Minister Calls for Sign Language Classes in School Curriculum to Empower Disabled Community

Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Kirk Humphrey wants to see sign language classes added to the school curriculum.

He said this would have a significant impact on several members of the disabled community.

Humphrey made the suggestion during the graduation ceremony for students of the National Disabilities Unit’s flower arrangement course under their Sign Language Programme.

“It is my hope through you, that the Ministry of Education would put sign language on their syllabus, the same way that we put French and Spanish and so on, because that has to be one of the things that everybody should be able to learn. At least basic things, so that these persons will be able to communicate with everybody else.

“I do not see the challenge in incorporating that into our syllabus, at least the basics we will all be able to understand. Hopefully, this is something that . . . is part of the ministry’s reform,” he said.

The minister added that although Barbados has come a long way in its development and providing a better standard of living for citizens, people with disabilities must be more included in the advancements the country is making.

“We’ve done very, very well overall, but we have not been able to make sure that those benefits are realised in persons with disabilities. In literature, that is called distorted development; it means that while the country develops on one hand, it is not allowing everybody to benefit from that development,” he said.

“Human development is really, essentially, the measurement of people’s freedoms. If you limit freedoms to the point where you are forced to be an entrepreneur because no one would hire you because you have a disability, then they’re basically crippling the development in this country. As you can see right now, [we are] determined that in all the things that we do, persons with disabilities should be at the [forefront],” Humphrey added.

(SB)