Send children with disabilities to school: government

Dar es Salaam. The government has asked parents with children with special needs not to hide them but to, instead, send them to school as there are schools specifically established for children with disabilities.

Yesterday, in a Mbagala Rangi Tatu neighbourhood, a mother whose  daughter has special needs explained her reasons for not sending her child to school being her belief that those who ‘bewitched’ her daughter would take the opportunity to kill her.

The mother spoke to The Citizen and said that her 6-year-old daughter was supposed to start school last year, but because the neighbours were verbally abusive towards her, she decided to lock her child inside.

“I have been advised by the leaders, so I am taking her to school (she did not name the school). But I just know that she isn’t safe there so I have to check on her regularly,” she said.

For a long time now, some parents and guardians of children with disabilities have not let the children attend school or socialize with their peers due to discrimination in society.

However, the advent of the inclusive education policy has brought relief as the government has continued to implement the policy by building accessible schools with friendly infrastructure for students with special needs.

While inaugurating the new buildings of the Lukuledi Model Inclusive Primary School built by the Ministry of Education through the Education and Skills for Productive Jobs (ESPJ) Project, Education minister Adolf Mkenda said that by hiding the children, parents were doing them a disservice denying their right to education.

“I would like to encourage parents and guardians with children with special needs anywhere in the country not to hide the children because the government is doing all it can to ensure that all children get a proper education,” emphasised Prof Mkenda.

Prof Mkenda added that in the ongoing process of policy review and curriculum changes, students with special needs have been given special priority in ensuring that the education they receive provides them with the neccessary skills, according to their needs, to excel.

 “In this process, the issue of inclusive education has been emphasised and we will continue to do so until everything is implemented. This is why we continue to invest in the appropriate infrastructure for them. I would like to thank the World Bank for funding the project that made this construction possible,” he noted.

He also urged development stakeholders to continue to see the importance of contributing to the government’s efforts in providing the appropriate facilities to students with special needs, hence enabling them to fully participate in the learning process at all levels of education.