Access to an inclusive education for persons with disability, remains a challenge despite years of the passage of the Persons With Disability Act, 2006 Act 715.

The challenges border on accessibility to educational infrastructure, appropriate tutors and learning materials, among others.

Hence, most often than not persons with disability are forced to shun education.

In order to alleviate this challenge the Vice chancellor of the Takoradi Technical University, Rev. Prof. John Frank Eshun has appealed to government and corporate organisations to support the university in their committed cause of providing an inclusive educational environment for persons with disability.

“Currently there are 39 deaf students spread across 12 different programs. The university expects more next academic year. The university aims at adding up to the number of interpreters to be commensurate with the increasing number of the special students. Let me use this opportunity to thank the Ghana tertiary education commission and the minister of education for recognizing our efforts, but same time I wish to invite government and corporate Ghana to support the University for funding and scholarships for this purpose”, he explained.

The Vice Chancellor made this call at the 7th congregation of the university, which saw some 26 persons with disability graduate from the institution.

He said “the management of the university remains committed to improving the right environment for teaching, learning and research. The Takoradi Technical University continues to lead the way with respect to inclusive education at the tertiary level. The university’s pioneer effort to blend both deaf students and their hearing counterparts under one learning environment is worthy of emulation.

A total of 26 students with disabilities made up of 19 deaf students, 11 others with physical disabilities are among the graduands. This brings it to a total of 124 deaf students that the university has produced since the establishment of the disability support unit in 2017 making it the highest across all universities in Ghana.”

Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Kobina Amuah