Minister Siviwe Gwarube attended the Champions of Change Gala Dinner hosted by Vuyolethu’s Haven on 12 April 2025, in commemoration of Autism Awareness Month. World Autism Awareness Day is commemorated on 2 April annually to promote the acceptance, support and understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The theme for this year is Advancing Neurodiversity and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This year marks the 18th World Autism Awareness Day, sanctioned by the United Nations in 2007 and observed since 2008.
Speaking to the media before the start of the gala dinner, Minister Gwarube shared an update on the Ministerial Task Team on Inclusive Education's work of conducting a comprehensive review of how inclusive education is implemented in the basic education sector in South Africa: “The Committee’s work is focused on identifying what is working, where we are falling short, and what must urgently be done to ensure that learners with special needs are no longer excluded from the promise of education. Inclusion is not a favour. It is a right and inclusion is not just about placing a learner in a classroom; it is about providing that learner with the resources, the teaching support, the emotional safety, and the opportunity to thrive,” she said.
To support the sector’s efforts of ensuring that no child is left behind, the Director-General established a multidisciplinary National Task Team to facilitate the placement of all out-of-school children, including autistic children in 2023. This work is driven by Circular 28 of 2023, which guides PEDs on placing specific categories of out-of-school learners in schools. As an additional support layer, the DBE collaborates with civil society organisations to mobilise out-of-school learners and facilitate their placement through PEDs. The intention is to ensure that all children receive quality, inclusive education.
In her keynote address, Minister Gwarube thanked Vuyolethu's Haven: “You remind us that creating an inclusive society does not begin nor end in a boardroom or a policy document; it begins with love, with advocacy, and a deep belief in the limitless potential of every child. Tonight, we are here to reflect, recommit and recognise the work that lies ahead in ensuring that children with special learning needs are not only included, but embraced, empowered and uplifted by our education system”.
“Behind every child living with autism is often a village of support, including parents, grandparents, caregivers, siblings, teachers and therapists. Tonight, we honour you. We honour the educators who adjust their teaching styles, the caregivers who spend long nights researching better therapies, the parents who fight daily battles in silence, and the children themselves who wake up every day to a world that still struggles to understand them, yet they keep showing up. We see the emotional toll, the financial sacrifices, the systemic barriers and we recognise that it should not be this hard,” Minister Gwarube added.