adminElita Chikwati Senior Reporter
The majority of disabled children are failing to access Early Childhood Development education as most schools lack appropriate infrastructure to cater for their needs, a National Education For All Review of Zimbabwe report has revealed.
According to the report, concerted efforts need to be made to cater for the disadvantaged children especially those with disabilities.
“It is common knowledge that while Government has directed all primary schools to incorporate ECD classes, these schools do not have the infrastructure, equipment, teaching and learning materials for the disabled.
“Majority of the teachers being trained do not have the requisite skills to handle disabled children,” read the report.
It states that only Bulawayo province has made an effort to construct toilets for children with disabilities, but even then the numbers were negligible.
“Also distances between schools are prohibitive for children with disabilities,” said the report, adding that the report also revealed that the majority of ECD centres did not meet the stipulated requirements.
Most ECD classes attached to primary schools inherited existing structures which were not meant for three to five year olds. “Children in resettlement areas are accommodated in make shift structures of pole and thatch while others are accommodated under trees.
“Because some primary schools fail to meet the required ECD teacher pupil ration of 1:20, they are overcrowded sometimes with as many as 50 four to five years olds. Such an environment is inappropriate for this age group which then resorts to adaptive behaviour such as aggressiveness, possessiveness and clamouring at the teacher,” the report stated.
Zimbabwe has improved Early Childhood Education with 98 percent of the primary schools now having ECD classes as Government moves towards attaining Education For All (EFA) by 2015.
There have also been improvements in the number of teachers trained in the ECD with 2 635 para-professionals having been trained to date.
Online Reporter