Learners in Nsanje District have asked parents of children with disabilities to send them to school to access education.
The call follows concerns that many parents or guardians of children with disabilities do not enrol their wards due to their conditions, thereby denying them access to education.
But speaking on Saturday during the Day of the African Child commemoration at Sorgin Community Ground in Nsanje, the guest of honour Monica Gridu and Standard Six learners from Magoti Primary School, condemned the tendency.
She said: “I am not pleased to hear that our friends with disabilities are not going to school as their parents lock them into their houses.
“I ask the district council’s gender office, police and
community leaders to arrest parents and guardians who are doing such things.”
Gridu also took to task parents who marry off their
children or send them to mine gold.
“I am told many children are involved in mining activities at Milton in Bangula. I appeal to police to go there and rescue these children,” she said.
Nsanje district principal education officer Dalitso Chapita said she was also sad to hear that some children with disabilities were not going to school.
She said her office together with other stakeholders will ensure that every child remains in school.
On his part, Nsanje district principal social welfare officer Chikumbutso Salifu asked area and village development committees to promote education.
“As you are formulating village action plans, you should not only focus on infrastructure such as bridges, roads and school blocks but also community-based childcare centres to promote early learning,” he said.
The Day of the African Child falls on June 16, but Nsanje District Council commemorated it on Saturday.
The African Union designated the day to honour children who participated in the Soweto Uprising in 1976 in South Africa
