The World Federation of the Deaf
met for a major conference in Sydney from Oct 16-18. The topic of the
conference was education for deaf people, especially in underdeveloped areas is
Nepal, China, and northern Uganda. Most deaf children don’t attend school at
all or on a regular basis, and there is a preconceived notion in the classroom
that deaf children have the incapacity to learn. As one teacher puts it, “Our disability only affects our hearing, not our
minds. A deaf child’s mind is as good as a hearing child’s mind.” As written in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Everyone has the right to education.
Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages.
Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education
shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally
accessible to all on the basis of merit.”
The issue of education for all is less of an issue in
developed countries due to advanced education infrastructure as well as a culture
that prides itself in fostering the development of special education. Even
though education is scarce in some underdeveloped countries, the culture still
tends to be apathetic to those with special needs making it extra hard for
those with special needs to obtain an education. However, whenever possible,
education should be provided to everyone, and this means teachers need to be
employed who are qualified in sign language so that deaf children can overcome
the obstacles to learning and succeed in developing the skills that are
necessary for communication.
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