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Mmegi Online :: Society for the deaf gets a helping hand
The chairperson of Botswana Society for the Deaf's board, Joy Letsatsi, applauded the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between his society and the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD) in Gaborone yesterday.
Letsatsi said the agreement of cooperation would improve the standard of education delivery for people with special needs, the deaf in this case, which has been facing endless challenges.
He cited lack of financing as a major hindrance to quality and inclusive education given that the country's two specialised deaf training facilities in Ramotswa and Francistown are boarding institutions that are expensive to run."We have been facing a number of challenges at the grassroots level, and the signing of this MoA means a lot to us and our clientele," Letsatsi said.
He lamented that since the society was established in the 1970s it has been a charity, heavily dependant on donors and this lack of resources has impacted progress. Now the agreement with MoESD will see the society's centres included in the ministerial budget and the two will plan together as partners.
Letsatsi said it is crucial for this partnership to be of mutual benefits because it would not achieve the desired impact if it were to be one-sided.
He added that the MoESD has been helpful in a number of areas before like provision of qualified teachers, inspection and curriculum development. However, he said places like Tswelelopelo Brigade in Ramotswa used to offer courses for the hearing-impaired and this was later extended to Masunga Brigade but at the moment the training has halted. "The facilities are still there but somebody is just not doing his or her job," he said.
For her part, MoESD permanent secretary, Grace Muzila, said it is important for the Society for the Deaf to align its strategic plan with that of the education ministry in order for the two parties to work in synchrony towards attaining quality and inclusive education.
She said educating the nation is a big task that cannot be achieved by the 37,000 employees of her ministry alone. Muzila said the agreement between the two bodies should ensure that the deaf are well-trained and contribute meaningfully towards growing the local economy and become globally competitive.
"We should strive for excellence and establish a centre for training the deaf that will not only admit locals but people as far as China and the rest of the world," adding that so far P2.4 million has been spent on tertiary education training outside and it is time those countries grow the local economy too.
Though she admitted the partnership comes late, she said it is better done late than never done at all. Statistics indicates that of the 276 deaf pupils who have completed primary education in Botswana only 120 have proceeded to junior and senior secondary schools and just four have went through to tertiary. On the issue of partners aligning plans, Muzila explained that they want all key partners to have aligned their strategic plans with that of the ministry in March 2012. To date, a number of private tertiary institutions have already done that. The exercise started last December, she said.
The chairperson of Botswana Society for the Deaf's board, Joy Letsatsi, applauded the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between his society and the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD) in Gaborone yesterday.
Letsatsi said the agreement of cooperation would improve the standard of education delivery for people with special needs, the deaf in this case, which has been facing endless challenges.
He cited lack of financing as a major hindrance to quality and inclusive education given that the country's two specialised deaf training facilities in Ramotswa and Francistown are boarding institutions that are expensive to run."We have been facing a number of challenges at the grassroots level, and the signing of this MoA means a lot to us and our clientele," Letsatsi said.
He lamented that since the society was established in the 1970s it has been a charity, heavily dependant on donors and this lack of resources has impacted progress. Now the agreement with MoESD will see the society's centres included in the ministerial budget and the two will plan together as partners.
Letsatsi said it is crucial for this partnership to be of mutual benefits because it would not achieve the desired impact if it were to be one-sided.
He added that the MoESD has been helpful in a number of areas before like provision of qualified teachers, inspection and curriculum development. However, he said places like Tswelelopelo Brigade in Ramotswa used to offer courses for the hearing-impaired and this was later extended to Masunga Brigade but at the moment the training has halted. "The facilities are still there but somebody is just not doing his or her job," he said.
For her part, MoESD permanent secretary, Grace Muzila, said it is important for the Society for the Deaf to align its strategic plan with that of the education ministry in order for the two parties to work in synchrony towards attaining quality and inclusive education.
She said educating the nation is a big task that cannot be achieved by the 37,000 employees of her ministry alone. Muzila said the agreement between the two bodies should ensure that the deaf are well-trained and contribute meaningfully towards growing the local economy and become globally competitive.
"We should strive for excellence and establish a centre for training the deaf that will not only admit locals but people as far as China and the rest of the world," adding that so far P2.4 million has been spent on tertiary education training outside and it is time those countries grow the local economy too.
Though she admitted the partnership comes late, she said it is better done late than never done at all. Statistics indicates that of the 276 deaf pupils who have completed primary education in Botswana only 120 have proceeded to junior and senior secondary schools and just four have went through to tertiary. On the issue of partners aligning plans, Muzila explained that they want all key partners to have aligned their strategic plans with that of the ministry in March 2012. To date, a number of private tertiary institutions have already done that. The exercise started last December, she said.