Disabled MP visits disability schools

The disabled Member of Parliament, Hon Julius Nye Cuffie of the APC, yesterday visited the schools for the deaf and the Milton Margai School for the Blind.
The disabled MP said his visit was to assess the plight of the disabled which he would highlight in parliament.
At the school of the deaf and dumb, Hon. Cuffie was welcomed by members of the board.
Explaining to the MP the plight of the schools, Board chairman Dr A.O.D Wright said the schools faced difficulties in either receiving or not receiving subventions, and had faced financial difficulties.
He said, “there is no legislation for the protection of the rights of persons living with disabilities”.
Dr Wright explained some of the basic inadequacies and inadequate sensitization on how to handle the disabled. He called for the new government to lay emphasis on the special need schools whose plight had been left without adequate attention.
Dr Wright emphasized that there was much to be done for the schools in terms of service delivery and learning materials.
Albert Sandi, another Board member who is from the Milton Margai School for the Blind, said it was the responsibility of the government to provide for the special need schools and that it was the right of persons living with disability to be educated.
He spoke that the subvention for the third quarter had still not been received which further starved the schools as they were non-school fee paying institutions.  
Hon. Cuffie replied that he had heard all their concerns and said he had been in disability advocacy for a long period which propelled him into politics. He said he preferred to use politics as a means of achieving the ends of providing persons living with disability.
The parliamentarian maintained that his primary purpose of visiting the schools was to highlight the plight of the schools and persons living with disability and to indicate that there was some body in parliament willing and able to project the problems to the fore to let the government know the problems.
He told them that he believed in the concepts of social diversity where every one had a part to play and that it was incumbent on government to create the necessary structures and foundations for the concept to be achieved. He said there was already a “persons with disability draft bill” which he intended tabling in parliament as a private member motion.