ELIM – THE deputy minister of higher education and training, Mduduzi Manana, encouraged people living with disabilities to take education seriously as there were bursaries waiting to assist them to pursue their careers of choice.
Manana spoke during a visit to the Rivoni School for the Blind in Njakanjaka Village near Elim last Monday.
Manana was impressed with the school’s high matric pass rate in 2014.
He said the school had proven that blind and partially-sighted people could make a valuable contribution to the well-being of their communities.
He said many of the people who were once learners at Rivoni had gained freedom of movement and access to education.
“Some have been able to enter into mainstream educational lives, while others are gainfully employed in both the private and public sector. Dependence on handouts and total reliance on welfare for assistance with huge financial needs have been reduced,” he said.
“We must send a clear message out there that people with disabilities are as human and productive as everyone else in society. Disabled people, like all members of society, have the right to human rights and dignity. Parents should stop abusing these people and stop using them as sources of income. Disability grants should be used in the way they were intended to,” he said.
Rivoni principal, Constance Mabaso, said the school was an initiative of the Rivoni Society for the Blind that was established in 2006 after this society realised that there was a need for visually impaired people to receive formal education.
Maboso urged residents who had visually disabled people in their care, to take them to Rivoni.
“If people continue to support the school, we can achieve more. A shortage of classrooms and photocopier machines is our main challenge,” she said.
