Lead discourse against negative perceptions affecting children with disabilities …Journalists told

The media have been urged to take the lead in changing negative perceptions about persons with disabilities and ensuring that children with disabilities are not excluded from Ghana’s education system.

The Country Representative of Chance for Childhood, a non-governmental organisation, Mr Richard Opoku, said journalists had the power either to deepen the stigma surrounding disability or use their platforms to challenge discriminatory attitudes and promote the rights, dignity and abilities of persons with disabilities.

Mr Opoku made the call at a media engagement on inclusive education in Accra last Tuesday, organised to strengthen journalists’ understanding of disability and encourage more responsible reporting on issues affecting children with disabilities.

He said inclusive education could not be achieved by schools and teachers alone, but required a collective effort by government, civil society organisations, development partners, corporate institutions and the media.

Mr Opoku explained that despite the introduction of the Inclusive Education Policy in 2015 by the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES), inadequate funding continued to undermine efforts to ensure that children with disabilities received quality education alongside their peers.

He, therefore, appealed to the government to increase budgetary allocation for inclusive education from less than one per cent of the education budget to at least two per cent.

According to him, increased funding would provide the resources needed for continuous teacher training and the provision of appropriate teaching and learning materials to meet the diverse needs of children with disabilities and other special educational needs.

Mr Opoku also called for better motivation and continuous capacity building for teachers who worked with children with disabilities.

“Government, NGOs, civil society, corporate organisations and the media all have a role to play in supporting the teachers and advancing inclusive education,” he said.

The Vice President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and Coordinator of the engagement, Madam Rebecca Ekpe, also called for the formation of a team of journalists dedicated to championing inclusive education and sustaining public discourse on disability issues.

She said the initiative was necessary to ensure that the rights, needs and challenges of children with disabilities remained on the national agenda.

Madam Ekpe stressed the need for continuous training for journalists, saying it was important for media practitioners to deepen their understanding of disability and develop the skills required to report on such issues accurately and responsibly.

She urged journalists to use their platforms not only to inform the public but also to challenge harmful social practices, educate communities and promote positive social change.

The engagement formed part of efforts to equip the media with the knowledge needed to promote inclusive education and contribute to building a society in which children with disabilities could participate fully in mainstream education.

By Linda Abrefi Wadie

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