EDUCATION Minister Priya Manickchand has said that arising from consultations held last year, the ministry is looking to put a strategic plan in place to chart the future for Special Needs Education in Guyana.

In a recent interview with the media, Minister Manickchand said that while the ministry is on the quest to provide equal access to education across the country, children with special needs must not be forgotten.
According to her, the ministry has  determined some of the things that can be done immediately that wouldn’t  cost much, as well as those things that have to be done that would cost huge amounts.
These plans, she said, would not only be dealt with by the Ministry of Education, but it also involves various non- governmental organisations.
The ministry had hosted several consultations across the country with stakeholders from various governmental and non-governmental organizations.
The consultations were held in areas including Georgetown, Linden and New Amsterdam. Manickchand had said on the occasion of one such consultation in Georgetown that “it is amazing how much we’ve heard – very, very small things that will make a huge difference.”
The issues raised by participants at the consultations were placed into eight categories: training, classroom, parental, medical, general and curriculum issues, as well as physical conditions in schools and matters related to teachers and ministry officials.
Some of the matters considered included the need for sign language training for teachers, the lack of appropriate learning/teaching materials for children with special education needs, and the lack of  appropriate furniture in schools.
The inadequate promotional opportunities for teachers of special education needs, as well as how parental problems can affect the child’s ability to benefit from education, were also among the matters discussed.
Participants in the consultations included representatives from the David Rose School for the Handicapped, Step by Step Foundation, and United Women for Special Children.