21 Nov 2016

A special education teacher has called on Batswana not to shun People Living with Disability (PLWD) as disability is not inability thus people should afford them equal opportunities in life with their mainstream counterparts.

Special education unit’s head of department at Segopotso Primary School, Ms Tapiwa Kgosietsile told BOPA in an interview that communities should bring PLWD to the forefront as they had great aptitude that the community could benefit from.

On the other hand, she said hiding them at the back of the yard deprives them their right to socialise with other people and deny them the chance to receive and benefit from services and government programmes.

Ms Kgosietsile noted that special education units were established in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which was agreed to be the foundation of international human rights law.

She stated that Article 26 (I) of the UDHR states that “everyone has the right to education…” and as such this includes children living with hearing impairments, intellectual and physically challenged and their right to have equal access to quality education,” she said.

Ms Kgosietsile said Segopotso Primary School established its special education unit in 2005 after realising that Kanye was the biggest village in the Southern District and as such it had a large population of children living with various disabilities who had nowhere to get the same quality education as their mainstream peers.

Currently, she noted that the school had enrolled 34 students of whom 19 were boys and 15 were girls.

Ms Kgosietsile said the special education unit at Segopotso Primary School comprised students who were intellectually challenged and as such their syllabi encompass imparting life skills to learners, such as personal hygiene and social interaction among others.

She also noted that the syllabi also incorporated other areas such as cooking, backyard gardening, sewing and many others.
Ms Kgosietsile expressed contentment about the interaction between mainstream students and those in the Special Education Unit, saying the interface was very good and students get very well. BOPA