Dear Editor,

I write in response to recent media reports that approximately 70 per cent of our high schools are not equipped to accommodate students who are wheelchair-bound and a few disabled students were asked to find admission at high schools other than the ones at which they were placed.

As an empathetic member of the public and an educator I have witnessed first-hand the emotional pain inflicted on a child when he/she is asked to find another school because of reasons that are no fault of his/her own.

It pains me to know that close to two years after the Disabilities Act was passed the majority of our schools are not equipped to accommodate children who are wheelchair-bound. We must intensify our interests, efforts, advocacy, and actions to support the inclusion and full participation of the physically challenged in mainstream society. The education ministry and all stakeholders must, as a matter of urgency, ensure that the necessary provisions are made to accommodate wheelchair-bound students at any school for which their academic abilities would guarantee them a placement.

For too long people with disabilities have been treated as second-class citizens and expected to live like hermits. Our society must realise that the way we treat people with disabilities in Jamaica is more of a disability to the disabled community than the actual disabilities themselves.

Let us remind ourselves that anyone can suffer from a disability. Some people are born with a disability, while others are impacted by disabilities later in life, whether by conflicts, accidents, or illnesses.

We live in a society in which life moves at a fast pace and everyone is in a hurry, with no time to spare for those who can’t keep pace with the majority. When did we become so uncaring, impatient, and selfish as a people? We have lost our sense of care, compassion, and empathy, which has created injustice, social exclusion, and inequity. Where is our love for the disabled?

We can’t build a quality and just society if a segment of the population is made to believe that because of their physical limitations they have no space in regular institutions and organisations. Having a disability does not mean the person has no ability! This is the 21st century in which advancement in science and technology can provide equity for the disabled.

I am appealing to the Ministry of Education to lead from the front and empower the disabled community through equity in the institutions and services of the State. As a society we must do more for people with disabilities. By doing more to understand and empower people living with disabilities we are also raising our own social standing.

A society is only as strong as its most vulnerable citizens and we can judge the character of the society by the way it treats the most vulnerable. There is no doubt in my mind that we can do better. We must do better! I know that we can and I expect that we will. The word is always love for people living with disability.

Andre’ A O Wellington

Dean of discipline

Alston High School

andrewellington344@yahoo.com