Hurdles On the Path to Education

The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)

Beldina Nyakeke

30 April 2011

opinion

Musoma — The case of Rajabu Josephat, 15, a Standard Three pupil at Nyankanga Primary School in Musoma District, Mara Region illustrates the difficulties that most children with disabilities go through in their daily pursuit for education.

Among the constant headaches the boy face when at school is how to access the toilet, since the available facility cannot accommodate the tricycle wheelchair he uses for his movements.As a result, Rajabu has abandoned using the school toilets altogether, as they are not conducive to him–and the rest of physically handicapped children.

“I normally wait until I go back home to relieve myself, because here at school I cannot access the available facilities; the environment is not conducive to people like me,” he explains.But the toilets are not his only worry, because most of the infrastructure at Nyankanga – as is the case with the majority of schools in the country – has hardly taken into consideration the needs of people with disabilities.

The handicapped have to struggle to access almost all services available at the schools, including the classrooms, a situation contributing to the despair – and the large number of school drop-outs involving children with disabilities.

And often the handicapped face another challenge-many of them are enrolled late, as compared with their age-mates, because their parents are too poor to provide them with the means of transport, like wheelchairs, they need for travelling.

Rajabu, for instance, recalls that he delayed to start attending primary school because his parents were not immediately able to buy for him a wheelchair, apart from considering the infrastructures at the neighbouring school as unsuitable for children with physical disabilities.His luck only came in 2009, when a charitable organisation in Musoma gave him a wheelchair that he currently uses to facilitate his movements.

Rajabu’s class teacher, Ms Esther William says it is high time the government should consider facilitating education services to children with disabilities in the country.She says that would only be fair since the authorities and other stakeholders have managed to convince parents of handicapped children to send them to schools, like any other ordinary children.Ms William is of the opinion that the authorities should work together with other partners to improve infrastructures at public schools, so as to improve the learning environment for the handicapped children.

According to her, children with disabilities should be given an equal right to education with others, and they deserve the support they needed to attain their dreams.

Commenting on the case of Rajabu, Ms William says

the boy is trying to do his best despite the obvious difficulties, and he stands to excel if given the necessary assistance. She also says that Rajabu has throughout been able to maintain good relationship with other pupils, who are willing to help him whenever he has problems.

“He is very charming compared to other children; many pupils here like him and that’s why when his tricycle gets problems they would to push it until he gets home,” she says.For her part, Rajabu’s mother, Ms Bestina Magesa, says that many handicapped children are being left out of the education system due to poverty of their parents.

She says such parents are unable to provide their children with means of transport such as wheelchairs, and also basic school needs, including uniforms and exercise books, as they lack reliable means of earning income.

Ms Magesa says that for example, in her case, she depends on casual activities like working on other people’s farms and selling firewood to get money to support her family of six people.

Narrating how her son got the disability, she says that Rajabu was born a healthy child, but three years later his legs developed problems that led to the unfortunate situation. As the condition worsened, she sought help at the Nyankanga Village dispensary where she was only told that her child would not be able to walk.

For his part, Rajabu says he sees the disability not an obstacle to realise his educational dream, and that of attaining a better life in future.He is optimistic that a good Samaritan would emerge somehow to sponsor his studies up to University level, so that he becomes a medical doctor.

“I want to be a doctor so that I can provide health services to the people, especially children with disabilities,” he says.He is happy that so far nobody is stigmatising him due to his physical condition, and is getting the necessary support from his fellow pupils and the teachers at his school.

Above all, he hopes that the government and other stakeholders would improve infrastructures at public schools to make them supportive to the needs of children with disabilities.

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