By Esther Mukyala
and Charles Kakamwa

PARENTS and guardians of children with disabilities should take them to school instead of locking them up, an education official has said.

“Having a disabled child is not a curse. Endeavour to send them to school to acquire skills that will enable them have meaningful lives in future,” Sylvia Ntegyereze, the commissioner for disability and elderly affairs, said.

She was officiating at the graduation ceremony of Mpumudde Vocational Rehabilitation Centre in Jinja on Tuesday. A total of 48 graduands were awarded certificates in tailoring, knitting, weaving, handcraft, cookery, primary healthcare, and pre-school teaching.

She said the education ministry had put a lot of effort in promoting the education of the disabled people. “The ministry has come up with laws and councils to protect people with disabilities. The aim is to ensure that disabled children enjoy services like the able-bodied ones. You should, therefore, get to understand those laws so that you love and treat them well,” Ntegyereze advised.