Teachers drilled in inclusive education

Malawi Union for the Blind education officer Stuart Chauluka has asked authorities in the country to formulate policies to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities for them to enjoy fully their right to education.

He made the call on Tuesday in Ntcheu when the union organised training for primary school teachers on inclusive education at Lizulu Teachers Development Centre.

Chauluka said children with disabilities face many challenges for them to enjoy their right to education.

He said: “Our syllabuses do not accommodate the needs of people with disabilities because at primary school, we have eight subjects and we expect these type of people to learn all the subjects at once and pass?

“That is not possible. So, our plea to government is to put in place policies that can accommodate them by allowing them to have specific subjects so that they should not drop out of school.”

Chauluka said the union has trained more than 50 teachers in Ntcheu on how to develop a lesson plan for people with disabilities.

Yohane Kanowa, a teacher at Lizulu Primary School, thanked the Union for the training, saying it equipped them with skills on how to handle learners with disabilities.

Ntcheu has six government primary schools that accommodate learners with different disabilities.