Introduction
In Uganda, the education of children with visual impairment started in
early 1950s. In 1954 the first special school for the blind was established
at Madera School for the Blind in Soroti District. This was followed by
a number of units for children with visual impairment which were started
in ordinary primary schools by missionaries in different parts of the
country. In these mainstream units the curriculum, included additional
elements such as training in orientation and mobility.
Training of Teachers for Children with Blindness
The establishment of these schools meant that more teachers of children
with visual impairment needed to be trained, so a specialist training
programme was started in Iganga District which became known as known as
the "The Centre for Training Teachers of the Blind." This programme
started as a certificate course that lasted for nine months. The teachers
were introduced to the basic methods of teaching children with visual
impairment. Areas of the curriculum in mainstream primary schools where
children with visual impairment used to find difficulties were emphasised
and specialised skills were taught. The curriculum areas included: Science,
Mathematics and Social Studies, and the specialised skillstaught included:
Braille, Production of tactile diagrams, Guidance and Counselling, Orientation
and Mobility techniques.
The Uganda National Institute of Special Education (UNISE) was established
in 1988 by the Ministry of Education and Sports. DANIDA, the Danish Aid
Organization, also supported teacher education in special needs at the
Institute of Teacher Education, Kyambogo (ITEK). This was the beginning
of an aggressive strategy for developing human resource for children with
special educational needs in Uganda.
Initially, the main objective for establishing UNISE was
to:
establish a training centre for teachers and other personnel to work in
the field of special needs and rehabilitation to cater for all categories
of persons with disabilities and special educational needs
Later on, a number of other objectives were developed as shown below:
Objectives
UNISE was to:
* improve capacity building to address Special Needs Education (SNE) and
Rehabilitation in Uganda
* improve the quality and quantity of gender balanced humanb resource
in the field of SNE and Rehabilitation
* improve strategies for the sustainability of the Institute?s Programmes
The training programmes were based on the philosophy of SNE and Rehabilitation
in line with the Salamanca Statement of 1994 which laid emphasis on quality
education and "Education for All"/ "Inclusive Education".
The need for massive changes in the provision of education for learners
with special educational needs was recognised within the introduction
of Universal Primary Education in January 1997, which stipulated that
a child with disability in the family was to be given first priority for
free education. This development gave most learners a chance to go to
school, including those with disabilities and other barriers to learning
and development. One of UNISE?s roles was, and still is, therefore to
train teachers and other personnel to meet this increased demand.
UNISE Academic Programmes
In Uganda, the main development of human resource for children with Special
Educational Needs takes place at UNISE. There are a number of courses
that are highly specialised and are conducted under the semester system
and cover the following:
* One year Post Graduate Diploma in Community Based Rehabilitation (PGD
CBR)
* Two year Bachelors Degree in Education, (Special Needs Education) B.Ed.,
SNE.
* Three year Bachelor of Adult and Community Education (BACE)
* Diploma in Sign Language Interpreting
* Two year Diploma in Special Needs Education (Dip. SNE) Conventional
* Three year Diploma in Special Needs Education External (DSNE?E) Distance
Learning
* Two year Diploma in Community Based Rehabilitation (Dip. CBR)
* Two year Diploma in Mobility and Rehabilitation (Dip. MBR)
* Certificate in Special Needs Education (Cert. SNE) Conventional
* Diploma in Sign Language (Dip. SL)
* One year Certificate Course in Special Needs Education (CSNE7?E) Distance
Learning
* Three months Certificate courses in
a) Audio Video
Production,
b) Management
of Special Needs Education,
c) Computer
Training
* Proficiency courses that include Workshops and Seminars tailored to
the specific interest of stakeholders, e.g.,
1) Workshop
for Itinerant Teachers - Primary Teachers
2) Training
in Braille - Primary Teachers
3) Training
in the use of Sign Language - Primary and secondary teachers, and Tutors
in Colleges
4) Training
in production and use of Educational Materials - Primary Teachers
5) Management
of Inclusive Education - Primary Teachers
6) Consultative
Meeting with stakeholders in SNE - NGOs for/of PWDs
7) Annual
General Meeting - DEOs, DISs, AIS, SNE/EARS Staff
8) Consultation
with stakeholders on Policy Development - Teachers, DISs, DEAs, CAOs
9) Training
in Supervision of SNE activities
10) Workshop on Speech
& Language Difficulties - Teachers
11) Workshop on Sports
for the Blind
New courses have also been planned and will be introduced in the near
future. These include:
* Post Graduate Diploma in Special Needs Education (PGD SNE)
* Masters in Special Needs Education (M. SNE)
UNISE also organised a number of workshops for Tutors in Primary Teacher
Colleges (PTCs). These were intended to equip the tutors with the knowledge,
understanding and skills to teach the 60 hour special needs education
component being introduced in the PTCs. The student teachers are given
this basic knowledge in SNE so that when they qualify, they are able to
support learners with special educational needs when teaching in the mainstream
classroom.
Other workshops were also organised for teachers in secondary schools
in order to prepare them to meet the needs of UPE learners leaving primary
education and joining secondary schools. All these
are strategies in the development of human resource for learners with
special educational needs and are an essential part of the strategy to
develop inclusive education for all learners.
Rehabilitation Training at UNISE
In addition to teacher training programmes, efforts have been made to
establish Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) activities for persons
with disabilities, their families and the community. A Mobility and Rehabilitation
(MBR) training programme for persons with visual impairment has been established
by the government to strengthen rehabilitation services. This training
comes under the department of
community disability studies. In this area, the Ministry of Education
and Sports works in close collaboration with the Ministries of Gender,
Labour and Social Development and the Ministry of Health.
The aim of the programme is to prepare students to understand the philosophy
of CBR and MBR training and management by focusing on the equalization
of opportunities and inclusion of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in
society. These courses are intended to prepare potential rehabilitation
workers, administrators, and managers of CBR and MBR programmes at national,
district and sub-county levels.
The objectives of the Community Disability Study programmes include:
* developing comprehensive and sustainable rehabilitation and community
development services to include as many PWDs or PSNE as possible within
their local communities.
* establishing mobility and rehabilitation capacity building for persons
with visual impairment through training of professionals in mobility and
rehabilitation who can train clients to become independent and self reliant
in everyday activities and self sufficient in travel and mobility.
Curriculum and Awards
The curricula for the various courses were developed by UNISE in collaboration
with stakeholders involved in the field of special needs education and
International Institutions of Higher Learning in Special Needs Education.
* Kyambogo University awards the degrees, postgraduate diplomas and ordinary
diplomas offered at UNISE
* Makerere University awarded the Bachelors Degree in Education offered
at UNISE until July 2002.
* The UNISE Governing Council, on the recommendation of the UNISE Board
of Studies, approves the certificate courses and makes the necessary awards.
From July 2003, all the courses will be awarded by the newly formed Kyambogo
University -which has been made up out of the former:
* Institute of Teacher Education (ITEK),
* Uganda Polytechnic Kyambogo (UPK) and
* Uganda National Institute of Special Education (UNISE)
Admission for study at UNISE
* Each course at UNISE has clearly stipulated admission requirements.
* All suitably qualified Ugandans and non-Ugandans are eligible to apply
at UNISE.
* The courses are offered through both government and private sponsorship.
However, government sponsorship is only open to Ugandans.
* All applicants are given equal opportunity to enroll including persons
with disabilities.
How to apply for Courses at UNISE
* All UNISE courses are advertised in the national and International media
in January/February of every year. However some courses may be advertised
during the year
* Online applications are encouraged through the website (www.unise.com).
This is especially useful for non-Ugandan Candidates
* Applicants may formally apply directly or through their respective authorities
* Applications must be accompanied by relevant academic documents
* Those who meet the requirement are short-listed for interview (Written
and Oral) at UNISE Campus (not applicable to non Ugandans)
* The academic year starts in September-October
Short courses are advertised every three months and prospective students
are invited and selected for study.
Conclusion
A student trained at UNISE, Kyambogo University is expected to be able
to support all children and adults with disabilities and special educational
needs and to promote their inclusion into society and their recognition
as productive members of their communities in their own right. Students
are equipped with knowledge, understanding and skills in:
* teaching and supporting all learners in inclusive schools
* developing and producing essential educational materials for learners
with special educational needs using locally available materials and resources.
* supporting and rehabilitating adults with disabilities in the communities.
* promoting greater awareness among teachers, parents, local religious
and community leaders, and the general public of the need to appreciate
and include learners with special educational needs in all activities
of society.
The kind of teacher or personnel we prepare is expected to be knowledgeable,
flexible, creative, skilled, patient and tolerant and committed to the
principle of teaching all learners with special educational needs in mainstream
classrooms, schools and communities.
Currently over 4000 teachers and other personnel have qualified from UNISE
through the conventional systems of delivery. Over 2000 are currently
undergoing training on a Distance Learning Programme and over 4000 more
teachers and personnel have attended workshops and short courses in special
educational needs. This article therefore tries to show how human resource
has been prepared to meet the needs of all children in inclusive schools
in Uganda. The future target is to aim at providing at least one trained
teacher for every primary school.
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