By Kabuye Ronald
People living with spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus condition and their parents have called for an all-inclusive education system and data of the people living with disabilities..
Speaking during the regional stakeholders engagement as pre event to commemoration of the world Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus day due on the 25th of this month, Ruth Nalujja, the National coordinator of Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Association of Uganda (SHAU) said that for a long time they have been advocating for an all-inclusive learning from main stream schools but in vain thus a need to know from the ministry of Education on the progress of the all-inclusive education policy that was designed.
Nalujja Asserts that children with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus have always been segregated and stigmatized in the main stream schools which hinders their right to education.
“It’s the mandate of government to educate our children but you find when children with disability go to mainstream schools they either discriminated or segregated within the school environment thus we want an all inclusion education system where our children can also learn from an open environment with others.
We want to understand the unique things to address our plight in the new all-inclusive policy and how soon it will be ratified and implemented” said Nalujja
Sanya Jackson Obera, an education officer in charge of special needs at the ministry of Education, assured all people with disabilities that the new all-inclusive policy will address their discrimination and segregation in schools and make it mandatory for schools to put up friendly infrastructure to such people.
Asked on how soon the policy is to be ratified by the Education minister he said that by February 2021 since its now at the stage of presenting it to the permanent secretary who will then forward to the line minister ratification.
Meanwhile SHAU has also called for well streamlined data about spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus for easy and better planning.
“As Civil society organization one of the challenge we are having is lack of data concerning people with disabilities so we want Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) to tell us how we can access that data and how available is it to civil society organization, how we can use it for proper planning, budgeting and financing at various ministries and levels.” Said Nalujja
