Govt works to ensure access to services by people with disabilities

Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
GOVERNMENT will continue putting in place policies that ensure access to quality education to all children including those with disabilities.

The thrust of Government in the Second Republic is that no citizen should be left behind towards an Upper Middle Income economy by 2030.

There have been concerns from citizens especially those with disability about difficulty in accessing some services in health, education, business and others.

Recently, people with disabilities complained that most facilities especially shops and hotels in Victoria Falls have no access ramps while public service offices have no sign language interpreters.

Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister Edgar Moyo recently told Parliament that Government has made significant progress in ensuring access to services by people with disabilities with about 90 percent of schools customised to accommodate them.

He was responding to questions from legislators who were concerned about a non-inclusive education system where disabled children end up dropping out of school because of unfriendly facilities and environment.

Matabeleland North proportional representation legislator Cde Elizabeth Masuku asked what Government was doing to ensure that children with disabilities especially in rural areas have access to education just like their counterparts in urban areas.

Her question was premised on the fact that in some rural areas, schools are far apart hence children including those with disabilities have to walk long distances.

Their urban counterparts have access to transport services while schools are closer to homes in most cases.

“I am saying this question because in most cases rural children travel long distances to the nearest school and this includes those with various kinds of disabilities, hence they end up failing to attend school. What is Government doing to address such challenges?” asked Cde Masuku.

Her question was echoed by Norton legislator Temba Mliswa who said Government has a constitutional mandate to provide amenities suitable for the disabled.

“What have you done to build schools which also accommodate the disabled from a constitutional point of view? Do you have a disabled desk in your Ministry to cater for them because that is also one issue which is not there?

“May I also say can the Minister come with a list sometime of the schools which have been built with disabled amenities or which have been reconstructed to suit those who are disabled,” said Mr Mliswa.

Responding to the questions, Deputy Minister Moyo said those with severe disabilities and cannot be easily integrated to the rest of the learners in schools have their special schools such as K.G. VI in Bulawayo.

“Government policy is that we will have inclusive education– inclusive in the sense that those disabled children should be part of the school system.

“We have in our schools’ special needs teachers who attend to such children. We have ramps for those using wheel chairs and facilities and the programmes designed for them.

“So, the Government policy is that they should be part of the school and therefore they are integrated under the inclusive education policy,” he said.

He said Government policy is that schools should be within a five-kilometre radius from learners.

In rural areas some children walk between 10km and 20km to the nearest school, and this is one of the causes of drop-outs.

“I understand that could be very difficult for those who have difficulty in walking. However, I am sure that communities can make arrangements for low-cost boarding facilities and indeed we already have a number of low-cost boarding facilities that can house children who may not be able to walk those long distances.

“In terms of amenities, I think most of our schools, perhaps about 90 percent of them are customised and designed to suit even those with disabilities,” said Dep Minister Moyo.

He said some of the pro-disabled facilities include ramps, toilets and desks specially designed for the disabled.

He said the Ministry has a special needs department which caters for people with disabilities.