MANCHESTER, Jamaica— Jamaica Teachers Association President Leighton Johnson has joined the call for policy makers to provide more funds to advance the cause of special education in the country.

Johnson made the call while speaking at the Church Teachers’ College conference on special education on Friday in Manchester.

While commending the college for demonstrating leadership in highlighting the importance of special education as a key pillar of the sector, Johnson acknowledged that more needs to be done.

Against this background, Johnson highlighted that special education continues to be plagued by issues such as inaccessibility and a lack of trained teachers to adequately address the demographic.

“Our context is of such that there are students who require special education existing in the regular classroom. These students are unable to operate like the regular student, yet our teachers are being held to account for their performance. There is the need for greater access to special education centres, as there are still parishes in our country that do not have special education facilities,” said Johnson.

“There are still families who have to hide individuals and members of their families who suffer from some special education need, and do not have the ability to fund or access same. There is the need for additional assessment centres to improve our country’s ability to diagnose and provide prescriptions for treatment of our children. Additionally, more teachers are needed to acquire the requisite skills and competencies to participate in the assessment process with a view of reducing the wait time for more students,” he added.

Johnson charged that special education required immediate attention from the Ministry of Education, as he called on policy makers to make the requisite funds available to advance the matter.

“I join in the call for policymakers to provide the required funding to advance the cause of special education. I urge our corporate partners to be a part of this noble cause. Indeed, special education needs funding,” Johnson stressed.

“We speak of inclusivity, we speak of every child reaching his or her full potential. Special education will not and should not be left behind. The Jamaica Teachers’ Association stands firmly behind this cause and will continue to advocate for special education.”

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater partners annually with Church Teachers’ College to host the special education conference which is held on the second Friday in January.