Blantyre Synod hailed for inclusive education

Mwanza District Education Office has commended Blantyre Synod of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian for enhancing inclusive education in the district.

Speaking on Tuesday in Blantyre during a meeting with stakeholders, Mwanza district education manager Saulos Namani said the synod has trained about 630 primary school teachers in inclusive education in the district.

“In the past, the district had five teachers on inclusive education against 570 learners with disabilities,” he said.

Namani also said the synod is rehabilitating two resource rooms at Mphande and Lipongwe primary schools in the district.

On his part, the synod’s programme manager Geoffrey Kamanga said the meeting granted partners an opportunity to review the progress of the project in 2020 and strategise the way forward.

“We wanted to look at how the project has progressed in the just-ended year and find ways to address challenges identified during implementation of the project,” he said.

Kamanga said besides donating teaching and learning materials to special needs learners, they will provide learners with devices such as contact lenses, wheel chairs and hearing aids.

In his remarks, Mwanza district inclusive education coordinator Catherine Lipenga commended the training on special needs teachers, saying it will reduce the shortage of such teachers in primary schools in the district.

Participants were drawn from different government sectors such as education, social welfare, health and civil society organisations.

The synod is implementing a Securing Children’s Rights through Education and Protection project in the district with support from Norad.