Special needs learners seek help

Mzimba District Education Network has said special needs learners are facing financial challenges in the district.

The network’s chairperson Teckson Amadu said this on Monday at Mzimba Boma during a meeting with stakeholders on special needs education.

He cited inadequate government funding as a major factor contributing to low quality of special needs education in the district.

“The district’s special needs education got K194 000 and K204 000 in 2018/19 and 2019/20 financial years, respectively,” said Amadu.

He also said the district lacks resource centres, disability friendly teaching materials and trained special needs teachers.

Amadu has since appealed to government to allocate more resources to special needs education.

In a separate interview, Ministry of Education Special Needs Education deputy director Noel Mwango admitted the financial challenges facing special needs education in Mzimba.

“We need more resources to manage these problems and it is everyone’s responsibility to intervene in solving some of these challenges,” he said.

Mzimba South has 490 special needs learners.