World Vision Malawi in collaboration with Chitipa District Council has concluded a screening exercise for children with disabilities to determine how to help them.
The exercise, which targeted five primary schools in Traditional Authority Kameme, sought to establish children with visual and hearing disabilities as well as intellectual challenges which affect their performance in class.
Chitipa district inclusive education coordinator Dennis Mwenibwiba commended World Vision Malawi for the initiative, saying the exercise will help learners with disabilities to get the much-needed support from teachers in class.
“The district has 13 special needs teachers against 3 474 learners with disabilities in 186 primary schools. Therefore, there is need to train more teachers to match with the pupil ratio,” he said.
On her part, Chitipa District Hospital assistant rehabilitation officer Joyce Chirwa said screening children with various disabilities is helpful.
She said: “The joint screening helps us to detect conditions such as clubfoot, speech and language difficulties as well as intellectual disabilities at an early stage.
“This facilitates early intervention thereby maximising functional recovery, preventing secondary complications and the need for long-term rehabilitation care.”
Chirwa also said such exercises allow the team to identify the challenges that learners with disabilities face in a mainstream school environment.
World Vision Malawi Chitipa programmes manager Hendrix Kalanje said the exercise sought to enable early detection of disabilities among learners for timely interventions.
He said: “If disabilities are detected and attended to, they reduce learning gaps which in turn prevent dropout.
“The exercise also helps teachers to address barriers to learning by making accommodations and adopting inclusive teaching strategies.”
Kalanje said World Vision Canada supported the activity, which also aligns with the organisation’s mission to prioritise vulnerable children, promote equitable access to quality education and advance child well-being.
