By Patrick Ofoe Nudzi, GNA
Accra, Sept. 14, GNA – Chance for Childhood, an international charity that protects and empowers vulnerable children across Africa, has urged the media to play a critical role in promoting inclusive education and eliminate stigma and discrimination against persons with disability in Ghana.
She made the call during a media engagement on inclusive education, which sought to strengthen journalists’ understanding of disability and their role in building an inclusive society.
Speaking at the event, Mr Richard Opoku, the Country Representative of Chance for Childhood, said inclusive education was a shared responsibility involving schools, government, civil society and the media.
He said the media’s choice of stories, images and voices could either reinforce negative stereotypes or promote respect for the rights, dignity and potential of persons with disability.
“This engagement aims to equip journalists with the knowledge needed to use your platforms to promote inclusion and support children with disability to participate fully in mainstream education,” Mr Opoku said.
He said though the Government, through the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES), launched the Inclusive Education Policy in 2015 to guide efforts towards inclusive education, inadequate funding continued to undermine the effective implementation of the policy.
Mr Opoku urged the Government to increase budgetary allocation for inclusive education from less than one per cent of the education budget to at least two per cent.
Mr Opoku added that increased funding would support continuous teacher training and the provision of appropriate teaching and learning resources to ensure that children with disabilities and other special educational needs could learn effectively.
He also called for continuous capacity building and motivation for teachers working with children with disabilities.
“Government, NGOs, civil society, corporate organisations and the media all have a role to play in supporting the teachers and advancing inclusive education,” he said.
Madam Rebecca Ekpe, Vice President, Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and Coordinator of the event, called for the formation of a team of journalists to champion and sustain public discourse on inclusive education.
She said such initiatives were urgent and important to advancing the rights and needs of children with disabilities.
She said continuous capacity building was essential for journalists to improve their knowledge and skills to enable them to serve society better, adding that journalists must continually build themselves up to become more effective in educating the public and promoting positive social change.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
14 Sept. 2026
Patrick Ofoe Nudzi