With the start of Deaf Awareness Month on Friday, 01 September 2023, the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Deaf Centre, which resides in the Department of Information Systems, is working on transforming DUT to be the preferred tertiary institution for deaf students.
According to Petri Du Toit, the Deaf Progamme Coordinator at the Deaf Centre, the recent officialisation of South African Sign Language has encouraged the Centre to develop programmes that will attract more deaf students to enrol at DUT. The DUT Deaf Centre plans to continue to provide its expertise at the policy level to the benefit of the South African Deaf community.
The Deaf Centre staff shared their excitement on the recent developments in the signing of the South African Sign Language Bill. The Bill declares South African Sign Language (SASL) as one of the country’s 12 official languages.
“South Africa joins Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Uganda in the recognition of sign language as an official language. The Deaf community has been advocating for the official recognition of sign language for the past 25 years. 19 July 2023 became a historic watershed moment for South Africa and the South African Sign Language community,” said Du Toit.
Giving a brief background on the Deaf Centre, Du Toit said that it is a support unit for specifically Deaf students studying Information Systems and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) at DUT. It was established in the early 2000s and has facilitated equal access to information and an inclusive approach to education. The Deaf Centre has celebrated the graduation of more than 20 deaf students who now actively contribute to the mainstream economy around the country.
“Based on inclusive education principles, we provide Deaf-on-Deaf tutoring, mentoring, interpreting and translation services by trained and qualified interpreters. We promote reasonable accommodation through deaf sensitisation of academic and support staff within our department. We also offer weekly South African Sign Language acquisition classes. The Deaf Centre supports local Deaf schools through outreach programmes that empower matriculants with information on application registration and funding processes,” explained Du Toit.
In 2023 the Information Systems Department made an executive decision to employ its first Deaf South African Sign Language lecturer, Ms Talisa Laltharpersad who teaches hearing students the basics of SASL as an elective module in their respective programmes at DUT. Du Toit said this is in line with the international recommendations that promote the teaching of signed language by Deaf people themselves.
In line with DUT’s ENVISION2030 strategy, the Centre prioritises community outreach, facilitates peer learning and skills transfer among the Kwa-Zulu Natal sign language interpreter community.
“We have long-standing Memorandum of Understandings with the community-based organisations that promote the development of the Deaf community in the province where we offer free interpreting services for the Kwa-Zulu Natal Deaf Association’s skill enhancement workshops. We also offer informal South African Sign Language interpreter mentorship training to the Kwa-Zulu Natal Deaf and Blind Association on a weekly basis and workshops to sensitise their staff around best practices of using South African Sign Language interpreters,” explained Du Toit.
The DUT Deaf Centre is part of the Pan South African Language Board’s endeavours of language standardisation and development by contributing its information technology expertise from a Deaf perspective to promote inclusivity in all spheres of society. Currently, the Centre is documenting technical terminology used in the Information Systems and ICT discipline to support the development of South African Sign Language.
Pictured:Deaf Centre supervisor, Sthembiso Thabethe, South African Sign Language lecturer, Talisa Laltharpersad engaging with one of the deaf students.
Photographer: Khulasande Tshayile.
Simangele Zuma
