By Michael Kofi Kenetey
The Atiwa East District Education Directorate, in collaboration with the Family Strengthening Programme of the SOS Children’s Villages, Asiakwa, has organised a comprehensive training on inclusive education for teachers in Adasawase and New Jejeti in the Atiwa East District of the Eastern Region.
The training is to equip the teachers and educators with the skills and knowledge required to effectively teach and support students with disabilities, thereby promoting equal opportunities and empowerment in the education sector.
The Comprehensive Inclusive Education Training for the teachers is also aimed at equipping the teachers with the skills and technicalities to provide equal learning opportunities for all children, including those with disabilities, within the mainstream education system.
Furthermore, the training will help promote full participation, diversity, and understanding while breaking down discrimination barriers.
The facilitator of the training, who is the Atiwa East District School Health Education Programme, SHEP, Coordinator, Simon Kwame Osabutey, explained the various causes of disabilities, are as a result of genetic conditions, complications during pregnancy and childbirth, illnesses, and accidents, as well as societal factors like malnutrition and inadequate healthcare access.
Mr. Osabutey urged the teachers to adapt teaching methods such as assistive technological tools to support learning to accommodate different disabilities like visual, hearing, physical, and intellectual disabilities. He further urged teachers to create an inclusive classroom environment that encourages engagement and participation from all students.
The Child Protection, Education, and Health Officer of the Family Strengthening Programme of SOS Children’s Villages, Asiakwa, Adwoa Afriyie Jantuah, said the core mandate of the project is to support vulnerable children who are at risk of losing parental care in society.
This, she explained, is by empowering families of such children to become self-reliant and ensure that children in these families, regardless of their ability and inability, have access to quality education. At Adasawase, 35 teachers participated in the training comprising 20 males and 15 females, while at New Jejeti, 45 teachers participated, comprising 20 males and 25 females.
