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Education
of children with disabilities under threat
National
Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped (NASCOH)
Extracted from Disability Update - Feb 08, 2007
February
08, 2007
The woes of children
with disabilities on the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM),
the majority of whom were faced with the prospect of dropping out
from school due to the numerous problems encountered in accessing
the funds, may soon be over following recommendations passed at
a stakeholders meeting comprising school heads of disability boarding
schools from all over the country and education and social welfare
officials in Harare last Friday (2 February).
The meeting, which
was convened by the National Association of Societies for the Care
of the Handicapped (NASCOH), was held in the wake of worrying school
dropout rates in boarding schools for children with disabilities,
while some institutions were on the verge of closure because of
non-payment of BEAM funds to these institutions. The meeting recommended
that the use of the form 3.1, which is used for selecting and processing
the BEAM requirements of children with disabilities, be discontinued
in favour of the 4.1 form used in conventional schools for other
disadvantaged children. In contrast to the current system, where
heads of disability schools have no say in the selection process,
the recommended system is based on a school based committee, that
would also consist of officials from Social Welfare, Schools Psychological
Services, and Education in order to ensure transparency. Under the
recommendations, the heads of the schools would take the forms to
the District Education officer (DOE) for endorsement, retrieve the
papers after securing the signature and then take them personally
to the Project Management Unit (PMU) for processing. It was felt
that this procedure would avoid papers getting lost during the movement
from office to office.
The 4.1 form currently
being used by children with disabilities involves a cumbersome and
frustrating process requiring the child’s parents secure the signatures
of various government departmental officials whose offices are often
situated very far away from each, posing great problems to cash-strapped
parents in these days of high transport costs.
All the school
heads present bemoaned the absence of a streamlined selection and
submission process for children with disabilities on BEAM. The first
part of the selection process for children with disabilities requires
that the ‘Community Selection Committee’ recommend them. This frequently
entails securing the signature of the head of the school which is
nearest to the affected child with disability. The head of Emerald
School for the Deaf, Mr Albert Karikoga, said that the majority
of these school heads, however, have turned out to be veritable
hurdles to this very process, refusing to sign on the basis that
they do not know the child and thus effectively ending the child’s
prospects of getting an education. All the heads of disability institutions
present at the meeting also echoed these sentiments. They said that
the school heads have either out rightly refused to sign the form,
or sat on it, and in some cases threatened the parents/guardian
or the beneficiary. Some have professed ignorance of this scheme
for children with disabilities. It is instructive to note that the
school heads of disability institutions, who are best qualified
to assess the needs of children with disabilities, are excluded
from the process.
The next office
in line is that of the District Education Officer, who obviously
does not know all the applicants. The parents have to take the forms
to the Schools Psychological Services, where the personnel also
do not know the applicant and would at times refuse to sign the
forms, effectively ending the child’s prospects of securing education.
The Officers are also not always found in their offices, necessitating
more trips and thus generating more costs. The last but one station
is that of the Social Welfare Office where the challenge is no different
from the ones mentioned above. The above process is a long one and
in some cases results in forms getting lost and delays in payment
of the BEAM fees. Parents have indicated that they have to go through
thick and thin in order to raise bus fares.
Boarding schools
for children with disabilities are the most threatened and they
face closure due to the fact that most of the students depend on
BEAM for them to learn, which however, may not come at all. In some
cases schools get lists of supposedly paid for students but the
money does not reflect in the bank. Sometimes the balance sheet
is not clear how much will have been paid. Quite often the list
does not tally with the actual amount of money paid in the school
bank, a system that could be open to abuse. Its absence therefore
has crippled the functions of the schools. The most heavily affected
schools are Emerald Hill School for the Deaf in Harare, Copota School
for the Blind in Masvingo, ZIMCARE schools for the mentally challenged
countrywide, Henry Murray School for the Deaf in Masvingo and St
Francis in Bulawayo. In some cases, fees have been paid for a single
term and nothing has been forthcoming thereafter.
The Ministry of
Education, Sport and Culture was represented at the meeting by Mr
Elvis Chitsungo, who is in charge of Learner Welfare Services in
the ministry, and the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social
Welfare by the Deputy Director of Social Welfare, Mr Togarepi Amos
Chinake, who promised to take the recommendations to the ministry
officials for action.
School heads were
drawn from Jairos Jiri School for the blind in Kadoma, Jairos Jiri
Special School for the Deaf in Gweru, Jairos Jiri Special School
in Southerton, Copota School for the blind in Masvingo, Margaretha
Hugo Secondary School for the Blind, also in Masvingo, Batsiranai
Zimcare in Belvedere, Harare, Emerald Hill School for the Deaf,
and Danhiko Secondary School in Harare.
Visit the NASCOH
fact
sheet
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