Mrs Mam Matty Bouy, Regional Director of region two last Friday launched the Integrated Education Programme (IEP) for the blind and low vision children in Western Region.

In her keynote address, Mrs Bouy said “the 2004-2015 Education Policy highlights equitable access to basic, senior secondary, tertiary and higher education, with specific emphasis on underserved regions, girls and other disadvantaged groups of the population. “Measures are being taken to ensure that no individual is excluded from reaping the benefits of education that’s provided to them in this country,” she added.

This issue, she said, is of special needs to education within the policy as it emphasizes the inclusion of all children. She then added that the launch of IEP in Western Region could not have come at a better time than now, noting that the target beneficiaries are the blind and low vision children in the mainstream of education.

“Teachers will be trained at both pre-service and in-service sector in order to support an all inclusive teaching system. The programme will strengthen the collaboration of medical institution for early identification of children with disabilities and strategies put in place to address the prevaling issues,” Mrs Bouy indicated.

The IEP, she said, is an ambitious programme and requires the cooperation and dedication of all stakeholders for the attainment of sucess. “I strongly believe that collectively we can make a great difference in the lives of children with disabilities, thus creating condusive learning environment for all of them,” she opined.

On her part, Anna Nancy Mendy, Head of Special Needs Unit, DOSE said the provision of quality education for the blind and low vision in The Gambia dates back to early 1960’s, through the collaborative efforts of the Royal Commonwealth Society for the blind, now Sight Savers International and The Gambia Society for the Blind. This, she added, resulted in the creation of GOVI Resource Centre for the blind, then Campama Resource Centre for the Blind.

She pointed out that visually-impaired children should be provided with services that are necessary for its success, adding that such services should include, teaching and learning materials, braille machines, magnifiers, itinerant, teachers, among others.

Momodou Bah of Sight Savers International revealed that his institution promotes the goal of full inclusion in education as a right for all blind and low vision children. To this end, he said, their main target beneficiaries are children of Lower Basic School, to enable them enter into the mainstream of education. Other speakers included Alssana Touray of National Eye Care Programme, Mr Trawally, Muhammad Kora and Musa Mbye of GOVI.