Sod turned for Guyana’s 1st school for children with hearing disabilities
The sod was turned on Tuesday for a new school to cater for children with hearing disabilities, the country’s first dedicated school for the deaf.
This new facility which will be constructed within the Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara (ECD) area represents an over $194 million investment. The project is being executed by Superior Supplies and General Construction and is scheduled to be completed within nine months. The state-of-the-art facility, the Education Ministry said on Tuesday will cater to 30 learners who are deaf, providing a nurturing environment that celebrates and supports deaf culture.
Speaking at the sod turning ceremony Education Minister Priya Manickchand spoke of the Government’s commitment towards making learning easier and more affordable, particularly for persons living with disabilities.
“I want to say to parents, I know that this must be a particularly hard, worrying, confusing in many cases, extra that you have to do with a child who has education special needs. We will try very hard to put systems in place in an organised way to make sure your children can academically as well as benefit from extracurricular stuff so that your child can be a whole child and be the best they can be in their circumstances that’s our aim.”
Also present at the ceremony was President of the Deaf Association, Sabine McIntosh who highlighted that the new facility will not only enhance the learning experience for persons with hearing disabilities, but will also serve as a platform to train teachers.
Education Minister, Priya Manickchand along with President of the Deaf Association, Sabine McIntosh and other officials during the sod turning ceremony
“And I think this can be a focal point for, not even for academically, well it’s human rights issue of course too, but also to reach out in other communities right. It can be used as a training for wherever there’s a deaf child, the training, the teacher could come, be trained, be sent out back,” she said.
Additionally, Assistant Chief Education Officer with responsibility for Special Education Needs (ACEO-SEN) Keon Cheong who highlighted some of the transformative work his unit has been doing over the years.
“We’re doing a lot of things and I’d like to take off from where Sabine spoke about adding value and this add value to them academically because now, they have a space whereby deafness, deaf culture can really blossom and create this capacity here. It’s not only intended to be a school but, in the conversation, yesterday with Sabine we spoke about the possibility of being a resource centre in a space where deaf youths can congregate and so many things can come out of that. It definitely adds value for them.”
Moreover, the ACEO revealed that through Governments investments the Ministry now boasts Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) spaces at various schools.
“So, we now have 27 SEND spaces. 27 SEND spaces is a combination of SEND classrooms and SEND schools. The schools are the SEND home and casualty facilities and the SEND classrooms are the classrooms from the mainstream schools and the children are being sent there based on the screening packet and the assessment that’s done by the officers or the diagnostics. The assessment process, we take it from the screening It’s a due process to ensure the children really get the diagnosis of disabilities.”
In 2023, the SEND department launched its screening and intervention programme, which led to the training of over 1500 nursery year two teachers in learner screening. Additionally, 10 out of 11 educational districts now have dedicated SEND officers.
Another major aspect of the sector was the introduction of the Associate Degree in Special Education Needs and Disabilities at the Cyril Potter College of Education.