The government has been called upon to implement an effective inclusive educational policy guidelines to favour persons living with disability and special needs in society.
That, according to the Head of Guidance and Counseling Unit of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mrs Gifty Sekyi-Bremansu, would enable persons with special needs to harness their potential for national development.
Mrs Sekyi-Bremansu was speaking at a children’s show dubbed: ‘Adwinsa Children’s Show’ organised by Adwinsa Publication Ghana Limited in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Accra on Friday.
The show which was on the theme ‘Disability is not inability, ‘formed part of the 20th Ghana International Book Fair meant to create awareness and sensitising the public about all-inclusiveness among persons with disabilities.
Mrs Sekyi-Bremansu said people with disabilities were often viewed as disabled and faced a social stigma, saying that statistics across the world showed that 15 per cent of the world’s population experienced some form of disability that prevents them from reaching their life’s goals.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Council on Persons with Disability, Esther Gyamfi, said the exclusions that learners with disabilities were confronted with had been identified and strategies had been developed in Ghana’s Medium- Term National Development Policy Framework (2022-2025) and the Council’s Medium Term National Development Plan (2022-2025).
She commended Adwinsa Publications for putting up such a show for learners with disabilities, saying “it marks a significant day of inclusion in the publishing space and speaks to the fact that disability is part of human diversity.”
A new book titled ‘wings for legs’ authored by Naomi Adjei, a young writer who believed in the mastery of one’s expression and use of language to create change, was launched by the CEO of Adwinsa Publications, Mr Kwaku Oppong-Amponsah.