By promoting truly inclusive education that encompasses the needs of deaf students, Eduplex has become an international model for success.
The principals’ conference of schools for the deaf in 1992 made the message clear: deaf children were spending 12+ years at school and obtaining only limited literacy skills, with many solely able to communicate in sign language which significantly reduced their job opportunities. According to the Deaf Federation of South Africa, 70% of the signing deaf are unemployed.
After hosting the conference, Nico van der Merwe, a businessman and the eventual founder of Eduplex, was deeply discouraged by traditional deaf education, which was of a low academic standard both locally and internationally.
Because of their communication barriers, deaf students around the world tended to be isolated in special schools where they were taught sign language or obtained limited spoken language.
A few weeks after the conference, Nico asked God what role he should play and he clearly heard the Holy Spirit say to him, “I want you to make a difference in deaf education”.
In the next eight years, he consulted professionals from around the world to learn more about oral education for the deaf. It became apparent a training facility was needed, with a working school model to share with other professionals.
The idea of creating a mainstream school, and educational complex (Eduplex) with two to four deaf children in each was unique as there was no known examples on which to base this model of inclusion.
In 2002 Nelson Mandela opened Eduplex with the words, “What you are doing here is changing tragedy into triumph …” which is exactly what Eduplex still stands for.
A model for inclusive education
Today, Eduplex is a mainstream parallel-medium school consisting of a pre-primary, primary and a high school with 840 learners, 73 of whom are deaf and 45 are bursary students. By including two to four deaf children in every class, they have the opportunity to learn alongside their normally hearing friends – without sign language.
Through the early identification of hearing loss and the fitting of hearing aids or cochlear implants, alongside exposure to normal spoken language, a child born deaf can learn to acquire spoken language. This ensures that every deaf child becomes independent, has privacy as there is no need for signing interpreters, and has a variety of career choices.
Eduplex emphasises the development of listening skills and spoken language; enforces a quiet environment in acoustically treated classrooms; maximises the use of visual resources; makes optimum use of world-leading classroom technology (e.g. Soundfield classroom amplification systems); and includes support from assistant teachers in every class.
The primary target group for Soundfield systems is children with normal hearing. The amplification improves the audibility of the teacher’s voice and reduces vocal strain. The teachers’ voices are amplified via a small transmitter around their necks to a sophisticated loudspeaker system that distributes sound evenly throughout the classroom.
The transmitter also sends sound to the hearing aids/cochlear implants of the deaf children. This makes listening and understanding easier and less tiring. This system also greatly benefits second-language learners, children with ADHD and children with auditory processing difficulties, among others.
Designed for success
The success of Eduplex lies in the fact that from the beginning only one disability was included. The school was specifically designed with this in mind and includes:
- Acoustically treated classrooms,
- Maximum use of world-leading technology,
- Individual conversation rooms off every classroom in the pre-and primary schools,
- An audiology and Parent Guidance centre,
- High staff-to-pupil ratio,
- Award-winning interactive gardens as an extension of the classroom and curriculum,
- Various training facilities for employees continued professional development.
The success of inclusion relies on enrolling the deaf children in the Pre-School Programme as soon as they are potty trained. Parent guidance programmes start from the day their child is diagnosed and this support continues through the primary and high school. In the pre-school the focus is on learning through play while developing the necessary skills needed for Grade R and beyond.
Since the inception of the Eduplex High School eight years ago, a 100% Matric pass rate and 98% admission to tertiary studies were achieved with an average of 2.2 distinctions per child. One student, Mitchell Black, was the first deaf person to be allowed to study medicine in South Africa. Mitchell is currently in his sixth year of studies, and is functioning independently in the workplace.
To take the Eduplex vision to the world, an online blended learning and workshop training centre, Eduplex Training Institute (ETI), was established. Various books have been published under the Eduplex name and aredistributed in America.
The ‘How to be a Better Teacher’ training series is a comprehensive training programme covering a wide range of topics and is designed to equip teachers with the practical skills and knowledge they need to create a better learning environment. To date, professionals, and parents from 47 countries, including South Africa, have been trained by ETI.