CHALLENGES FACED BY PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN EDUCATION.
in the Gambia, persons with disabilities face countless challenges in struggling to have good education. With this, many ends up discouraging and those that can no more cope with the challenges including discriminations ends up giving up education. It is an unquestionable evidence that persons with disabilities still face numerous discriminations from the society and schools in particular. It’s not a surprise to see persons with disabilities performing low in exams. This is not due to intellectual incapabilities but ofcuss the limitations due to the inadequate required learning materials and proper accessibilities in schools. Many schools are unwillingly accepting students with disabilities per the education policy which says such, for they are in fear of been ask to stop operating as a result of defying the policy. For such been the case, students with disabilities are just allowed but with little or no required learning materials/resources prepared for them. I call this INCLUSION BUT NO ACCESSIBILITY
There are no proper rams for students in wheelchairs, sign language interpreters for deaf and heart of hearing, braille materials and assistive technologies for visually impaired Apart from the materials, there are inadequate teachers with proper training on teaching students with Disabilities. Most persons with visually impairment face lots of challenges in school assessments because there is almost no teacher in the school that can understand and transcribe the braille writing to ink so as to be graded. In such situations, a special needs teacher will have to be contacted to do so this taking a lot of time and sometimes results to loss of scripts or late entries.
I call the Government to please look into this and find possible solutions.
We are also calling for people to also please assist in what so ever little means they could in helping to provide the required learning materials.