‘Send children with disabilities to school’

National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Trust has urged parents and guardians of children with disabilities in Dedza District to send them to school.

Nice Dedza civic education officer Daniel Malango said this on Wednesday during a legal literacy session at Mua School for the Deaf in the district.

He said every child has the right to education, adding that failure to enrol children with disabilities in school because of their condition is tantamount to violating their rights.

“We have learnt that some parents keep children with disabilities at home because they feel that the children will not benefit anything from school,” said Malango.

Mua School for the Deaf head teacher Henry Chiwaya said some parents or guardians of children at the institution do not support them with their school needs.

“I warn such parents to stop neglecting their children because doing so violates the children’s rights to enjoy parental care,” he said.

Ministry of Education representative Gibson Mwale said all pupils, regardless of status, must enjoy their right to education.

“Let us give our children the chance to go to school because it is their right,” he said.

Standard Seven learner Bizwick Singano said they feel sidelined by the society.

“Most parents and guardians do not support people with disabilities with their basic needs. Most of us lack proper support from our guardians simply because we have hearing impairment,” he said.

With funding from Unicef, Nice in partnership with the Malawi Law Commission is implementing a Legal Literacy Session Programme to fight gender-related violence.

According to a 2018 Population and Housing Census, there are 1 734 250 persons with disabilities in the country, representing 11.6 percent of the total population aged above five years.