By Moses Nyirenda

Lilongwe, August 14, Mana: Association of Persons with Albinism (APAM) has emphasised on the need for government, through the Ministry of Education, to adopt initiatives that would promote inclusivity amongst learners with albinism in the country’s public primary, secondary and tertiary schools.

In an interview with Malawi News Agency (MANA), APAM President, Young Muhamba said learners with albinism are facing various challenges in the government learning institutions.

“A lot of persons with albinism are failing to access education at primary, secondary and tertiary level due to shortage of inclusive teachers, infrastructure challenges and also institutional as well as policy barriers,” Muhamba said.

He, therefore, asked government through the Ministry of Education to make initiatives that would help alleviate the challenges which learners with albinism are facing in schools.

“Yes there is need for more to be done including training more special needs teachers as well as ensuring that there are enough resources.

“We understand inclusive education is very expensive as it requires more resources, therefore, Ministry of Education should work with various donors to ensure that more resources are made available for inclusive education,” he said.

Recently, APAM engaged Ministry of Education where they discussed issues aimed at addressing challenges affecting the welfare of learners with albinism in the country’s public learning institutions.

In a separate interview, Chief Education Officer responsible for inclusive education, Peter Msendema said the ministry is making various efforts to address the challenges which learners with albinism are facing in schools.

“We are dealing with the challenges one by one. We started training teachers on how they can support learners with albinism.

“Again, we have advised District Edication Managers to set up a budget which they can use to buy sunscreen lotion for learners who need them,” Msendema said.

He said that as the ministry is also advising school authorities to facilitate construction of disability friendly infrastructure such as classrooms with enough lighting that would allow learners with albinism who have poor vision to see clearly when they are in class.

Mana/mcn/pk