A SPECIAL education facility aimed at training persons to manage individuals with disabilities was commissioned on Tuesday in the compound of the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE).

The Regional Centre for Stimulating the Development of Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs Associated with Disabilities, aims to train persons to manage individuals with disabilities. The training will include evaluation and diagnosis, language and occupational therapy, psychological treatment, prevention, rehabilitation and social integration services with a psycho pedagogical and socially inclusive approach.

The facility is a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Public Health, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Cuban Government. In December 2016, a Tripartite Cooperation and Technical Assistance Agreement was signed between the three parties to establish a centre which will provide training for individuals who will provide a service to persons living with disabilities.

The facility will foster the development of processes of prevention, diagnosis, early stimulation learning for life and social inclusion favouring the access to culture, services, honourable employment and their comprehensive development. Additionally, the training centre will stimulate the realisation of research to improve the quality of education attended to persons with disability. It also aims to improve professionalism among technicians and other agents, providing training and who are involved in providing education and attention to those with disabilities.

The facility will comprise several classrooms, a physical rehabilitation room, a conference room, play area and training quarters. The CPCE was considered the most suitable location for the establishment of the facility catering to the training of the special needs educators. Cuba’s tangible contribution will take the form of training and technical assistance.

At the commissioning ceremony, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health, Colette Adams reflected that “In April 2014, the then Ministry of Health, was tasked with establishing a committee that will aid in the execution of this project. Initially, the West Demerara Regional Hospital was identified as the location to house the centre, however, after careful consideration and re-examination of the project…it was agreed that the focus was more of an educational nature rather than health-based.

“The purpose of this whole scenario here is to contribute to the evaluation of the effectiveness of the educational services to children, adolescent and youth with disability, through the theory and practical preparation of different scenario agents in the region”, the Permanent Secretary added.

Cuban Ambassador to Guyana, Julio Caesar Gonzales Merchante said that, “This is a centre that contributes in a very special way to prepare all these persons that will be dealing with the persons with disabilities. This will be a centre of excellence in which Guyana will be able to show the world… that we can prepare persons to make others happy.”

The training centre will officially open its doors on January 8 and the programme will last for two months. During the period a maximum of eight persons will be trained. It is hoped that a total of 48 persons from across the Caribbean will be trained annually.

The Ministry of Public Health, The Cuban Government, the Ministry of Education, CARICOM and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the mediating body, will work closely to ensure the project is maintained.

(DPI)