ZUAPD Calls for Increased Education Support for People With Disabilities

By Linda Mupemo

Zambia Union of All Persons With Disabilities President Pascal Mulenga - Picture by MISA Zambia

Zambia Union of All Persons with Disabilities (ZUAPD) President Pascal Mulenga has called on Government to allocate more funds to education support for persons with disabilities. 


Mr. Mulenga noted that persons with disabilities are facing challenges in accessing education especially in rural areas. 


Mr. Mulenga said this in a media statement made available to ZANIS.


He explained that despite the free education policy Government is implementing, some special needs children are still facing challenges in accessing education due to the severity of their conditions.  


"Some special needs children have critical conditions which cannot allow them to be moving from home to school on a daily basis hence they need to be in boarding school. However, some parents to special needs children have limited financial resources to afford boarding fees hence their children are not in school, " he said. 


Mr. Mulenga stated that Government should also look into lowering prices of special education learning materials which are costly.


"Government should consider removing tax from special education materials. For instance, an ordinary ream of plain papers costs about K 140 while a ream of braille plane papers costs over K1, 500.  This is too expensive for an average person with a disability to afford," he said. 


He added that pricey special education learning materials contribute to the low levels of education among persons with disabilities which perpetuates their vulnerability. 


"Persons with disabilities are already disadvantaged. There is need to ensure they attain personal development so that they can also contribute to the social economic development of the country," he said. 


Meanwhile, Mikula Ward Councillor in Milenge District Mwape Chisenga has implored persons with disabilities to take advantage of the education opportunities government has provided so far to enable them fund their studies.  


Mr. Chisenga noted that Government is offering education support through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) secondary school bursaries and skills training.  


" Government is giving bursaries to vulnerable members of society under the CDF bursary scheme.  We are calling on persons with disabilities in Milenge District to apply for these opportunities," he said. 



 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chipembi Girls Champion Climate Smart Agriculture

Image
By Linda Mupemo Climate change is one of the greatest challenges countries are facing world over.  Its adverse effects ranging from droughts, floods, food insecurity and water scarcity affect women and men disproportionately.  Women and girls face a greater challenge of coping with the harsh impact of climate change because of social and cultural factors which make them lack access to information and resources on climate change resilience.  According to a report by the United Nations (UN) Women which was launched at the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), climate change may push up to 158 million women and girls into poverty by 2050.  The report further indicates that 232 million women and girls are likely to face food insecurity due to the situation.  This calls for increased programmes whose objective is to build the capacity of women and girls to adapt to changing clima...
Read more

African - Chinese Youths Confer

Image
  By Linda Mupemo, Jinhua - China      The late President Kenneth Kaunda was       celebrated at the China-Africa Youth Festival Zambia's founding President Kenneth Kaunda has continued to receive accolades the world over three years after his demise.  The late Dr. Kaunda was a renowned Pan Africanist who immensely contributed to the liberation struggle of Zambia and  many other countries on the continent especially those in Southern Africa. As a  patriarch of African independence, Dr. Kaunda provided solidarity and refuge for liberation movements which later saw countries such as Angola, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe win the war of independence against their colonial masters. During his reign, Dr. Kaunda who was also fondly known as KK engaged in strategic international partnerships aimed at promoting social economic transformation in Zambia. Good Governance Africa Natural Resource Researcher Vincent Obisie - Orlu says Dr. Kaund...
Read more

Media Exchange Programme Cements China-Africa Relations

Image
By Linda Mupemo, Beijing  2024 CIPCC Fellows  As the 2030 agenda for sustainable development deadline draws near, United Nations (UN) member states are intensifying their efforts aimed at achieving the 17 goals. The People's Republic of China is one of the few countries that have achieved Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number one which focuses on eliminating extreme poverty.     China Anti- Poverty Research Institute Professor Wang Sangui states that the Chinese Government succeeded in lifting over 800 million people out of poverty by 2020, ten years ahead of the UN schedule.  The Asian country has equally made headways with the provision of clean and affordable energy, promoting industrialisation,  innovation and quality education among other goals.  Having realised the vital role international cooperation plays in advancing development and global impact, China is strengthening partnerships with various sectors of the international community ...
Read more