The National School for the Deaf situated at Wilkinson Road in Freetown has called on the government of Sierra Leone and charitable organisations in the country as well as in the diaspora to assist the school with transport facility and other basic needs for the running of the school.
Speaking to this medium on Thursday 16th June on the challenges they are facing in transporting the children the head teacher of the school, Winifred Clarkson said the only bus which has been serving the school for the past thirteen years broke down in 2015 adding that since then they have not been able to repair it.
She explained that since they do not run a boarding school, the children have to move to and from school in public vehicles. “They are really facing constraint in their movement. Their disability is not visible so most public vehicles refuse to get them on board”, she narrated adding that since the children cannot hear and speak it is difficult for them to communicate with the drivers and their apprentices.
The head teacher went on to say that another challenge is getting subvention from the government in order to pay their auxiliary staffs as well as run the school. She said, “Since January, we did not get any subvention from the government”.
She said despite these challenges they have been trying to ensure that the children in the school feel encouraged to learn.
“Because of their condition, most of the children do not complete school so we try to teach them work skills, which is outside their formal education. The curriculum we use here is the same as the one used for normal school children and so it is difficult to get them to understand.”
She pleaded that the government come to their aid and provide a conducive learning condition for the pupils as well as the teachers.
By Edna Smalle
ADVERTISEMENT