Do disabled have a shot at education?

Children living with disabilities often fall victim to all manner of stereotypes, and when the disability in question is mental, the sufferers find themselves at the bottom of the priority list.

A recent visit by The Citizen to a few schools in the city revealed the real state of learning institutions for children living with disabilities. The Sinza Special School that has 88 pupils, for example, has five teachers. Msasani Primary school with 45 pupils has only two teachers and Mbuyuni primary schools that takes in children with autism has got 36 children with only five teachers.

With limited resources and unlimited needs for both the disabled and non-disabled, the former find themselves in a vulnerable situation not only in Tanzania but all over the developing world. Experts say the intellectually challenged children, in particular, belong to a special needs group that has been neglected especially when it comes to their right to an education.

One of the major differences between the group and normal children, that makes them vulnerable,  is that they are not able to control their emotions, behaviours, and also think as fast as normal yougnsters.

In order to improve their cognitive abilities, they have to be in school at an early age so as to enable them acquire special education that, if given at the right time by the right teachers, could help them dodge imminent dependency and instead become productive and independent members of society.

For this to happen, the children need to be enrolled in school between the ages of two and five to enable their teachers to recognise their abilities at a very early age than it is done to normal children. However, the age by which these children are registered in public schools is quite far from the desired age as they normally get registered between the ages of seven and nine. They delay even more than normal children who get enrolled between the ages of five and six.

The big reason for the late registration of these children is due to the notion that their education is not a priority because, after all, they are mentally incapablel and hence do not really need an education. Also, there is just a handful of teachers trained and hired to deal with this special needs group in the country.Read More