Staff shortage hits School for the Blind

As concerns mount over staffing at the Salvation Army School for the Blind and other specialist institutions, Jamaica Society for the Blind (JSB) Chairman Daemion McLean says Jamaica is failing students with disabilities.

“We are definitely failing the children, even children in the regular school system. When we look at them leaving schools and how many of them are able to matriculate to secondary education, those things highlight that the gaps are real and we are failing the children,” he said.

McLean said one of the most evident gaps is the number of students with disabilities who successfully transition from secondary-level education to tertiary institutions.

“I would imagine that there are several gaps because the fact that we speak of inclusion and strive for inclusion, but we still have children left behind, indicates there is a gap,” he said.

To better meet the needs of those students, McLean said there must be a shift in the education curriculum.

“If 10 go in at grade seven and half are going to universities, there must be a curriculum change to accommodate them, so that even if they don’t go to college, they can function in life,” he told THE STAR. While acknowledging that reform will take time, McLean said the issue must be treated as a serious national priority.

“It has to be viewed as very serious because we speak of education as a right, so we have to have a system in place. It is not an overnight fix, but it will take some time.”

His remarks come amid concerns that the Salvation Army School for the Blind has had to turn away students because of a staffing shortage.

“I am aware of a shortage, it has been going on for a little while. I know the school, in the best efforts with the ministry, has been trying to find a fix for it. Clearly, they have not arrived at a fix just yet,” McLean said.

He explained that the shortage is largely linked to an insufficient number of specialised teachers, particularly as more children with multiple disabilities enter the school system.

“We are seeing now where it’s not just blind students but a child who is blind and has a developmental disorder like autism, so it requires a specialist approach,” he said.

McLean said additional resources are required to support students with complex needs, as well as constraints affecting the Government’s ability to employ more specialised personnel.

“We talk about specialist teachers, but we have to talk about additional resources that are required to maximise the potential of some of these students. It is also having the teachers in the same places, because you have the cohort leaving schools, but the Government may have challenges employing teachers, limited due to financial constraints. So those are factors that affect the thing, and until we fix them, we will continue to be grappling with these things,” he said.

However, McLean stressed that the problem extends beyond schools and into the homes of children living with disabilities.

“A lot of parents are clueless, and it’s not that they are not trying, but they don’t have anywhere to turn, no one to help them in treating a child with multiple disabilities,” he said.