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Division making efforts to make
disabled productive and employable after school
Winneba (C/R) March, 20 Ghanadot/GNA-The Special Education
Division is gradually placing equal emphasis on academic
education and technical/vocational programmes for the
disabled in school to make them productive and employable.
In this regard, eight special schools in the country have
been selected to undertake Post-JSS Technical/Vocational
programmes.
The schools are Bechem School for the Deaf, offering
technical education, Ashanti School for the Deaf, Wa School
for the Deaf and Mampong Demonstration School for the Deaf
all offering vocation programmes.
The rest are Volta School for the Deaf in Hohoe, Cape Coast
School for the Deaf, Akropong School for the Blind and Wa
School for the Blind all offering vocation courses.
Mrs. Susan Kennedy, director of Special Education said this
at the 10th Anniversary Celebration of Special Education
Students Association (SESA) of the University of Education,
Winneba at Winneba on Saturday.
The theme for celebration was "Enhancing employment
Opportunities for Persons with Disability".
She said the eight institutions were running programmes
including carpentry, dressmaking, catering, computer
studies, batik, tie and dye, textiles agriculture, fashion
and design hairdressing, welding, metal work, powder, soap
and pomade making.
According to Mrs. Kennedy all schools for the mentally
handicapped which were hitherto "regarded as asylums are to
run transitional vocational programmes
to enable the students to graduate and enter the world of
work".
She expressed gratitude that the University of Education
would start training students in sign and interpreting and
hoped that it will ensure the provision of more interpreters
in the system.
"The Special Education Division sees the introduction of
Diploma Course in Rehabilitation at the UEW as a laudable
approach to the education delivery for person with
disabilities".
She said her outfit, in collaboration with Sight Savers
provides ICT training for the Blind at the rehabilitation
Centre in Accra and that there are plans to extend these
services to schools to make students/pupils in special
School computer literate.
Mrs. Kennedy appealed to the authorities of UEW to equip the
Resource Centre for the Blind with the necessary resources
and also ICT facilities to enable the Blind to enjoy the
countless benefits derived from the technology.
The President of SESA, Mr. Joseph Ntsiful mentioned lack of
permanent lecture halls, inadequate braille machines and
insufficient materials for outreach programmes as some of
the challenges facing the Association.
GNA
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