Report: Visually impaired pupils learn better in special schools

Dar es Salaam. A new report shows that 81 per cent of teachers believe that visually impaired pupils can learn better in special schools compared to inclusive schools.

The report was released by an education NGO, HakiElimu after a thorough study at various public primary and secondary schools with visually impaired learners.

The study aimed at establishing if the inclusive schools in Tanzania have put in place the required settings to accommodate children with special needs, says a researcher from the Dar es Salaam University College of Education (Duce), Dr Luca Mkonongwa.

Speaking on Thursday, February 15, during the launch of the report in Dar es Salaam, Dr Mkonongwa said the study sought to find out whether education policies and programmes were in line with diverse needs of the learners during teaching and learning.

The study was carried out in nine regions; namely Dodoma, Iringa, Lindi, Morogoro, Mwanza, Ruvuma, Shinyanga, Tabora as well as Tanga and it included teachers, pupils, students, parents and education stakeholders.

The Executive Director of HakiElimu, Mr John Kalage said currently his organization is implementing a new strategic plan (2017-2021), which, among other things, advocates for an improved inclusive learning and teaching environment in schools.

"I hope the findings of this report will give a clear picture of the state of inclusive education in the nation. I also hope that the suggestions given in the report will be put into actions to make sure that the challenges are tackled," said Mr Kalage.

The report recommended that better teaching and learning materials should be designed for the visually impaired children and called for an increase of inclusive schools in the country as well as the teacher-student ratio in inclusive classrooms should be minimised.