Ghana may give free education to all disabled children

From the Ghana News Agency:

TAMALE, Ghana -- Vice-President John Mahama has indicated that government was considering providing free education for disabled children to give them equal opportunities in life.

He said government was also thinking of the possibility of accessing funds from the GETFund to assist disabled persons, who were already undertaking courses in some institutions.

The Vice-President said this in a speech read on his behalf by Mr Haruna Iddrissu, Minister of Communications at the 29th anniversary celebrations of the Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled (GSPD) in Tamale on August 15.

Vice-President Mahama said government would also develop special subject areas for studies for people with disabilities to enhance their opportunities of getting jobs.

Vice-President Mahama announced that government had increased the share of the disabled in the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) from two percent to five percent.

The Vice-President urged employers to give fair and equal opportunities to people with disabilities and directed that all government institutions should ensure that in their future designs for public buildings, appropriate provision was made to make them accessible to people with disabilities.

He said the Ministry of Communications would also launch an on-line portal for the disabled to access job avenue on the internet soon.

Mr Joseph Adu-Boampong, National President of the GSPD said statistics show that there were about 679,000 to 804,000 children with disabilities in the country.

He said out of this number only six percent of the population of these children receive any form of education, while the remaining 94 percent were out of school.

He said while the 1992 constitution provided that all public offices should have appropriate facilities for the disabled to gain access into them, this has not been done, adding that, "even the Parliament house, where the disability act was passed, was not accessible to the disabled."

Mr Adu-Boampong said although the Ministry of Youth and sports had a policy to support persons with disabilities in various sporting activities, the programmes were organised on an ad hoc basis.

Mr Bukari Moses Mabengba, Deputy Northern Regional Minister urged district assemblies to ensure that the percentage of the DACF allotted to the physically challenged was used strictly for their development and welfare.

He called on parents and guardians to send their children, including those with disabilities, to school.