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Mauritius: BrailleNote tablets were remitted to some 11 Special Education Needs (SEN) primary and secondary school learners with visual impairment in a ceremony held yesterday morning at the Special Education Needs Authority (SENA) seat in Ebène.
The Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun; the SEN Patron and Spouse of the Prime Minister, Kobita Jugnauth; and other personalities were present at the ceremony.
In her speech for the occasion, Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun expressed gratitude to SEN Patron for her unflinching support, underlining her instrumental role in providing various facilities and scaffolds for SEN learners.
“SEN learners are today benefiting from a series of facilities including daily meals, transport facilities when commuting to school, and assistive technologies in class,” she informed.
“The Government,” further recalled the Vice-Prime Minister, “is strongly determined to ensure that SEN learners are provided with the necessary facilities and conducive environment to benefit from quality education in line with the principles of the ongoing educational reform, namely equity, inclusion and quality.”
Besides, the Education Minister dwelt on the necessity for SEN learners to be provided with assistive technologies such as the BrailleNote to develop Braille literacy to integrate better the world led by technology.
“The BrailleNote will also boost their capacity to learn and their potential as a whole, and more importantly enable them to express themselves in written form as well as overcome daily challenges,” remarked Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun.
In her address, the Chief Guest of the ceremony, Kobita Jugnauth, commended the efforts and remarkable work being undertaken by the Education Minister, members of the SENA, and the educators catering for the needs of more than 2,600 SEN children across the country.
She expressed her conviction that the BrailleNote would enable learners to fully benefit from meaningful opportunities to succeed in their journey, adding that they would now have easier access to written works and enjoy reading.
SEN Patron recalled that last week, at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the Prime Minister, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, highlighted that Mauritius was sparing no effort in ensuring that all children, regardless of their social background, gender or condition, had free access to quality education.
She emphasised that having special needs should no longer be associated with suffering from a disability.
“Our country belongs to every child, and we all have the responsibility to ensure that our children can enjoy equal facilities and opportunities,” said Kobita Jugnauth.
She thus encouraged all SEN learners to avail of all the facilities provided to them and to engage in extracurricular activities, including sports, to keep fit, maintain a healthy and socially active lifestyle, and indulge in activities arousing their creativity.
She renewed her unconditional support to be by the side of the SEN children in their journey and reassured them that with perseverance, they would attain the same success as any child.