Position paper on the situation of Deaf children in Zimbabwe s schools: A focus on the implementation of sign language in teaching Deaf children

Transcription

1 Position paper on the situation of Deaf children in Zimbabwe s schools: A focus on the implementation of sign language in teaching Deaf children Where is sign language in the new curriculum

2 Background The term Deaf in this paper refers to all people who are Deaf and hard of hearing. Deaf education has been problematic in Zimbabwe since independence and the government of Zimbabwe acknowledged this through the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on Education conducted by Dr Nziramasanga in per cent of Deaf children are born to hearing parents inhibiting language acquisition. Deaf people are further disadvantaged as the window of language acquisition between 21 months to 36 months usually passes without a proper and correct diagnosis of the hearing abilities of the child. As a result of the cultural inclinations of most parents and societal views of disability there is denial of Deafness and other remedies are sought which further delay the ability of the child to be taught sign language. There are different categories of Deaf people and these face different challenges in education. Children born Deaf and children who become Deaf before acquiring language have major problems in learning English which is the medium of instruction in schools. In most cases Deaf people who become deaf after acquiring language are able to learn English better and can lip read. This makes it important to understand the conditions of Deafness and how that affects the ability to learn and acquire knowledge. An assessment of the ZIMSEC results for Grade 7 and O level show that the educational outcomes of If you are planning for a year, sow rice. If you are planning for a decade, plant a tree. If you are planning for a lifetime, educate a child There are 27,299 learners with disabilities in primary school and 4,955 learners with disabilities in secondary school in These numbers include 3,533 children who are in 31 special schools of whom 62% and 66% are OVC in the primary and secondary special schools respectively. Based on the Disability study 2013 the overall estimated number of children with a disability was 370,287 which indicates that approximately 90% of children with disability are not in school. (Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (2015) Deaf children are poor and lower than their hearing counterparts. In 2014, only 10 per cent of the candidates who are Deaf who sat for Grade 7 examinations passed. There is no disaggregation by disability for secondary school hence comparisons are difficult. This failure is mainly attributed to the lack of sign language in the classroom. Page 1 of 6

3 Policy directives relating to Deaf Education A number of circulars have been sent to schools such as the Director s Circular No. 1, 2001, which directed schools to include pupils with disabilities in sporting activities. Another policy directive the Director s Circular No. 2 of 2001 directed that sign language should be taught in all primary schools in Zimbabwe. While these directives were sent, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary education did not build the capacity of teachers and schools to implement these provisions. Sign Language is still not taught as a subject. Problems faced by Deaf children in primary and secondary education in Zimbabwe: Deaf Zimbabwe Trust conducted research for Deaf young people in order to understand their educational experiences. 1 The study revealed the following: Deaf children in educational settings do not know how to sign and thus have no language for effective learning Teachers teaching Deaf children do not know how to sign Sign language is not taught as a subject in schools as other languages are taught Deaf children face isolation in the school settings as they find themselves unable to communicate with the rest of the students and teachers Deaf students are mixed in the same class with students with Mental retardation, down syndrome in lack of language starts at home and is also in school for example, When a mother is breast feeding her child, she will be talking to the baby and the baby learns things, when a mother was feeding a Deaf child she will be talking but no communication is taking place so the baby does not learn words as mothers cannot sign students lagging behind their peers. what are called special classes yet Deaf students only need a teacher who can sign and sign language interpreters Within the schools, resource units are the least financed classes which are not given priority When teachers who teach Deaf children go on leave, there is no replacement for the teacher and if they are on leave for three months, the Deaf students will have no teacher for three months. This situation results in the Communication is a real barrier to learning and inclusion in schools as there is little understanding of Deafness. This is coupled with bad attitudes from non-deaf students and teachers towards Deaf children. reacted violently to the taunts of Non Deaf peers. Deaf students have been labelled anti-social when they 1 Deaf Zimbabwe Trust (2013) Educational Experiences of Deaf People in Harare, Unpublished. Page 2 of 6

4 In many cases, teachers are allocated the HI Resource Unit without adequate preparation and they are not provided support. In some cases, the teacher regarded as the laziest, the one always absent and the problem teacher who is not an effective teacher is allocated to the Resource unit for Deaf students so that the non-deaf children will not be affected by the teacher s laziness. This reveals the bad attitudes of school authorities to Deaf students. Schools have created composite classrooms in which children of different grades are placed in one class which makes it very difficult for teachers to plan and teach effectively. For example in some cases all grades from grade 1 to grade 7 are in one class. As a result no learning takes There are few teachers who are proficient in sign language and most teachers teaching Students who are Deaf continue to use the oral approach which has not shown benefits for the Deaf place in the classroom. Teachers of Deaf children are marginalised by their peers in the school and thus assume the same marginalised status of the Deaf students they teach. Deaf students are excluded from extra-curricular activities in the school such as sports, clubs and other activities due to communication barriers. In some cases, some teachers teaching Deaf children are not shown the circulars and communications pertaining to Deaf children for example some teachers were not shown the ZIMSEC accommodations circular which resulted in non-implementation. Teachers of Deaf students do not get opportunities for in-service training and as such they do not have opportunities to learn and share new teaching methods for Deaf students At times teachers suffer from fatigue and burn out due to lack of necessary support systems in the schools. Deaf students come to school later than their non-deaf peers and as they are older they are asked and forced to write Grade 7 when they are not ready for the examination. Due to lack of sign language proficiency, teachers find it difficult to teach life skills and HIV/AIDS to Deaf children because of the language barriers. If a teacher forces deaf children to talk; it is exactly like forcing a person in a wheel chair to walk when actually knowing that it is impossible. Why do they force us to talk? Teachers have reported the bad attitudes of parents and guardians towards their Deaf children and their educational outcomes. Most parents do not pay fees for Deaf students. The teachers Page 3 of 6

5 felt that in schools such as Henry Murray, Emerald Hill and Naran Centre which have boarding facilities, many students are neglected and parents do not visit or attend school meetings or even ask for the report. The students have expressed sadness at the lack of support by parents in school work and the lack of expectation of any good results which has affected the selfesteem of students. Due to the poor educational outcomes, Deaf students are excluded from access to higher education relegating them to a life of poverty. Due to inadequate educational facilities for the Deaf, many Deaf children start school late and some never go to school, over 90% of Deaf children do not go to school. Sign language Sign language is not simply gestures but a full language in its own right with a structure or rules and grammar. Sign language is a language that is conveyed by means of handshapes, facial expressions do not know the words to use. This is the life of many Deaf children in Zimbabwe. Practice in schools where Deaf children learn is violating the rights of the child to a language of their choice as provided in section 6.3 of the constitution which states that every person has a right to use a language of their choice Legal framework I want to be taught in Sign language which is a language l understand better and more comfortable. and hand location. Sign language performs the same function to the Deaf as speech to the hearing. Language is important to everyone; language allows one to express thoughts, feeling and think in abstract terms. Imagine that you have no language because as you grew up, no one taught you a language, you do not know the meaning of words, you are not able to name things because you have no language and you cannot describe things because you Teachers waste deaf children s time teaching whilst they are talking. They force the deaf to talk and deaf children don t like that. If a child is physically disabled do you force the child to walk when you know they cannot walk? Just the same with deaf child you cannot force them to talk if they cannot talk. Section 6 of the Zimbabwean Constitution of 2013 recognises Sign Language as one of the country s 16 official languages. It provides that the state and all its institutions and agencies of government at every level must: (a) Ensure that all officially recognised languages are treated equitably and Page 4 of 6

6 (b) Take into account the language preferences of people affected by governmental measures or communications Subsection 4 further states that the state must promote and advance the use of all languages used in Zimbabwe, including Sign Language, and must create conditions for the development of those languages. 2 Section 75 of the constitution of Zimbabwe provides for the right to education. The constitution states that every citizen and permanent resident of Zimbabwe has a right to basic education, including adult basic education. This has not been achieved as many Deaf children are not attending school due to inability to be placed in schools that have the relevant facilities and resources for them. The Constitution highlights the needs of persons with disabilities in Section 22 which states that: The State and all its institutions and agencies of government at every level must, within limits of the resources available to them, assist persons with physical or mental disabilities to achieve their full potential and to minimize the disadvantages suffered by them Constitution of Zimbabwe, Section 83 provides the following: The State must take appropriate measures, within the limits of the resources available to it, to ensure that persons with disabilities realise their full mental and physical potential, including measures (a) To enable them to become self-reliant; (b) To enable them to live with their families and participate in social, creative or recreational activities; (c) To protect them from all forms of exploitation and abuse; (d) To give them access to medical, psychological and functional treatment; (e) To provide special facilities for their education; and (f) To provide State-funded education and training where they need it. The Education Act of 2006 (Chapter 25.04) also emphasizes the children s fundamental right to education in Zimbabwe and clearly states that Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other enactment, but subject to this Act, every child in Zimbabwe shall have the right to school education. Subject to subsection (5), no child in Zimbabwe shall be refused admission to any school or be discriminated against by the imposition of onerous terms and conditions in regard to his admission to any school on the grounds of his race, tribe, place of origin, national or ethnic origin, political opinions, colour, creed or gender. 3 2 The Constitution of Zimbabwe 2013 Section 6 3 Section 4, subsections 1 and 2 of the Education Act Page 5 of 6

7 Section 62 of the Education Act was amended to include Sign language shall be the priority medium of instruction for the deaf and hard of hearing." Key issues While sign language is now an official language, a sign language syllabus was not created in the curriculum review process There are no material resources for Deaf education in the form of appropriate text books and reading material 90 per cent of Deaf children of school going age do not attend school. Recommendations for improving Deaf Education in Zimbabwe Alignment of the Education Act to the new constitution to promote, use and develop sign language In service training for teachers teaching deaf children in Sign language Train Deaf people as teachers to provide sign language rich environments for Deaf children Sign language must be used as a language of instruction for Deaf children in schools ECD facilities need to be created for Deaf children to be included in mainstream settings Sign language needs to be taught as a subject on its own just like other languages are taught. Sign language needs to be developed into an examinable subject as that is the primary language of the Deaf. Sign language dictionaries and other resources need to be popularised, updated, used and harmonised to ensure a more broadened sign language Subject specific sign language needs to be created to ensure that signs for the various subjects are available Teachers to be trained in sign language if they are to be able to teach the Deaf. Government and other stakeholders need to introduce programmes that train parents of the Deaf in sign language and positive parenting. Sign language needs to be introduced as a course in all teacher training colleges as government promotes inclusive education. If all teachers are proficient in sign language then the goal of inclusive education becomes successful. In the absence of a teacher proficient in sign language, there is need for interpreters and Deaf teachers Sign language needs to be harmonized in order to address the variations and to develop a unique Zimbabwean sign language. The Government of Zimbabwe needs to invest in human and financial resources to provide sufficient services needed for successful Deaf education. Page 6 of 6