New Special Education Policy For Children With Disabilities

Action aimed at further transforming the national education sector has resulted in the creation of a Special Educational Needs and Disability Policy. The initiative, according to Special Education Officer, Dale St. Juste, will address the various needs of all students. Students with learning disabilities as well as those who require special attention will be included in this national policy. “It is designed in such a way that it caters to all children so that whatever the range of special needs or disability that a person may have, it makes adequate provisions for them. One of the beautiful things about the way the policy was designed is that it gives consideration to other stakeholders beyond personnel in education who can support the overall success of students,” the Ministry’s Special Education Officer said. St. Juste notes that while some students have academic hardships, others require resources to assist them in learning. All these considerations have been outlined in the policy, he says. “Some have academic difficulty, but may have difficulty with other resources and may have welfare needs, may have psychological needs, may have medical needs, all of these that can potentially threaten the academic success of the child,” he said Special...