Let's celebrate all inclusive education day - Chief

Togbe Kwaku Ayim IV, Paramount Chief of Ziavi Traditional Area, has called on stakeholders in education to set aside a day to celebrate an all inclusive education and give hope to the disabled.

He said all inclusive education must be encouraged in all schools and called for determined efforts to enroll able bodied children in special schools.

Togbe Ayim made the call at the 30th anniversary celebration lectures of the establishment of inclusive education at the Okuapemman Senior High School (SHS) which made it possible for visually impaired students to be admitted to the school together with normal students.

Togbe Kwaku Ayim said there were many challenges associated with an all inclusive education such as stigmatization, non-availability of teaching and learning materials and called for efforts to ensure that the needs of such schools are met.

He congratulated the school for holding the fort till date in ensuring that all inclusive education was still vibrant and called on the 48 visually impaired students in the school to do more to ensure that they meet their set targets.

Mr Offei Awuku, a former Headmaster of Okuapemman School, said the school enrolled its first batch of visually impaired students in 1984 with three blind students.

He said those students had progressed and serving in various fields with the female graduating as the first blind female lawyer in Ghana.

Mr Awuku said he was optimistic that the situation of the disable in the country could be better if they were supported and encouragee to let them express the potentials in them.

He appealed to the Akropong School for the Blind and Okuapemman SHS to re-introduce the national sports festival for the blind.

Mrs. Gertrude Fefoame, Global Advocacy Adviser, Sight Savers who is visually impaired, called on schools where inclusive education is going on to let the disable students participate in all activities.

Mrs Fefoame said research had shown that if one person with disability is educated it has a positive influence on about 25 percent of the people in that community.

She said the government had supported the disabled a lot but added that more needed to be done.