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2007 Country Reports WASLI Sp ain 2007 October 2007 WASLI COUNTRY REPORTS AFRICA ………………………………2 In readiness for the 2007 WASLI conference in Botswana Segovia, Spain countries were asked to provide a report Ethiopia telling about the situation in their country. Information Madagascar that was thought to be useful was included. The questions Nigeria asked were: What is the population of your country? How many Deaf people are there? Is the indigenous sign language recognized as an official language in the ASIA ……………………………….…13 country? How many sign language interpreters are there? Cambodia Is there a National Association of Sign Language India Interpreters and what training facilities are there? What are Japan your future goals? How can WASLI assist you and how Korea can you assist WASLI? Taiwan As WASLI is committed to advancing sign language AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA ………..29 interpreting world-wide, this information is important Australia as it provides not only an accurate picture of where we New Zealand/Aotearoa are today, but enables us to plan partnership work, share resources and later identify growth and BALKANS …………………………..43 development. Croatia Serbia Not every country was able to respond with a report, but as you can see those that did provide a fascinating EUROPE ……………………………..46 picture of the sign language interpreting profession in England the world today. It is hoped that in ensuring years more Wales countries can contribute to this valuable resource and Northern Ireland begin to take part in further dissemination of good Denmark practice. Estonia Finland On a personal note…. as the editor of this report, I Lithuania could have changed the reports that I received and Germany revised them so that the information was in a Romania consistent form. However, I felt that the individuals Scotland who wrote their country reports had a right to their Sweden own voices. These individuals prioritized the The Netherlands information in such a way that was important to them and still met WASLI’s need for information. Some LATINO AMERICA .……………..77 individuals signed their reports; others left their names Peru out. I enjoyed reading these reports and learned so much about Deaf people and interpreting worldwide. NORTH AMERICA ..……………..78 It opened my eyes to life outside my own country. May Canada it do the same for you. Mexico - Robin Demko USA 1 COMMITTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETING WORLD WIDE www.wasli.org WASLI Sp ain 2007 October 2007 AFRICA Botswana Introduction The first unit for children who are deaf in Botswana was established in 1979, in a mainstream Primary School in the Southern part of the country. The unit had an enrolment of six (6) pupils who stayed with foster parents and two (2) teachers. This was an initiative of the then Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Specialist of the Bamalete Lutheran Hospital, Dr Ian Kennedy. As the need to enrol more children intensified, the Christoffel Blinden Mission (CBM) of West Germany built the first residential school for the deaf in the country, in 1985. The school admitted deaf children from all over the country, since it was the only one of its kind. Before the Ramotswa Centre for Deaf Education (RCDE) was built, a lot of deaf children did not access eduction due to lack of accommodation in Ramotswa, where the first unit was established. Ramotswa Centre for Deaf Education had the first enrolment of eighty (80) pupils. The school could not absorb all the deaf children due to limited boarding facilities. Most of Batswana children who are deaf could still not access education. Most of them were hindered by payment of school fees required by the school, which was run by a Non Governmental Organization, while children who attended government schools did not pay any fees. The establishment of RCDE pursued the Christofel Blinden Mission to explore ways of providing effective services to its clients. This saw the formation of Ramotswa Society for the Deaf, which was later called Botswana Society for the Deaf (BSD), in 1989. BSD is an affiliate of the Botswana Council of the Disabled and is responsible for the welfare of people who are deaf in the country. The second residential school for deaf was built in Francistown, in the northern part of the country. Francistown Centre for Deaf Education was opened in 1991 with an enrolment of twenty-one (21) pupils. Both schools were staffed with specialist and non specialist teachers employed and paid by the government. In addition, the government’s commitment to the education of the deaf was evidenced by the financial assistance it offered to Botswana Society for the Deaf in the form of a subsidy. In line with the international trends of integration, the government of Botswana through the Ministry of Education established its first unit for learners who are deaf in a primary school in the Central District. The unit was opened in 1993 with an enrolment of eleven (11) pupils. The opening of this unit by the government and others that followed, especially the senior secondary unit is evidence that Botswana has embraced the principle of Inclusive Education as adopted at the Salamanca World Conference on Special Needs Education (UNESCO 1994) and restated at the Dakar World Education Forum (2006). 2 COMMITTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETING WORLD WIDE www.wasli.org WASLI Sp ain 2007 October 2007 According to the Salamanca Conference on Special Needs, Inclusive education means that: “….. schools should accommodate all children regardless of their physical intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic or other conditions. This should include disabled and gifted children, street and working children, children from remote or nomadic populations, children from linguistic, ethnic or cultural minorities and children from other disadvantaged or marginalized areas or groups. (The Salamanca Statement and framework for Action on special Needs Education Para 3). School Placement The principle of inclusive education was embraced as more units were opened in schools throughout the country. A lot of children with hearing impairment are taught in the same schools and classes with their hearing counterparts as supported by Salamanca Statement. “Regular schools with inclusive orientation are the most effective means of combating discrimination, creating welcoming communities, building an inclusive society and achieving education for all .” (Art.2). The chart below will give you a synopsis of the enrolment of Botswana children who are deaf in units and mainstream setting from 1997 to date, (see appendix). The numbers illustrated under appendix show that children who are deaf are enrolled in primary, Junior and Senior Secondary Schools at a very low percentage as compared to those with normal hearing. According to the Botswana Central Statistics Office (CSO), from 2002 to 2003, 888 deaf children were enrolled in primary schools, and 538 in secondary schools as compared to 661 211 normal hearing in primary schools and 55 593 in secondary schools. Services Provided As it has already been highlighted, learners with hearing impairment; deaf and hard of hearing are catered for by the Botswana education system. As you might all be aware, most children who are deaf use sign language. It is their preferred and first language of communication. These learners receive their primary and junior secondary education in special schools and unit classes where there is concentration of resources. For senior secondary education, learners who are deaf are placed in an inclusive setting; they are educated with their normal hearing peers in the same classes Most children who are hard of hearing lost their hearing after the acquisition of language and speech. These children are therefore able to function in speech and language modalities and are educated in mainstream schools with appropriate support. Sign Language Interpretation Children who are deaf cannot function in mainstream setup without appropriate services like sign language interpretation. The Ministry of Education through the Division of Special Education has since trained specialist teachers of the deaf in sign language and sign language interpreting. It 3 COMMITTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETING WORLD WIDE www.wasli.org WASLI Sp ain 2007 October 2007 is worth mentioning that some of the people who took part in training teachers in these areas are Daniel Burch, Ron Brouillette and Dorie Brouillette. The training was done through workshops and seminars. These teachers are the ones who provide interpreting services since there are no qualified sign language interpreters in the country. At primary level, all the teachers are conversant with sign language. Some of them are used as trainers in sign language workshops together with deaf teacher aides. Interpreting at primary school level is therefore required minimally. At junior secondary level, ninety percent (90%) of the teachers in units for the deaf are specialists and are conversant with sign language. The remaining (10%) are non-specialist subject teachers who need the services of a sign language interpreter. Specialist teachers are the ones who provide interpreting services. The senior secondary school unit has an enrolment of nine students and seven (7) specialist teachers. Students who are deaf are taught in the same classes with their normal hearing counterparts. Ten (10) non-specialist subject teachers teach classes with students who are deaf. Since all subject teachers are non-specialists, the major role of specialist teachers is to facilitate communication between teachers and students who are deaf and their hearing classmates. Sign language interpretation is also provided during social activities, for an educational television programme on HIV and AIDS called “Talk Back” and during public addresses. Achievements 1. The country has taken an initiative to train some teachers as professional Sign Language Interpreters. The first group of five (5) identified teachers will be sent for training to the United States of America this year, 2007. 2.
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