Programme assists blind students

Hohoe (V/R), Dec. 22, GNA - This year's annual review meeting of the Integrated Education Programme of the Ghana Education Service (GES), which seeks to integrate children with visual impairment into mainstream schools, was held at Hohoe in the Volta Region.

The Programme, being implemented by the Special Education Division of the GES since 1996 and funded by the Sight Savers International (SSI), has since its commencement taken 68 such pupils through the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) with 40 others currently in schools throughout the Hohoe District.

The Hohoe District Programme Co-ordinator, Mr George Dogbe said SSI provided 104 million cedis towards the running of the programme in the District this year.

He said three itinerant teachers were specially trained to handle such children.

These Specialist Teachers, apart from assisting such pupils with their studies, also trained the regular classroom teachers on how to handle their visually impaired students.

Mr Dogbe said 120 classroom teachers and 100 parents were trained this year on how to handle such visually impaired children. In a speech read on behalf of Madam Diana Kwadade, Acting Director, Special Education Division of GES, she said the education of this category of children at the basic level had been of great concern, considering their increasing numbers.