Disabled children are already enjoying free education

Accra, Dec 3, GNA- Mrs. Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, Member for Ayawaso West-Wuogon, has called on the government to state clearly what kind of free education was awaiting disabled children as stated in the 2010 budget statement.

According to her, there was already free education for all children in the public schools under the free compulsory universal basic education (FCUBE) which included all disabled children in the country. "The budget did not spell out whether the disabled children would be supplied items such as brails and wheelchairs as facilities to their education or the normal payment of capitation grant which every child is already enjoying".

Mrs. Osei Opare who was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on social interventions in the 2010 budget statement said the budget was made up of blanket statements which had no clear-cut clarifications.

She urged the government to continue with the school feeding programme which was stipulated to have covered all public basic schools in the country by the end of 2010 by the Kufuor administration to give relief to children who were unable to acquire meals at school.

"Even in the cities of the country we have a lot of deprived schools, so it is not just only rural school children who should be fed under the programme."

The Member of Parliament called for a National policy plan of Action for children to help the implementers to eliminate child labour in the fields of cocoa farming, fishing and in the quarries.

She said the provision in the 2010 budget of GHC100.00 to rural teachers for distance learning was woefully inadequate as that was not good enough to attract teachers into the rural areas of the country. She suggested to the government to consider giving incentives such as solar lamps, bicycles, motor-bikes and other enticing sponsorship packages to teachers who accept postings to the rural areas as initiated by the NPP administration in certain parts of the country.