Staff members at Danhiko Secondary School have raised concerns over the number qualified unemployed people with disabilities who are forced to go back to their homes after finishing their courses.
Speaking to 263Chat, Wood Work Lecturer at Danhiko Secondary School, Elvis Havatyi said communication breakdown was the major reason why students who would have done well were being marginalized from employment opportunities.
“From this department the students I usually lecture are sharp and creative but they face the challenge of not finding employment after finishing their courses.
“I have a student that finished his course last year and he was very sharp, I was informed three months ago that he had returned to the rural areas after fruitless effort of looking for a job,
“Government should intervene and provide loans for students to start their own projects after they are done with their courses,” said Havatyi.
Deputy Director at Danhiko School, Godfrey Majonga added that people with disabilities face a lot of challenges socially due to being marginalized, calling for government intervention to address the issues.
Majonga added that the grants given to students were not enough and extra time during examinations should be added as they have different disabilities.
“Transport is a problem for the students with disabilities as they have to pay extra in kombis and also cannot board shuttles, clearly they should be considered in situations like this,
“Public Service should lead by example by creating or leaving vacancies for people with disabilities. In addition buildings are not accessible, especially government buildings. Artificial ramps are needed to make the buildings user friendly for people with disabilities,
“We have other requirements for example during exam time, people with disabilities are given 20 minutes extra time but they have different disabilities which require different time frames. The grants they receive too are not enough, we wish for them to be increased from $20-$50,
“Lastly we are advocating for a director in the ministry of social welfare,” added Majonga.
However,touring the school, Special Advisor to the President on Disability Issues, Joshua Malinga acknowledged the fact that able bodied people and those with disabilities are in the same place learning together.
He also said the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe extended an offer of supporting people with disabilities who are in business or want to start a business.
“The work being done at this school is good, I am also impressed that able bodied people can work with people with disabilities,
“The Reserve Bank has some money to support disabled people who are in business, from vendors to airtime sellers and those who would want to start their own business,
“The Government must pay a subversion to start an institution not to expect them to look for money for equipment, we must be involved cause its an institution that is doing work people think we cannot do,” said Malinga.
Currently Danhiko Secondary School has a total of 328 students, 191 girls and 132 boys.
