The Need for a Policy in Ghanaian Polytechnic Education to Cater for Students with Disability

Abstract

 This paper advocates for installation of institutional policy on education of persons with disabilities in Polytechnics in Ghana. The passage of disability bill into law in 2006 makes it mandatory for all learning institutions including Polytechnic to make its education accessible to persons with disability. However, polytechnics in Ghana have done little if any, to this effect. The aim of Polytechnics education basically, is to train career-focused graduates to be self-employed and contribute their quota to the nation's economy. It is therefore a right and not a privilege for persons with disabilities to be admitted into polytechnics programmes. This will ensure effective integration of disable youth into the labour market. To effectively carry out the study, descriptive observational study was used. Lecturers and students of Polytechnics in Ghana form the population for the study. The research instruments include unstructured interview and personal observation. Findings are that, polytechnics in Ghana have no institutional policy for disables. Little has been done to make the polytechnic environment accessible to the disables, as well as lack of records on professionals in the field of special education. As recommendations, Polytechnics should have institutional policy for educating disables to equip them with employable skills. Existing facilities should be made user friendly. Finally, professionals in special education should be employed as lecturers in polytechnics.