One hundred sixty teachers from Gasabo, Kamonyi, Muhanga, and Rustiro districts, last week, completed a one-month training in special needs education.The training was conducted at CEFOKA Centre in Muhanga District, Southern Province.Silas Ngayaboshya, the Project Manager at Handicap International, told The New Times that they now have 200 teachers able to teach children with special needs.Recently, 40 more teachers were awarded diplomas in inclusive education at Kigali Institute of Education (KIE). “It would be better if government can incorporate inclusive education in the syllabus of Teacher Training Colleges (TTC`s),” said Ngayaboshya. There are about 40,000 children with special needs.Ngayaboshya challenged the graduates to put in practice what they learnt.He, however, said more teachers with special needs skills were needed.Lydia Uwitonze, a teacher at Groupe Scolaire Rutunga in Gasabo, one of the graduates said the training was the first of its kind she attended.“There is a very big difference between the way other children can be handled and those with disabilities depending on the type of disability a child has,” Uwitonze said.She pointed out that basing on the effects; such children need to be taught what they are meant to learn, especially those with mental retardation.
