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President Mnangagwa on Tuesday met representatives of teachers with disabilities to have an appreciation of their plight in the discharge of their duties. 

The meeting was initiated by the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) who raised several challenges teachers with disabilities are facing. The union’s secretary for teachers with disabilities, Mr Abiot Moyo described the meeting as fruitful and productive. 

He said the issues raised included transport challenges, visual impairment, albinism and the exorbitant prices of wheelchairs. Mr Moyo said the other issue was that of allowances which were taking long to be paid. 

Teachers with disabilities have also asked Government to introduce a disability grant to cover extra costs they incur when travelling. 

They said some of them are accompanied by helpers who also need bus fares. Mr Moyo said the law should make it mandatory for public and private facilities accessed by members of the public to be disabled-friendly. 

He also implored Government to be sensitive when deploying teachers with disabilities. Mr Moyo said it is important for those responsible for deploying teachers to ensure that the teachers with disabilities are deployed to schools that suit their condition. 

He said it was unfortunate that in some cases officers responsible for deploying teachers were deliberately setting up teachers with disabilities to fail to deliver services. Mr Moyo said visually impaired teachers were not provided with adequate equipment to enable them to effectively discharge their duties. 

He said at times the visually impaired were forced to use their own resources to buy equipment and other materials to use in the classroom which was very unfair. 

President Mnangagwa pledged to address the plight of teachers with disabilities working together with the different ministries and Government departments. The issues raised by teachers with disabilities are very genuine and should be addressed urgently. 

The teachers are just demanding tools for the job to enable them to effectively discharge their duties. School authorities should immediately address the issue of lack of equipment and materials for teachers with disabilities. 

The authorities should also ensure that the classrooms and other facilities are disabled-friendly. Government on its part should ensure that teachers with disabilities are deployed to schools that meet their requirements. 

The issue of addressing workers with disabilities should, however, not be confined to teachers alone but should cover all workers with disabilities. 

It is important for all employers to strive to minimise barriers faced by workers with disabilities to enable them to effectively discharge their duties.