ZANFOB expresses concern over lack of learning and teaching materials

Zambia National Federation of the Blind (ZANFOB) and Disability Rights Watch (DRW) has expressed concerned with the critical lack of learning and teaching materials in Zambian learning institutions for persons with disabilities especially the visually impaired persons. 

The two organizations are calling on the government of the republic of Zambia, particularly through the ministry of education to quickly address this challenge as they roll out the free education agenda. 

ZANFOB President Emmanuel Mulilo has noted with great concern that most schools have no learning materials such as braille paper, writing frames, styluses, cubes, and accessible computers to mention but a few. Visually impaired pupils need these materials for them to learn properly and understand concepts unlike the situation today where they learn without these materials.  

He says boarding special schools for visually impaired learners have a critical shortage of food items to an extent that these learners sometimes are forced to go to class without having breakfast and other important meals.

 Disability rights watch Wamundila Waliuya has observed that the government is discriminatory in nature, discriminatory in practice because of the failure to provide specialized and appropriate learning materials to these schools especially for those learners with visual impairment.