Stakeholders agree to form alliance to pursue Inclusive Education

A number of Civil Society Organizations and non governmental organizations have joined forced to ensure the effective implementation of the Inclusive Education policy

The Organizations coordinated by the National Resource Centre for Children with Disabilities (NRCCD)  with support from UNESCO, Ghana, organized a forum as part of activities to celebrate the International Day for Persons with Disabities

For its first mandate the alliance is going to ensure the creation of 10 model inclusive schools in  Ghana.

Mr Paul Anoma-Kodieh, Chairman of the National Resource Centre for Children with Disabilities said the schools will be an example of what an inclusive school should be.

The model schools will welcome all children, children with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Children who are visually impaired, deaf and all kind of disabilities will be put together to be schooled.

As part of the alliance, the stakeholders held a forum on the theme: Dialoguing to Improve Outcomes where they discussed  how to make inclusive education practical

Inclusive education is an educational system that provides opportunity to all children to be educated irrespective of their disabilities

Mr Selassie Sikanku, a person who is visually impaired who shared his experience as a person who had gone through inclusive education said inclusive education helps to build strong bonds and netwroks.

“I made great friends from De Youngsters School who are still very close friends to date, even my best man for my wedding two years ago was a friend from De Youngsters School,...Inclusive education helps widen your netwroks.”

Mrs Hannah Awadzi, Founder and Executive Director of the Special Mothers Project, an advocacy and awareness creation programme on cerebral palsy said educating a child with disability in Ghana is very expensive.

“parents pay three times more than education an average child, we pay for care givers, mobility devices and many more,”

Mrs Awadzi said Inclusive education is possible, what is left is our willingness to do it

Mr Daniel Ofosu, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Young Men Christian Association (YMCA) pledged YMCA’s committment to inclusive education, saying, “YMCA is offering its facilities to be used for the training of teachers, volunteers, parents and resource person.

The National Development Planning Commission that hosted the forum pledged its comiitment to inclusion in society.

Other organizations that pledged their committment includes, the Special Education Division, Tech Era, Stepping Stones Foundation, Presbyterian Inclusive Child Development, African Rights Initiative, and over 16 other organizations