
“Our children were compelled to teach their teachers sign language since the teachers there cannot teach using sign language. Our children have been let down by the Department of Education”.
According to the Pan South African Language Board (Pansalb), no one cared to examine the school development plan during the year and now there must be action taken, said Provincial chairperson of Pansalb, Goitsemodimo Seleka.
“It is embarrassing that the learners are in such a predicament, and what’s worse is that the same learners took action and marched last year, requesting sign language teachers.
“Even if the teacher has the proper credentials, it’s an issue if they don’t know sign language in order to instruct the learners,” he added.
According to Seleka, Pansalb attempted to interact with the school and the North West Education Department, but nothing was accomplished.
“We counseled them; I cannot say if they took action or not, but we did our part.
In the 2021 matric class, only one of six learners who wrote the exams passed.
According to Seleka, the South African Sign Language Charter requires a deeper national awareness of sign language as a language in its own right.
“The failure to promote and provide high-quality instruction in South African sign language is a violation of the rights of sign language learners.”
He requested the department of education to investigate if the teachers marking the learners’ final matric scripts understood sign language.
The spokesperson for the education department, Elias Malindi, said the department struggles to retain sign language teachers.
The government has published a constitutional amendment that would make sign language the twelfth official language.
