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EDUCATION OF THE DEAF IN MALAWI
Presented by Delix Missinzo, Univerzita Karlova z praze
30th October, 2015
Introduction
Facts
Deaf education –history
Policy issues in Malawi
Achievements
Challenges
Conclusion
facts
factsMalawi- southern Part of Africa
Total area118,480 sq. km
Borders Mozambique to East and South, Tanzania to the North and Zambia to the West
factsAgriculture based economy
Agriculture
Agriculture
tourism
tourism
tourism
tourism
tourismMulanje mountain 3,000 ft
factsMinerals resources:
-Gas-oil have found on lake Malawi -Limestone-unexploited uranium-niobium -rare earth-coal-hydropower
Montfort Special Needs Education College
Education Centre for the Deaf was opened at Mary view in 1971
Missionary influence- Dutch from Holland
Objective was to teach oral training to deaf children
Three special schools were established by 1997
Three more special schools opened after 2000
History of deaf children before 1970Associated with medical model
Parents never accepted to have a deaf child
Could be hidden in a house
Less considered in the family
Families could go a period of stress
Kirk (2012) share similar observations of denial, bargaining and acceptance processes
History of deaf children after 1970Education only in special schools
Used oral method
Identification was not easy
Placement was not adequate
Many children on waiting list
Long distances from home to school
Transition from special school to integration very difficult
History of deaf children after 1970Deaf children in special schools
- Deaf students only taught by specialist teacher
- Pure oral- No contact with hearing peers- Many fail national examinations- No vision for their future
History of deaf children after 1970Deaf students in integration
-Only taught by TOD in a unit-little contact with hearing students- Examination based on affirmative
action- Many fail national examinations
History of deaf children after 1970
Deaf students at home
-Pure oral-parents not oriented how to use speech reading-communication is based on gestures
History of deaf children after 1970Deaf children in secondary schools
-Pure oral-no sign language interpreters-specialist teachers cannot do everything-limited cooperation with hearing teachers-many fail national examinations-future life not fully prepared/no vocational skills
History of deaf children after 1970
Sign language advocated by the Malawi National Association of the Deaf (MANAD)
MANAD organizes sign language training for Deaf Students outside the school during holidays
MANAD has no contact with special schools
Parent Organization of Disabled Children in Malawi (PODCAM) formed
Dictionary for MSL not available
Policy issues in Malawi
Policy
Constitution of Malawi 2006
Access to
higher education 2015
Ratification of CRPD 2009
SNE Policy 2009
Disability Act 2012
Equalization of
opportunities 2006
Disability Act 2012
“ensuring that persons with disabilities are not excluded from the general education system at all levels and have access to quality primary education. taking into consideration the special requirements of persons with disabilities in the formulation of educational policies and programmes, including the provision of assistive devices, teaching aids and learning support assistant”
“developing a Malawi sign language as a national language
for persons with hearing impairments and recognizing it as an
official language”
Achievements
NGO support
Policies enacted ie free primary education
More specialist teachers of the deaf (TOD)trained
More resource centers opened
Sign language accepted
Emphasis these days is on inclusion
Challenges
Lack of early identification and intervention
“children with disabilities remain one of the main groups being widely excluded from quality education.”
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/67664/edu-chi-disabil-guid-note.pdf
Research conducted by Schneider (2009) found that support given to learners with disabilities is not adequate despite international effort.
ChallengesDelayed academic progression
• Deaf students experience delay in academic progression
Class sizes
• there are bigger class sizes in Malawi
Defective medium of instruction
• Teachers are not sure what medium of instruction to use in class
Poor placement
• profound deaf students and hard of hearing students in the same class
• No effective placement producers
Limited funding and allocation of resources
Learning environment
Challenges
Completion of secondary and tertiary a problem contrary to article 24 (5)
Limited personnel ie sign language interpreters, specialist teachers
According to SINTEF report documented in 2003, Malawi experiences high prevalence of disability which has greatly impacted social economic status among the affected (Eide & Loeb, 2004).
ChallengesEquality in education is difficult to achieve
contrary to policy on the equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities (Ministry of Social Development & Persons with Disabilities, 2006).
Policy implementation rhetoric ie no MSL
Negative attitude of teachers, managers and parents
Labeling
No role models
Prospects
Establishing more resource centers for the Hard of Hearing
Empowering Montfort Special Needs Education College to share the expertise ie Audiology Clinic, Early Identification and Intervention teams to redefine their new roles
prospectsLobbying for more policy changes
from the government to improve on funding
Expanding collaboration between Montfort and other partners for information sharing
More collaboration with NGOs ie HLF in a solidarity project for the Hard of Hearing
prospects
CONCLUSIONTransform roles of special schools
Advocate for MSL training
restructure initial teacher training
Implement the policy on inclusion
Lobby more support from government and international partners
Raise awareness on deafness
REFERENCESEide, E. & Loeb, M (eds) (2004). Living Conditions among
people with activity limitations in Malawi: A National Representative Survey. Oslo: SINTEF.
Handicap International (2014). Including disability in HIV policy and programming: Good practices drawn from country – based Evidence.
http://www.hiproweb.org/uploads/tx_hidrtdocs/DisabilityAndHIV_LL07 Retrieved on 16th May, 2015Kirk, S., Gallagher, J.J. & Coleman, M.R., Anastasiow, N.
(2012). Educating exceptional children (13th). Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Malawi Government (2012). Disability Act. Lilongwe: Malawi Government.
ReferencesMinistry of Education (2001). Policy Investment
Framework. Lilongwe: Republic of Malawi.Ministry of Education (2009). Guidelines for
implementation of Special Needs Education in Malawi. Lilongwe: Republic of Malawi.
Ministry of Social Development & Persons with Disability (2006). National Policy on Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. Lilongwe:Republic of Malawi.
Schneider, C. (2009). Equal is not enough. Current Issues in Inclusive Education in the eyes of children. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 1 (1), 1-14.
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