1,273 visually impaired teachers pass out

A Visually Impaired Teacher -Training Project (VITTP) which was launched in 2011 has trained 1,273 visually impaired teachers.

The teachers were supported to enhance their competencies to support visually impaired children in inclusive schools.

Mr Charles Aheto-Tsegah, Acting Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency at Nungua in Accra.

The training covered areas such as orientation and mobility, Braille literacy, braille mathematics, low vision one, computer literacy, advance mathematics and science, low vision two, and multiple disabilities with visual impairment.

Among those who benefited from the training were three lecturers from the Department of Special Education of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), to help the department to enrich the curriculum of teacher trainees in special education needs, especially in pedagogy.

Mr Aheto-Tsegah noted that the implementation of inclusive education called for a strong multi-sectoral approach, saying, “the GES cannot deliver inclusive education all alone.”

He commended Visio International for collaborating with the Special Education Division to build the capacity of its resource and mainstream teachers; and extending the training to cover lecturers who train special education teachers.

Visio International is a non-governmental organisation that supports persons with visual impairment in the area of education, care and rehabilitation.

Mr Seth Kwasi Nyame, Coordinator for VITTP, at the Special Education Division of the GES, said the Division got funding from Visio International of the Royal Dutch Visio to implement the VITTP from 2011 to 2013.

He said the project was to build capacity of resource teachers, mainstream teachers and lecturers to support learners with visual impairment in the inclusive education setting.

“The VITTP has demystified the teaching and learning of mathematics and science by the visually impaired which led to the introduction of the study of these subjects at the senior high schools last academic year,” he said.

Mr Nyame indicated that the trainers also acquired the knowledge and skills of instructing the visually impaired to use Information Communication Technology (ICT).

He noted that visually impaired children were benefiting from improved teaching and learning as a result of the VITTP which reflected in their academic performances.

“There has been a steady increase in enrolment of visually impaired children because parents have realized that their wards could equally be educated in the mainstream schools,” he added.