Special Needs Education budget increased by 34.4%

The budget for the special Needs Education (SNE), guidance and counseling has been increased to 34.4% during the financial year 2016/2017.

This was revealed by David Walakira, Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG) budget policy specialist during the strategic breakfast meeting on financing for Persons with special needs for the financial year 2016/17 held at Golf Course in Kampala on Monday.

The increment is as a result of analysis of the ministerial policy statement FY 2016/2017. In FY 2015/16, SNE, guidance and counseling were allocated sh1,017,124,000, while in FY 2016/17, has been increased to sh1,367,124,000, an increment of 34.4%

"The funds shall be allocated for different development projects including; providing technical guidance in regards to SNE, offer special equipment to scholars in SNE, monitor activities in SNE and monitoring of policy formulation for matters relating to SNE," he said.

"Though the money is not sufficient to cater for the needs of persons with special needs, how much SNE needs requires an assessment of current number of persons with disabilities, those in school and other areas" he added.

The meeting organized by CSBAG was attended by Members of Parliament on the health, education and gender committees aimed at discussing areas of concern for persons with disability that need more attention.

Among the crucial things discussed include; drop in the number of teachers trained to teach leaners with special needs at Kyambogo University due to limited funding from government, lack of friendly beds for expectant mothers with disability in hospitals, high cost of orthopedic tools and devices like wheel chairs which some PMs said are expensive (sh500,000) and most Ugandans cannot afford.

Woman Member of Parliament elect, Koboko district, Margaret Baba Diri who is also visually impaired noted with concern that teachers of learners with disability are few and overworked, are paid the same salary like their counterparts who teach learners with no disability, which has demoralized them thus running to schools that pay them better.

"Teaching persons with disability is very difficult especially the blind and mental retarded. Mentally retarded learners are taught one thing at a time repeatedly, while the while for the visual impaired, learn by description until they all understand. You pity a teacher who has to teach such children in all the seven classes. This is work overload, tiresome, yet they are paid the same salary as their counterparts," said Diri.

"Government needs to urgently give incentives to teachers of learners with special needs to motivate them to stay in schools where they are attached. This can be 10% increment of their salary to avoid losing such teachers to schools where they are paid more" she added.

Dorothy Nshaija, MP Kamwenge district said though the proposal to give incentives to teachers of learners with disability is well intentioned to motivate them, the move could be expensive for the country.

She explained that if the incentive is put in place, non-beneficiaries may abandon the teaching to the beneficiaries, or every teacher may opt to undergo basic training to start teaching learners with special needs to get the money.

Nshaija said government can put in place a program in which all teachers are trained to teach learners with special needs so that there is no section of teachers who are at the same level earning more than the others or over strained.