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- Jul 30, 2008
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Some of the parents from Magaoni village, Mabawa ward in Tanga urban listening attentively to representatives from Tanzania Education Network (TENMET).
Maimunas family perception of her disability as an incurable condition changed forever when one day the little girl, who had speech disability, sang a song for them at dinner.
She told them that she had been taught the song at the school she was attending side by side with able-bodied colleagues.
Maimunas change from the withdrawn little girl, keeping aloof most of the time, to the charmer singing before the family, are some of the many change testimonies given by parents who were initially reluctant to enroll their children with disability in school.
The parents were giving the testimonies during public meetings in various villages in the region aimed at raising awareness on inclusive education and challenges to people with disabilities as part of celebrating the global action and national education week whose theme was: Equal Right, Equal Opportunity: Education and Disability.
Many of the parents admitted that for years now they have been hiding their children with mental and physical disabilities, believing that they were useless, and that there was no need for them to even get education.
We believed that even if we send them to school they could not compete with their fellow pupils who are physically and mentally fit. Also most of our schools cannot accommodate them in terms of their requirements including infrastructures, teachers and even equipments for supporting their learning, said some of the parents from Magaoni village, Mabawa ward in Tanga urban.
Most parents admitted that initially they were not aware of the so called inclusive education while others believed that it was not possible for disabled children to study together with their pupils who were physically and mentally fit, fearing that the ones with disability will not match with their fellows in terms of understanding levels.
I think this is impossible if we really intend to help them we must separate them in order for those with disabilities to receive enough attention, suggested another parent.
However, the parents fears were allayed by the Magauni Primary school Headteacher, Arafa Kibaya who told them that through interacting pupils with disability have learnt a lot from their able bodied colleagues. The school has 830 pupils of whom 69 have disabilities.
Learning comprises a number of things. It is not only about reading and writing for example; there are pupils with disability who were registered while not even able to sit properly on the desks. They didnt know even how to talk but through learning together now they can sit properly on their desks, they are walking by themselves, they know how to read and write and they are still learning a lot from their colleagues, she said.
According to her a good number of pupils with special needs managed to pass their last Standard Seven national examinations and are now in secondary schools, a success she attributed to inclusive education.
Ridhwani Kassim (25) is one of the people with disabilities who have benefited from the inclusive education system now in place in Tanzania. The Youngman, who walks with the aid of crutches owing to disability of both legs, is among the first beneficiaries of inclusive education in the region.
The inclusive education system has helped me a lot through various seminars on inclusive education conducted by Youth with disabilities Community Programme (YDCP), which raised peoples awareness on the matter and from what we children with disability started to live and learn more comfortably. He said during his recently exclusive interview with this paper.
According to Kassim, the seminars run in tandem with improvement of infrastructure meant to ease trainees movements and activities together with providing us with teachers who are more competent in teaching children of our kinds. He added Kassim cautioned that neither the government nor the community in general would have the capacity to provide for as many children with disability as there were resources for if those children were hidden by their families.
They should integrate with other people in learning and participating in other activities so that the government and the larger society may know of their presence and address their special needs, he said.
But even at the schools where Kassim was enrolled, there were challenges. When I went to the primary school for admission I was turned away and told to go to special schools, he said, adding that it was only after the intervention of the (governments) Social Welfare department that he was admitted.
He admitted that he first encountered stigmatisation from some fellow pupils, but this ended after they got to know me better and some became my friends. I started to feel more comfortable.
However, I again experienced the pain of rejection during my initial days in secondary school when one of the teachers decided that he did not want me in his class and would kick me out during his sessions, he added.
Kassim recalled how he used to obey the teachers orders, saying: I did so because I knew that was the only wise decision to win the teachers sympathy. With the help of other students, the teacher finally started to allow me to participate in his classes alongside my colleagues.
Currently, Kassim lives with his mother, whom he describes as a poor single parent who cannot afford to support me financially simply because she has no reliable economic activity to earn her enough money for the purpose.
My father died some few years ago. As I have said, he separated and my mother separated because of the state of my disability, and at the behest of his mother. However, he asked for my forgiveness a few days before he died and I have already forgiven him, elaborated Kassim.
He appealed to society in general and the government in particular to make sure that when planning to help people with disability, especially with respect to education, availability of job opportunities for them is given serious thought.
Employment is a matter of life and death to us, he said, adding: Sadly, still many people with disability performing well in their education hit the wall when it comes to employment opportunities.
But he saw a way out: We can turn things around by investing more in colleges offering vocational training specially staffed and equipped to ensure that even people with disability benefit by developing their talent and overall potential.
However, there are things which need to be improved in the system. These include sports and games, equipment for the children with disability, jerseys and related materials for them to refresh their minds like other children, said John Msonga who is teaching at Pongwe Primary school.
According to the teacher, during last years Standard Seven national examinations, five out of seven pupils with disabilities in the school passed with flying colours and are now in secondary schools.
Speaking during the meetings, Tanzania Education Network (TENMET), Youth with disabilities Community Programme (YDCP), ADD International and government representatives urged the parents to enroll their children with disabilities in school.
According to them there are 8 primary schools in Tanga City and other 9 in Korogwe urban and Korogwe rural which have been facilitated to support inclusive kind of education.
At the end of the meetings the parents were so convinced of the benefits of inclusive education that they made a declaration of contributing 500/- per household each month to support the system at their schools.
Closing the celebrations on behalf of Tanga Regional Commissioner last Friday, the regions Acting Administrative Secretary, Monica Kinala said despite success, education for people with disability in the region is still a challenge; noting that currently in the country only 5 to 10 percent of them are able to get education.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN