President of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), Mr. Colin Bynoe says there is need for more training for teachers to deal with students who have special needs. And there is need, he adds, for more educational institutions to be established to address the needs of this particular group of students.
Addressing members of the media on Wednesday at a press conference at GTU’s headquarters, Woolford Avenue, Georgetown, Mr. Bynoe acknowledged the tremendous work being done by the teachers at the David Rose School for the Handicapped.
He noted, however, that more of these schools need to be established around the country, and it should be discovered that a child has special needs from as early as kindergarten so that he/she can be grouped with children who have the same needs.

EARLY DETECTION
In this regard, he said that Guyana is not yet where it needs to be in terms of detecting at a very early age when children have special needs and how to deal with this in the normal school system.
Mr. Bynoe pointed out that it is not until a parent recognises that their child has a special need that he/she is able to seek to find a school which can tend to the needs of their child.

STRATEGIC PLAN
Meanwhile, Education Minister Priya Manickchand had said that arising from consultations which were held last year, the ministry is seeking to put a strategic plan in place to chart the future for Special Needs Education in Guyana.
This is in keeping with the ministry’s quest to provide equal access to education across the country, and Minister Manickchand had said that they have determined some of the things that can be done immediately that won’t cost much, as well as those things that have to be done that would be costly.
These plans, she had informed, would not only be dealt with by the Ministry of Education, but it also involves various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
The ministry had hosted several consultations across the country with stakeholders from various governmental and non-governmental organisations.
The areas in which these consultations were held included Georgetown, Linden and New Amsterdam, and 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 these 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 of Education officials.
Some of these issues include 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 opportunities for special needs education teachers to gain promotion, as well as how parental problems can affect the child’s ability to benefit from education, were also among the matters discussed.
Participants in these consultations included representatives from the David Rose School for the Handicapped, Step by Step Foundation and United Women for Special Children.