Education a challenge to children with disability
By Memory Mudzani
Children with disabilities in most African countries including Zimbabwe face challenges in accessing education though education is a fundamental right to all children.
In an interview with Kwedu News Joseph Tsvayi the projects officer for Amor Zimbabwe Trust said,children with disabilities fail to realize their full potential because most of them are not given chance to be educated and also a chance to be exposed to opportunities.
“Disabled children in Zimbabwe are failing to access basic human rights especially the right to education while their able-bodied colleagues are being educated and this situation is making it hard for them to realize their full potential,” said Tsvayi
Tsvayi added that children with disabilities face a lot of discrimination from their family, other students, and their teachers and from the society at large which makes it hard for them to access education as their parents will opt not to send them to school or to expose them to any other opportunities.
In support of what Tsvayi legislator Senator Nasper Manyau told this publication that it is hard for a child born with disabilities to be educated because of discrimination they get from their families and societies.
She added that clinics should employ counsellors who will give counselling lessons to parents when they gave birth to disabled children because discrimination starts with the parent so by counselling them they will be able to accept their children for who they are and by so doing we are setting foundation for the future of these children.
“As the senator for persons with disabilities I think for us to help children with disabilities we should start from day one when a child is born, clinics should employ counselors who will give counselling lesson to parents who gave birth to children with disabilities and this will help them to accept their disabled children, if parents accept their children the society will also accept them and it will be easy for these children to be educated,” said Manyau
Senator Manyau further said that it should be compulsory for teachers to be taught special needs education during their training so that they will be eligible to teach children with disabilities and also special needs classes should be found in each and every school as way of promoting education to children with disabilities.
Tsvayi from Amor Zimbabwe trust also said that as an organization they are raising awareness on the rights of children with disabilities and also they are educating parents on the important of sending disabled kids to school so as to make sure that disabled children in Zimbabwe are educated.
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