Colleges of education amend curriculum to cater for children with disabilities

A new four-year Bachelor of Education curriculum has been developed for Colleges of Education, taking into account every facet of educating children with disabilities.

Prof. Samuel Hayford, Dean of the Faculty of Education Studies at the University of Education, Winneba, who disclosed this said the new curriculum will take effect from September.

He was speaking at a national policy dialogue on disability organised by the Media General group in collaboration with the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition at TV3’s Executive Theatre on Thursday.

The dialogue was under the theme: “Ghana’s Inclusive Education Policy: Time for Full Implementation”. It brought together Members of Parliament, civil society groups, and disability groups among other interest groups.

Prof. Hayford revealed: “We have developed a new four-year B.Ed curriculum for all Colleges of Education in Ghana, which will take place this September [2018].”

“In the curriculum,” he stated, “the day the student steps in the college, that student would be introduced to everything about disability and inclusive education and would do so until the students leave college with certification, he will not stop hearing and practising it.”

He, however, bemoaned the fact that certain things needed for a smooth take off are “hanging and creating confusion; confusion as to how to start this wonderful idea”.

Prof. Hayford admitted that sustaining that inclusive education that the nation has been brooding over, they were aware that implementation is not going to be easy.

“For a start, we sat with officials from different ministries to plan for 5 years detailing the agencies and departments who should come together to ensure that we start and put in place certain things for the smooth process but as I speak whether the issue has taken off or not we are all witnesses.”

Meanwhile, the lecturer has charged schools to adopt different ways of teaching and different ways of allowing pupils to learn to make education attractive to children.

He also demanded the country “promotes the development of a well-informed and trained human resource for quality delivery” of inclusive education.