USAID supports inclusive education

Karaga (N/Reg), Nov. 17, GNA - The Ghana Mission Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Mr Andrew Karas, has handed over equipment including hearing aids, wheel chairs, and Braille materials to the staff of Ishadia Kindergarten and Primary School at Tamale in the Northern Region.

Mr Karas made the presentation during a five-day official trip to the northern part of Ghana recently, a press release from USAID copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) stated.

Ishadia school is one of a number of sites where USAID works in partnership with UNICEF to support inclusive education in Ghana.

The aim is to enhance the educational quality outcomes for disadvantaged populations, as well as encourage the inclusion of school children with disabilities in Ghana's education development, the release explained.

'Leveraging inclusive education is part of USAID's goal of promoting quality education in the early grades of kindergarten and primary school. To achieve this goal, teachers at the Ishadia School are trained to identify and care for children with disabilities in their classrooms', it said.

Additionally, teachers receive training in curriculum development and techniques for introducing mother-tongue instruction to strengthen literacy in English and other Ghanaian languages.

'USAID is committed to working with the Government of Ghana and its partners to ensure the investment of inclusive education and improve the learning outcomes of all children,' Mr. Karas remarked.

The goal of USAID/Ghana's education programme is to ensure that children are given the foundational skills to read with understanding in the early grades of primary school. USAID's activities in Ghana improve the quality of reading instruction, strengthen the management of educational institutions, improve accountability and transparency between parents, schools and local government, and help communities to contribute to student and teacher performance.

USAID is the lead U.S. government agency that works to end extreme global poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential. It supports Ghana in increasing food security, improving basic health care, enhancing access to quality basic education, and strengthening local governance to benefit all Ghanaian people.

GNA