Dr Emmanuel Kofi Gyimah, Lecturer, Department of Educational Foundations of University of Cape Coast (UCC) on Wednesday, suggested that teachers in special schools, should be given incentives like teachers who opted to teach in rural areas.
He called on Government and civil society to consider how children with disabilities could be assisted to become self-sufficient by providing funding for intensive vocational and technical training to provide them employable skills.
Dr Gyimah made the suggestion at the International Day of the Disabled celebration by Cape Coast Chapter of Ghana Federation of the Disabled, under the theme "The Convention on the Right of the Disabled, Dignity, Justice for all" in Cape Coast.
He stressed the need for society to accept and recognize the importance of the disabled, because "disability is not inability", and deplored the situation where the disabled were subjected to inhumane treatment and relegated to the fringes of life due to certain traditional misconceptions.
Dr Gyimah observed that in recent times there had been global recognition that both genetic and environmental factors were responsible for disabilities and noted that there was the need to train people on how people with disability could be managed.
He noted that no educator could single-handedly cater for the needs of a child or person with disability, but required the involvement of other agencies such as health and social services and even parents, who might not be professionals but had key information about their wards.
Mr Simeon Obotan Larbi, Cape Coast Metropolitan Director of Education, called for the effective implementation of the existing disability Act 715, enacted in 2006 to enhance the dignity and justice for the disabled.
He commended Government for its support and concern for the disabled and advised the disabled to work hard to realize their potentials.