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

Lake Malawi

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.