Pamodzi for Inclusive Education Project has called on stakeholders in the sector to advocate for inclusive education so that all citizens, regardless of their natural being, access education in the country.
The call was made Saturday at Waliranji in Mchinji during the event to observe the International Day of the Girl Child.
Pamodzi for Inclusive Education Project is implemented in Malawi by Rays of Hope and Fount for Nations.
The event aimed to bridge the gap between existing policies for inclusive education and their practical implementation.
Director of Rays of Hope and the Head of Pamodzi Project, Kamwana Muyaya, stressed the need for inclusive education, saying there are a lot of things that need to be done to bridge the existing gap.
“There is still much work to be done in the realm of inclusive education. In Malawi, we often have specific schools for children with various disabilities, such as schools for the deaf and the blind, where students are isolated.
“However, there is a pressing need for inclusive education where all children can learn together just as they live together in their communities,” Muyaya explained.
Member of Parliament for Mchinji South Constituency, Agnes Nkusa Nkhoma, appealed to chiefs and parents to take a leading role in ensuring that children who have disabilities are sent to school.
“Chiefs should make sure that rights of children are safeguarded. There are children who are always kept home just because they have some form of disability.
“It is, therefore, the responsibility of chiefs to make sure that all parents do not hide children with disabilities in their houses,” advised the legislator.
The parliamentarian also advised chiefs to come up with by-laws to protect the rights of children.
On her part, a Special-Needs teacher at Waliranji Primary School, Patricia Zigodo, said all children have rights to education regardless of their background that is why, as special-needs teachers, they go around the communities to look for children with disabilities that are kept idle in homes.
“We try our best to get these children to school, however, there are usually problems when we do not have resources to support children with disabilities, which makes them keep away from school,” said Zigodo.
The International Day of the Girl Child is officially recognised on October 9 each year, but this year Malawi commemorated the occasion on October 21 in Mchinji.
