Work is under way to retrofit all primary and secondary schools across the Jamaica with lifts and ramps to improve access by persons with disabilities. The initiative is being undertaken at a cost of J$50 million by the Ministry of Education.
According to Education Minister Ruel Reid, the funds are in the budget for the next five years.
Every single public school
“The allocation will make sure that within the next five years, every single public education institution will have either lifts or ramps, so that our children with physical disabilities will have access to these institutions,” he added.
Reid who was speaking at a function earlier this week said the Government’s commitment to supporting State-owned and special education schools and units across the island, is in keeping with its mandate to strengthen services to children with special needs.
He also called on mainstream schools to develop structures and practices that would allow them to respond fully to a diverse student population.
Integrating special needs community
Reid said emphasis is also being placed on integrating the special needs community into the Government’s thrust to develop a national information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure.
“We have been exploring how best to integrate persons with disabilities into a system that is increasingly dependent on ICT. Children with disabilities don’t all go to institutions specially designed for them. Sometimes, those with challenges are very much part of the general population, and we have to expand avenues of access for them as well,” he said.
