Africa-Press – Mauritius. Inclusion is the driving force behind the transformation of the whole education system and must be adapted to the needs of all students including Special Education Needs’ (SEN) students.
This statement was made by the Vice-Prime Minister (VPM), Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, today, at the soft opening of a Special Education Needs Resource and Development Centre (SENRDC) in Allée Brillant.
The Chairperson of the Special Education Needs Authority (SENA), Mrs Savitree Oogarah, the Director of the SENA, Mr Arvin Authelsingh, and other personalities were also present. The VPM, in her address, recalled that the SENRDC has been re-opened two years after its closure due to termite infestation.
“I am pleased to announce that the children who were transferred to nearby SEN schools due to this closure can now come back to this school which is in closer proximity to them,” she pointed out.
In addition, Mrs Dookun-Luchoomun emphasised that the reopening of this SENRDC is not simply a Governmental or SENA initiative, but is also due to the community where the involvement of several organisations such as the Rotary Clubs and the civil service was noted.
The Allée Brillant school, the VPM indicated, will now be fully operational. According to her, for the past years the Ministry has spared no effort to uplift the well-being of SEN learners across the country.
Furthermore, Mrs Dookun-Luchoomun spoke of the Rights Approach stating that every child has the right to access quality education and for that to materialise, the training network targeting the personnel of the SEN sector comprising the Heads of School, Managers, Educators, Parents and Carers, needs to be strengthened.
“The SENA and the Mauritius Institute of Education are also working to better support the personnel of the SEN sector and the parents of children with special needs so as to ensure the delivery of quality education to them”, she added.
Mrs Dookun-Luchoomun further dwelt on the vision of her Ministry so that no child is left behind in the education system due to his or her disability.
All children should have access to quality education that accentuates their learning potential and, in this context, the VPM indicated that her Ministry is working on a number of actions and initiatives, including: providing hot meals in SEN schools; ensuring that SEN children in need of a Carer are as such allocated one and; ensuring SEN students who develop the ability to transit to normal schools are provided with the necessary support to make the transition easier.
The Vice-Prime Minister further outlined that in a bid to assist SEN institutions, Government provided a one-off grant of RS 100,000 for the upgrading of infrastructure and a second grant of Rs 50,000 for investment for teaching and learning resources for this financial year.
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