By Fatou Saho
The chairman of the Gambia Federation of the Disabled has said people with disabilities lack inclusiveness when it comes to education.
Muhammed Krubally made this revelation at the Tango policy dialogue on education held on Tuesday as a panellist.
He said the lack of inclusivity amounts to the infringement of their human rights.
“The school structures are built in a way that persons with disabilities are not catered for. If you are a wheelchair user, you will not be able to access the classroom because of how they are structured and that amounts to the denial of inclusive education for persons with disabilities. It is pertinent to have accessibility features for persons with disabilities,” he explained.
He also mentioned about the print materials, which he said are inconvenient and inaccessible for persons with disabilities to acquire their rights to education and inclusion.
“Most of the scripts are available in ink print instead of brail format, not in soft copies or even if they are available but still inaccessible for persons with disabilities. We do not have the requisite and relevant tools and equipment that would make educational system inclusive for persons with disabilities.
“Disability rights are human rights”, Krubally said as he lay more emphasis on their rights to education compared to the abled persons.
Chairman Krubally continued: “We understand that it is expensive, but consideration is not expected to be given only to the abled persons and denying persons with disabilities our fundamental rights. Come with a system that would accommodate everybody, that way we will feel integrated and included.”
The chairman is also not in support of building special schools for persons with disabilities, saying it is tantamount to segregation, total exclusion and showing them that they do not belong to the society.
He said the differently abled persons’ dependency would be encouraged if they are not given equal treatment especially in the area of education which would not help the country.
