I would like to highlight the lack of education opportunities for differently-abled children, which is a national issue that we can no longer ignore.
Recently, I was informed by the school where my child had been studying that they could no longer accommodate him due to the lack of teachers trained in special education. It came as a surprise to me as he had been attending classes with regular students.
Due to his speech impediment, my child has trouble communicating normally. However, he had been keeping up with the curriculum without much trouble.
I tried to reason with the school to enrol my son for the new term due to its close proximity to our home and its reasonable fee. However, the issue seemed to stem of the new teacher being reluctant to teach a class with a differently-abled student, and the school can’t do anything about it.
With a heavy heart, I embarked on a mission to find my son a new school to no avail.
Some schools said their classes were full, while others simply stood firm on not accepting differently-abled children. This included an established school run by a teachers association.
My question is: If there is a school managed by teachers, should the priority not be helping with nation building by ensuring the right to education no matter the ability?
According to the official statistics, the number of differently-abled children has tripled over the years. While some parents may have the financial means to send their children to more prestigious schools, where there are dedicated classes for their differently-abled students, most of us can only hope to see more equality in regular schools.
I hope the authority could review and revise the current education system to ensure that all students have access to quality education, including differently-abled children.
The Parent