281,000 children screened, but zero tracking system for those needing treatment

The Department of Health has admitted it has no system to track children who are screened at school and referred for help with their eyes, hearing, teeth, speech or mental health.

It also screens only about a third of Grade R learners.

Dr Nonhlanhla Ndlovu, the deputy director-general for HIV, TB and maternal and child health, made the admission at the NCOP Select Committee on Social Services on Wednesday.

"The coverage at the moment, they estimated from DBE in terms of the Grade R that we should be covering, is about 800,000, over 800,000. So we are covering about 33% in terms of the numbers that we are screening.

"But the plan is to escalate every year, which means we will then be aiming at 50% in this financial year, increasing to 75%, so that by 2028/29 we would be covering 90% of all the children who are coming into Grade R.

"We do want to indicate that there is a constraint.

"We would have liked to push more targets and really push to 90% from the beginning. But this requires a very strong integrated school health programme with the resources that are required, and they are not enough at the moment," Ndlovu said.

On the children who are referred, she said: "We do acknowledge that we do not have a system at the moment that tracks the child, and it's another area that we are working on. We are of the view that by the time we start the referrals, we will have the system in the next financial year, so that we can track the children we've screened and make sure that we can follow up."

The department reports that it screened 281,341 Grade R learners in 2025/26, against a target of 160,000. It counts that as a target beaten.

The referrals were for eye care, oral health, hearing, mental health and psychosocial support, speech problems and suspected TB.

Ndlovu said glasses are often donated by private partners such as Specsavers. The department plans to set aside money for glasses and hearing aids from next year.

DA MP Jeanne Adriaanse said North West was far behind.

"North West reports only 1,252 Grade R learners screened, compared with 281,341 nationally. What proportion of eligible learners in your province does this represent, and why is the coverage so low? Of the 5,126 school learners referred in the province, how many actually received the required care, and who follows up outstanding referrals?" Adriaanse asked.

She said what the department reports about North West clinics does not match what patients live through.

"What is being reported regarding clinics and the success rate in North West, and what is being experienced by patients, where there's no medicine and they stay in the queue for nothing and don't receive their basic care, are two totally different situations, particularly in Matlosana and Dr Kenneth Kaunda District. So I would like a full, extensive report on these specific areas.

"If 94.2% of clinics in North West have ideal clinic status, how many of these facilities really hold valid Office of Health Standards Compliance certificates? And what does the department do when a clinic retains ideal clinic status but patients experience medicine shortages, staff shortages or unreliable water supply?" she said.

The department did not answer the North West questions at the meeting.

Director-General Dr Thembisile Xulu said it would send a detailed written report on the districts Adriaanse named.