Dr. Yao Yekple, Acting Head of Department (HOD) of Special Education of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) has called on teachers to refrain from abusing special children in classrooms as it is against inclusive practices.

Dr. Yekple made the call at an information session they organised in collaboration with Effutu Municipal Directorate of the Ghana Education Service (GES) for regular classroom teachers at Winneba.

It was on the topic “Universal Design for Learning, a Pedagogical Tool for Today’s Diverse and Inclusive Classroom” meant for the participants to discuss the topic, share ideas, and understand and to accept the unique roles to play at creating an inclusive environment that will allow mutual understanding of contemporary issues and trends in education.

“Teachers should be mindful of the fact that any of them who fails to adopt an effective pedagogy to teach is practising discrimination, segregation, a saboteur to the practice of effective inclusive education and of course disrespect for learning differences in children”.

He said children with disability had been neglected and excluded from formal education over the years, adding that if access to formal education was a fundamental human right of every child, then why would society discriminate against special children.

He said inclusive education was the only means to address the access and enrolment challenges, the exclusionary and segregation practices for all children with disabilities and those with special educational needs.

Dr. Yekple expressed his gratitude to Dr. Tiece M. Ruffin Associate Professor of the department of education at the University of North Carolina Asheville and currently 2017/2018, a Fulbright U. S. Senior scholar at the UEW (Department of Special Education) who programmed and provided resources persons for the session.