Improve services for the deaf
Sep 26, 2011
This year’s celebrations of the international deaf awareness week were held last week in Ibanda district.
Barry Oluoch
This year’s celebrations of the international deaf awareness week were held last week in Ibanda district.
Sign language interpretation and translation requires specialised training, knowledge and experience. It requires a high degree of fluency in both languages.
Even bilingual individuals with native-like fluency in both languages are not necessarily qualified to provide interpreting services in a parliamentary setting. The setting demands excellence and full command of technical language, nuance, register and vocabulary.
In addition, technical mastery of simultaneous and consecutive interpreting skills is essential. These skills require extensive practice and development.
Kyambogo University passes out an average of 25 diploma graduates interpreters per annum. However, these are not recruited by the Public Service. Uganda has about 1.2 million deaf people who miss out on the services of professional sign language interpreters.
The Government should include sign language interpreters on job adverts and recruitments so that the deaf can access services in their first language.
l The Government should direct public and private television (TV) stations to provide captioning and sign language interpretation of all news broadcasts as provided for in the PWDs Act 2006. The provisions of broadcasting licences should be subject to this requirement.
The public service ministry should formalise and implement the President’s directive and parliamentary resolution of 2008 requiring the Government to recruit sign language interpreters in major referral hospitals, courts of law, universities and regional police stations.
The Government should re-introduce sponsorship of sign language studies at Kyambogo University which was phased out five years ago.
Districts should prioritise the provision of educational opportunities for the deaf.
The education ministry should review the policy on special needs education to promote the use of sign language in the education of the deaf, motivate teachers for the deaf and increase financing for the deaf education.
Districts should ensure leaders of PWDs are informed of and involved in the district planning processes.
Everybody should raise awareness of the potentials and needs of deaf persons.
The writer is the director sign language and interpreters and translaters agency
This year’s celebrations of the international deaf awareness week were held last week in Ibanda district.
Sign language interpretation and translation requires specialised training, knowledge and experience. It requires a high degree of fluency in both languages.
Even bilingual individuals with native-like fluency in both languages are not necessarily qualified to provide interpreting services in a parliamentary setting. The setting demands excellence and full command of technical language, nuance, register and vocabulary.
In addition, technical mastery of simultaneous and consecutive interpreting skills is essential. These skills require extensive practice and development.
Kyambogo University passes out an average of 25 diploma graduates interpreters per annum. However, these are not recruited by the Public Service. Uganda has about 1.2 million deaf people who miss out on the services of professional sign language interpreters.
The Government should include sign language interpreters on job adverts and recruitments so that the deaf can access services in their first language.
l The Government should direct public and private television (TV) stations to provide captioning and sign language interpretation of all news broadcasts as provided for in the PWDs Act 2006. The provisions of broadcasting licences should be subject to this requirement.
The public service ministry should formalise and implement the President’s directive and parliamentary resolution of 2008 requiring the Government to recruit sign language interpreters in major referral hospitals, courts of law, universities and regional police stations.
The Government should re-introduce sponsorship of sign language studies at Kyambogo University which was phased out five years ago.
Districts should prioritise the provision of educational opportunities for the deaf.
The education ministry should review the policy on special needs education to promote the use of sign language in the education of the deaf, motivate teachers for the deaf and increase financing for the deaf education.
Districts should ensure leaders of PWDs are informed of and involved in the district planning processes.
Everybody should raise awareness of the potentials and needs of deaf persons.
The writer is the director sign language and interpreters and translaters agency