80 teachers acquire special skills

RWAMAGANA - Teachers from several schools in the eastern province last Sunday completed training in special needs education. The 7-day training was conducted by tutors from Bicumbi Teacher Training College (TTC) and sponsored by UNICEF in conjunction with ADRA-Rwanda. Over 80 teachers drawn from various schools implementing the 9 Year Basic Education attended the training.Célestin Bakunda, the Principle of Bicumbi TTC said the training was meant to equip teachers with necessary knowledge to help them adopt and adapt to any new teaching environment. ‘Special education teachers work with children and youth who have variety of disabilities. They must therefore be able to help students with severe cognitive, emotional, or physical disabilities, primarily by teaching them life skills and basic literacy,’ he said. The head teacher of Murama Model Secondary School in Nyamata, Bugesera district, Jean Pierre Sinabagiwe, whose school has many students with special needs, noted that the training was timely. During the training, participants were also trained to make teaching aids from local materials. Jacqueline Kayitesi, a teacher at Nyakarambi School said that after the training, it would no longer be a big challenge accessing teaching aids. ‘We were taught how to localize the environment to get the scarce teaching aids. I can now for example, help my students to make a map using banana fibers,’ she said. The trainees were drawn from across eastern districts and Rulindo district in the Northern Province. Ends