12 Aug 2019

It is important that learners with vision impairment should receive integration into schools as well as in workplaces in order to nurture a sense of belonging, says Phatlogo Primary School’s head of special education, Ms Tumelo Cebani.

Speaking on the sidelines of a donation ceremony recently, Ms Cebani said integration was whereby learners with vision impairment learned alongside the sighted and used the same syllabus, resources and facilities.

She said for visually impaired  learners, the teacher had to go an extra mile to offer micro-teaching.

Ms Cebani said it was important to take note of the many possibilities the world of advanced technology offered beyond just assisting to integrate them into schools and different work environments.

She challenged other institutions to come on board and help the visually impaired gain access to specialised education and skills for integration to take place.“It is time we see the blind working in different shops, and we need to cater for them and offer them training,” she said.

Ms Cebani noted that there were challenges with offering integration for the visually impaired such as shortage of ready-made text books.

She added that the equipment used by the visually impaired and blind needed maintenance and that some of the teaching methods did not favour them.

She appealed to other institutions to help ensure that there was inclusive education for all children, adding that it was vital that they worked together to promote economic development for the visually impaired and blind to curb unemployment within the group. ENDS