11 Sep 2014

Kgatleng regional education office has received specialised equipment and materials for learners with visual impairment worth P2.25 million.

The specialised equipment included 100 Perkins brailler, 400 brailon, thermoform braille duplication and braille 300braille Embosser.

The equipment will be distributed among different schools in Kgatleng that provide special needs classes among them Molefi senior secondary school and Linchwe junior secondary together with Matsieng, and Phathogo primary schools.

Speaking during the occasion to hand them over and demonstrate how the equipment works at Molefi secondary school in Mochudi on Wednesday, the director of Kgatleng Regional Education, Sir Wonder Masebola said specialised equipment will address some of the challenges which students with visual impairment had been facing.

He noted that visual impaired students need proper and modernised infrastructure and equipment which would suit their style of learning on a day to day.

Mr Masebola added that without such special equipment it would be difficult for leaners to learn what they were supposed to and perform better under such circumstances.

The regional director stated that the special education equipment were very expensive but needless they had to procure them to assist learners more so that Kgatleng receives the most complex of cases which had to be attended to.

Mr Masebola said it was a phase one stage as their intention was to continue providing the specialised equipment for the special learners so that they could fit in properly into the learning environment.

The chief executive officer of the department of special support services, Ms Neo Habangana said the objectives were to witness and appreciates the type of assistive technology that is available in the market for leaners with vision impairment which aim at increasing their participation achievement or their independence in schools.

Ms Habangana further said as educators, there was need for them to know categories of assistive technology that could assist learners who are blind and visually impaired which includes academic and learning aids, instruction and mobility aids, and pre-vocational and vocational aids among others

The managing director of Sensory Solutions, the company which supplied in specialised equipment and material, Mr Anthony Dodds said his company intends to train the locals so that they could provide maintenance services to the equipment.

He said some of the maintenance needed are mechanical and some locals could be able to do that more so they want to empower the locals so that they take over the maintenance part.

Mr Dodds also demonstrated to Kgatleng Regional Education seniors how the equipment works so that they could easily use it to assist the learners.

He said the Perkins brailler will help students write their notes easily and also write their examinations with it. Ends