Ministries, Cuba helping to prep special needs students for world of work
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DPI, GUYANA, Monday, June 11, 2018
The Ministries of Education and Public Health have come together to offer a more focused service for students with special education needs.
This will be made possible through the establishment of a centre to stimulate their development at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE), Turkeyen Campus.
The centre, to be opened in September, will be utilised to diagnose, treat, and train health and education practitioners to help students with special education needs.
The first batch of trainees graduated today at the National Center for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), Kingston, Georgetown. Minister of Education Nicolette Henry said the centre’s establishment fits into the ministry’s inclusive policy of offering the best education to children with special needs.
“A national push to take students with disability out of isolation means that most students with special education needs now spend the majority of their days in general education classrooms, rather than in special separate classes”, she said.
She emphasised that such a centre is recognized in the laws of Guyana which speak to an inclusive policy allowing for students to be officially and comprehensively assessed.
“So, developing an individualised education plan is pivotal to this inclusion process.”
The three-month session was undertaken by the Government of Cuba, and offered training in psychology, physiology, occupational therapy and speech therapy.
Cuba’s Ambassador to Guyana Narciso Socorro said his government remains committed to special education needs in Guyana.
By: Alexis Rodney.