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Govt develops digital textbooks for special needs learners
A child with special needs learns computer in Kampala. English and Social studies digital textbooks have been fully developed and ready for use, while Mathematics and Science are pending completion. PHOTO | FILE
The Ministry of Education have developed digital textbooks for learners with special needs as it looks to achieve equity and inclusive education for all.
The ministry developed the books in conjunction with Unesco and funding from the UN Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) .
This follows an assessment that learners with special needs — especially the visually impaired — have problems accessing and putting to use ordinary textbooks sent to their respective schools.
“Our learners who are blind or those with low vision are unable to read ordinary text books and this has been affecting their performance. Some have dropped out of school because of challenges they face in accessing learning materials,” Ms Sarah Bugoosi, the Commissioner of Special Needs Department in the Ministry of Education, said yesterday.
She added: “With these digital textbooks, we are slated to upload on our website, learners who cannot read print materials to read will be catered for.”
Ms Bugoosi was speaking during the training of teachers on the use of assistive technologies and interactive digital textbooks in teaching at St Noah Mawagali teacher training college in Mityana District.
Ms Elizabeth Mbasu, the education specialist at global e-schools and technologies communities initiative (GeSCI), said many teachers do not have the knowledge and skills to use these digital textbooks and aiding technologies.
The training, which is slated to end on Friday, is intended to equip teachers from inclusive schools teaching learners with disabilities with skills on how to use the digital textbooks.
“We have started developing digital text books for learners in pre-primary and lower primary before extending to other classes. These text books have been developed from the available text books used by the Ministry of Education,” Ms Mbasu said.
English and Social studies digital textbooks have been fully developed and ready for use, while Mathematics and Science are pending completion.
Ms Mbasu said the textbooks, which will be used by Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda, will be uploaded on open platforms to be easily accessed.
She added that learners with visual impairment can access the content through captions for visual impairment as well as those with hearing impairment.
The principal of Busuubizi Primary Teacher’s College, Ms Beatrice Kayegi, said many teaching colleges have not yet incorporated equipping teachers’ trainees with assistive technologies in their curriculum, making it hard to teach learners with special needs.
She asked government to equip them with assistive technologies.
Unesco’s senior programme specialist chief of education, Dr Saidou Sireh Jallow, said they will ensure that schools access the digital text books and assistive devices.
Teacher’s experience
Mr Bazil Onen, an ICT teacher at Gulu High School with a visual impairment, said his primary education was greatly aggravated by the absence of material that caters to learners with special needs. His performance only improved when he accessed software such as eScreen reader, which he said converts every input and output and speaks out all commands as one type and displays them on computer.
He recommends the software for learners with visual impairment. For learners with hearing impairment, Mr Onen recommends text speech software or voice recognition software. “Most learners do not know this software, so some of them end up dropping out of schools. If inclusive schools can invest in these technologies, these learners will be helped,” he said.
