Govt asked to prioritize special needs education

By Petride Mudoola

The Ministry of Education and Sports should consider inclusive education training in Teacher Training Colleges to cater for special education needs.

The advice has been given by the project Coordinator, Norwegian Programme for Development Research and Education (NUFU), Professor Siri Wormnaes. 

Inclusive education is an approach to educating students with special educational needs. This system brings both able bodied and disabled learners together in one class room and community.

"Teachers lack skills to cater for a diversity of children in schools despite the fact that the inclusive education policy was established to ensure best practices for children with disabilities, in the ordinary setting," Siri observed.

"All children have a right to education that is suitable for them to learn and develop; teachers need to be trained to cater for a diversity of children so that learners with special needs benefit from the educational systems," she noted.

Siri made the remarks at a three-day special needs conference in Kampala.

The conference that was organized by Kyambogo University's faculty of special needs and rehabilitation, in collaboration with the Norwegian's University of Oslo department of special needs education supported by NUFU project.

Over $630,000 was allocated to Kyambogo University to facilitate the five year projects through conducting research and principles underlying exclusion and inclusion of children with disabilities and Special Needs education, Siri said.

Additionally, Siri cited communication barriers as another challenge affecting inclusive education. “It is challenging to give instructions to a deaf learner if a teacher lacks sign language expertise,” she added.

Siri recommended that teachers should to be equipped with the relevant skills to ensure that disabled learners achieve their goals.

On his part, Kyambogo University's dean, faculty of special needs and rehabilitation Dr John Baptist Oketch decried deployment of graduate teachers as a challenge affecting special needs education.

"Despite the fact that, graduate teachers are required to go back and teach in primary schools, a big number  have been  frustrated and  given  up the profession after failing to be deployed  because Ministry of Public Service only considers holders of grade III certificates for deployment," Oketch observed.