Outraged and hurt

A blatant disregard for the Disabilities Act is how stakeholders have described events as they have unfolded at at least two of the nation's secondary schools, as a second family has now claimed they were told to seek other options for their wheelchair-mobile child to attend as the institution at which the student was placed did not have appropriate facilities to accommodate persons with disabilities (PWDs).

The Disabilities Act came into effect on February 14, 2022. Included in the act are provisions to safeguard and enhance the welfare of PWDs across the country.

The act is geared towards protecting and promoting equal rights for the disabled, and prohibits discrimination against them, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of PWDs, of which Jamaica is a signatory.

Last week, the family of a Hydel Preparatory School alumna was allegedly thrown into a tailspin when it was claimed on social media that they were told the school at which the student was placed, Merl Grove High, could not accommodate her as she uses a wheelchair and it did not have the resources to facilitate her.

After the post on social media, which the child subsequently said she did not make, the education ministry days later revealed that it would be spending $2 million to prepare Merl Grove to accommodate the student, following the now rejected allegation that she was turned away because of her physical disability.

But the latest incident involves a family from Sanguinetti in Clarendon, where the family is livid, and has blasted the Alphanus Davis High School (formerly Spalding High) for suggesting relatives seek another school for an 11-year-old boy, despite being placed at that institution following his sitting of the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examinations.

"Whoever I spoke with was told that the school does not have the facilities to accommodate the child. I didn't tell the person that the child cannot come to the school," George Henry, the school's principal, told The Gleaner yesterday.

"The child needs to be in a wheelchair, and for that child to be able to climb staircases, it is going to be difficult, so I said it would have been best if a check is made at another school."

The family is outraged and hurt.

The boy's aunt, Marieka Stewart, said that, on Monday, the child's grandmother went to collect his package for the new school year, and his disability was relayed to the principal. According to Stewart, the grandmother said she was told that the school could not facilitate the child, and that she should try another school.

"They said she should try Edwin Allen [High] and that was it. She asked if she would get a letter or anything of that sort; dem sey no, she must just gwaan or call Ministry [of Education] and that was it," Stewart reported of the alleged encounter.

Stewart said that, while at Sanguinetti Primary, her nephew was assigned an aide for his day-to-day activities. She claimed the option was communicated to the principal but was also shot down.

Stewart told The Gleaner that the situation is compounded by the fact that her nephew already struggles with acceptance issues.

"Thinking about it makes me want to cry. I know this is going to affect him, because sometimes he posts some stuff on his status saying people don't love him or stuff like that, and it's because of how people have treated [him] over the years," said Stewart.

Denzil Thompson, of the Clarendon-based Regain Sight group; an umbrella group of the Jamaica Society for the Blind, said he was disgusted over the incidents.

"The Disabilities Act was passed a year ago, and yet there are buildings that are not properly retrofitted. It is disappointing. The Disabilities Act is there, but it's like it's not being recognised, especially in places we have to venture around, like the schools, hospitals, and clinics...those places are not retrofitted for people with a disability," said Thompson.

Thompson, who is visually impaired, said it is extremely challenging for him to even navigate the nation's roads.

"It is hard to walk in the township, especially like May Pen (Clarendon) and Old Harbour (St Catherine.) The sidewalks are very poor," said Thompson.

Thompson also posited that, in terms of development and support, rural areas are already at a disadvantage, which puts disabled people within rural areas at a greater disadvantage.

"When it comes to rural areas, we are on a back burner, and this is what forces parents of children with disabilities to just feel like they want to lock them away in a room," Thompson argued.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Cleon Porter of the Foundation for the Disabled, who said, "Since the Disabilities Act came into effect, enough has not been done to educate the public, and to get these schools and even business places in line with the act."

Porter blasted school administrators who, he says, continue to place hurdles in the lives of disabled students.

Section 26 (2) (a) of the Disabilities Act says an educational or training institution shall provide the support necessary to ensure that, in relation to the institution, a person with a disability has the most reasonable access to the education or training provided; (b) has access to facilities in the least restrictive environment and best suited to his individual needs.

"They are going to find themselves in serious trouble with the Disabilities Act, and they are exposing the Government to lawsuits because of ignorance. They are embarrassing themselves and they are embarrassing the Government," said Porter.