I’ll prioritise special education — Dr Bawumia

The Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has reaffirmed his resolve to prioritise the needs of special education to ease the burden of parents and guardians, and improve access to education.

In that regard, he said, he would champion the recruitment and training of at least, 1,000 more special education teachers to be trained in language, speech therapy, occupational and behavioural therapy.

He mentioned the commitment when he made donations to some schools for special education at a ceremony in Akropong in the Eastern Region last Friday. The Vice-President donated laptops to visually impaired teachers at the Ghana Education Service (GES) and handed over Information and Communications Technology (ICT) laboratories to the Akropong School for the Blind and the Wa Methodist School for the Blind.
 

ICT in education system

Dr Bawumia said the initiative was part of a broader strategy to integrate ICT into the education system of the country to make learning more interactive, engaging and accessible for all students.

He expressed the hope that the students would make the most of the opportunity, and said the skills they would acquire would not only enhance their academic performance but also open doors to various career paths, tertiary education, as well as their personal growth.

He said the model would be replicated in other special schools across the country to ensure that no child was left behind in the pursuit of educational excellence.

Manual

In May, 2022, the GES launched a manual on inclusive education titled “Changing perspectives: Inclusive schools in inclusive communities”,  intended to serve as a comprehensive guide for the training of teachers and the teaching of special children.

Funded by the World Bank and developed by Ghanaian experts, the manual chronicled modern ways of tutoring and attending to the needs of special children.

Inclusive education

Dr Bawumia said the manual formed part of the four objectives of the Inclusive Education (IE) policy of the country and also involved the transformation of special institutions and assessment centres into resource centres to provide services in the areas of assessment of children, promotion of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), training of mainstream teachers to manage diverse classrooms through consultation and the use of appropriate equipment and materials in teaching and learning.

“As a country, we want to put issues of children with special needs on the development agenda and take steps to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) four which is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

“Today, the actions we are taking here will move us closer to our goal of ensuring inclusive education and access to all children regardless of ability,” he stated. Dr Bawumia, who is the flag bearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), said it was fitting to inaugurate the ICT lab and provide equipment to teachers at the school, which started about 79 years ago.

Describing the Akropong School for the Blind as a pioneer and a giant in providing education for PWDs in the sub region, the Vice-President announced his intention to also be a catalyst and champion a revolution in special education.