The Ministry of Education is assessing the financial cost of making Saint Lucia’s schools more accessible and inclusive for students with disabilities, including those with mobility and learning challenges.
Education Minister Kenson Casimir disclosed this on Tuesday morning at the pre-Cabinet press briefing when questioned by St Lucia Times about the measures being taken to ensure schools are adequately equipped to accommodate children living with disabilities.
The questions formed part of St Lucia Times’ ongoing focus on the challenges faced by persons with disabilities and the need for greater inclusion across Saint Lucian society.
In response, Casimir said the Ministry of Education has been examining the financial requirements associated with ensuring schools can adequately cater to students with different needs.
“We’ve been doing the actual financial audit of what it means for us to be totally on top of all aspects of people with disabilities, whether it’s mental disabilities or people with different abilities,” he said.
Physical accessibility is one of the challenges being assessed. Casimir said the Ministry has undertaken costing exercises to determine what would be required to make schools accessible to students with mobility challenges.
“One of the things we’ve done is we’ve done a costing for ensuring that all schools in Saint Lucia…have a ramp,” he said.
Using Gros Islet Primary School as an example, Casimir said the estimated cost of installing a ramp there was more than $200 000.
“So once you look at a hundred schools, and you’re looking at about $20 million to ensure that all schools are, you know, able to accompany all individuals from all walks of life,” he added.
However, Casimir said inclusion goes beyond physical access.
The Ministry is also examining the digital needs of schools, including the cost of providing adequate computer laboratories and other technology.
He said the Taiwanese government has played an important role in supporting technology in some schools.
Casimir also pointed to the potential for technology to help support children who learn differently, including by helping educators better understand how individual students absorb information.
He described a programme he had encountered that uses visual tools and technology to help identify a student’s disability and determine how the student may learn best.
The Minister also called for greater sensitivity in the language used to describe children with disabilities.
He repeatedly used the term “differently intellectual”, saying students have different ways of absorbing information.
“We’ve been providing teachers with courses that deal with students that are differently intellectual,” he said.
Teacher training forms another part of the Ministry’s approach.
Casimir said teachers have been receiving training focused on working with students with different intellectual and learning needs.
He disclosed that more than 100 teachers participated in the training during the previous term.
