As the world commemorates International Day for Persons with Disabilities, the Building Education Foundations through Innovation and Technology (BEFIT) programme has been commended for making progress in promoting inclusive education through tablet-enabled learning.
Principal Education Officer for Thyolo District, Wallance Govati, said since the introduction of the programme in 2023, the district has registered positive strides as most learners have improved in numerical and literacy skills.
Govati specified the case of Mountain View for the Deaf, a special needs school where the programme is being implemented.
At the facility, learners use lip-syncing methods to follow the lesson, while those with partial hearing impairment use headsets to follow the lessons on the tablet.
Headteacher for Mountain View for the Deaf, Mary Machemba, says that, as much as there is progress, there is a need to incorporate a sign language component on the tablets to enable learners who are totally deaf to follow lessons with ease.
Mountain View School for the Deaf has a total enrollment of 133 learners.
Thyolo has a population of 1099 special needs learners.
This year’s commemoration is being held under the theme “Fostering Disability Inclusive Societies for Advancing Social Progress.”
