08 Dec 2024

The Japanese Embassy has handed over a Special Education Unit facility to Motswedi Junior Secondary School. 

The handover follows the signing of the grant in 2023 to the amount of over P1 million through the embassy’s Grant Assistance for Grass Roots Human Security project (GGP). 

Given the issues that impede access to quality education for learners with disabilities, Ambassador of Japan to Botswana, Mr Ohmori Setsuo, said the importance of special education cannot be overstated. 

Mr Setsuo said education was a tool for change and a lifeline to discovering full potential for children with special needs. 

“This endeavour symbolises the spirit of collaboration and the shared vision of providing quality education to every child. It also reflects our commitment to equality, respect and human dignity,” Mr Setsuo said. 

He further said the facility embodies hope, opportunity and renewed commitment to overcoming obstacles to learning. 

Mr Setsuo encouraged students to utilise the facility and seize every opportunity that came their way. 

He said the facility was theirs to celebrate their dreams and talents. 

For her part, school head, Ms Mpho Lesego, said with this facility, they would have an enhanced inclusive learner-friendly environment, which they strived for as a school. 

Ms Lesego said they were hopeful and grateful that the Ministry of Child Welfare and Basic Education would assist to equip the facility with the necessary teaching material and further enhance it to be easily accessible to learners living with disabilities using wheelchairs. 

Motswedi Junior Secondary School enrolls 1 009 students and 74 of them are learners with varying intellectual and physical needs. 

Ms Lesego indicated that they have students with attention deficit disorders, ailments such as diabetes and dyslexia, adding that the school had been welcoming students with diverse disabilities since 2011. 

The Japan Embassy has donated a special education unit to Ledumang Primary School through the GGP scheme in 2020. Ends