Ghana Launches Free Tertiary Education for PwDs

With the attendance of the president of Ghana, President Mahama and the education minister, as well as the executive director of students loan scholarship, trust fund, Ghana launched the tertiary education policy for people with disabilities.

A very laudable scheme, I strongly believe this will give more people, more students with disabilities access; access to being included in a school community, access to opportunities, and access to being included in a world and society that doesn’t usually include them.

However, the biggest cause for pause was ACCESS. At the moment there aren’t many students with disabilities accessing basic/primary education to create a pipeline for enrollment at the tertiary level. Additionally the launch of the program took place in the capital city, Accra. What is the likelihood that a student with a disability in rural Ashanti or northern region has heard the news of such an opportunity? People with disabilities are already marginalized in the Ghanaian community so launching this in capital, doesn’t include them. I’d propose that a regional tour or campaign be done to ensure the news is widely spread.

Recruiting students with disabilities is great but we must also train teachers to want to teach different learners and also be equipped with the strategies and tools to implement inclusive education.

I’m in support of the policy and the agenda but I firmly believe our foundation must be strengthened; we need accessible infrastructure for students with physical disabilities/ difficulties. And we equally need to bolster the learning environment for students with learning disabilities/ differences.

These are my two cents as someone who has lived experience on navigating education as a person with a disability. We can build a more inclusive education system and society. #educationforALL