Education is the key to life, so goes an old adage. Possession of adequate skills and knowledge helps to unlock opportunities to a better life.
And, it is generally accepted that life is sacred and must be protected and nurtured so that an individual will be able to contribute more meaningfully to the progress of the society.It is for this reason that quality education for everyone is a right.It so happens, however, developing nations usually have issues with equitable and just provision of education to their people.
There is ample evidence to prove that education provision in Tanzania is neither equitable nor just because it is stratified along social-economic classes.To say the least, education in our country is not inclusive. In all this, it is people with special needs who are the most disadvantaged.
The education system has not been addressing the issue of emphasis on provision of quality, to people with disabilities. We may point out here a few of the challenges.Infrastructure, for one, is not right. There is a serious shortage of educational materials meant to cater for educational needs of the youth who have disabilities.
There is also a dearth of professionals who are properly trained to suit the needs of persons with disability. If, as a country, we believe in equality of people irrespective of their life stations, then we must strive to ensure that we put in place an education system that caters for all groups of people according to their needs.
The government must allocate sufficient funds in education. It must ensure that the money is expended as per plans endorsed by Parliament.On the other hand, the ministry of Education and Social Welfare have to ensure they eliminate stigma against the disabled.Each one of us has a role to play in this.
