GBARNGA – Hannah George, a student of the St. Mark’s Lutheran High School in Gbarnga, sat in her wheelchair Thursday as she lamented the challenges she faces as a 12th grader, noting that learning for her was fused with hardship.
By Selma Lomax and Rancy Clarke (Journalist, Radio Gbanrga)
She said, “It has never been easy because there are many issues to cope. I have to crawl to go in the restroom. It’s causing serious problem for me. It’s making learning difficult for me.”
She stated that her inability to move freely unlike other students limits her from using the available resources to learn maximally. She noted, “I cannot go to the library to study because I don’t have the advantage to move around easily like other students. I only sit in class throughout. Security issues are also part of the challenges. If there was a dangerous situation, I would have to find how to escape by myself.”
She noted that there are no wheelchair ramps in the school, adding that it’s one of the challenges she faces.
She added, “I have to wait for assistance from other students before I can go to class. I stand up several times so that they can carry the wheelchair for me. The school didn’t make plans for people like us because the way the school was built, it is only for those with no physical disabilities.”
On how she copes despite having to attend classes daily, she stated, “I get late to class always due to this. I wake up as early as possible and wait for my motorbike boy to pick me up. Sometimes, I wait for a long period of time before he arrives and after getting to the campus, I wait outside to get help. It has not been easy. The sad thing is that the school is blind to this. It has done nothing to ease studies for physically-challenged people like me.”
Talking about inclusive education for students with disabilities in the school she attends, she said, “No, there is no provision for physically challenged persons. They didn’t make plans for students using wheelchairs.
She noted that for any schooling activities requiring physical presence it has been her mother and brothers who carried out the exercises on her behalf.
She also expressed displeasure with the non-inclusive mode of education in Liberia for students learning with disabilities. She said, “I want the government to provide ramps in every school; primary, secondary, higher institutions and in every learning space in the country, it doesn’t matter if it’s government or a privately owned institution.
“Lack of accessibility stopped me from proceeding with my education at an institution which requires my presence every day because I was afraid. Some of my friends using wheelchairs in higher institutions complained about the lack of accessibility in their schools and not arriving at lectures on time. Most of the lecturers are not considerate and the way most buildings were constructed with no consideration for students with disability is discriminatory.
“Sometimes most of them make it to the exam halls late and there are no ramps in the school building.
She said, “Learning with a disability is expensive. Scholarships and grants should be provided. Resource centers and resource persons should also be employed in institutions to assist the learners. Students can also be employed in a work-study program to assist their peers who have disabilities. The government should also encourage companies and organizations to take persons with disabilities for internships and Industrial Training with incentives where necessary.
“The government should domesticate the various international submissions on disability. Public and private institutions should also be made to widen their scope and understanding of disability to include physical and non-physical learning disabilities.”