Special Needs Education" Training for Refugee Teachers

[ZIRC]

 

It was a day of fun and learning for 22 refugee teachers who participated in a Special Needs Education training in Kuala Lumpur on 9 January 2011. The training, held for the second time, was voluntarily conducted by Linda Amrane Cooper and Nassima Hassan from the Cass School of Education and Communication at the University of East London (UEL).

 

"There are over 100 community-run learning centres for refugee children, and they are primarily staffed by refugees themselves," said Stine Paus, UNHCR Youth officer. "These teachers need support and training to help them do their jobs better."

 

The Special Needs Education training provided refugees teachers with the skill and capacity to identify and respond to children with special needs.

 

Feedback from the refugee teachers, comprising refugees from Myanmar and Sri Lanka, revealed that they found the training practical and inspiring.

 

Rejuvenated from the half day training, the teachers left with bags of fun and useful teaching aids donated by the UEL.

 

"UNHCR is grateful to the Cass School, UEL for the training. They have provided refugees an opportunity for training in an area that these refugee teachers might otherwise be ill-equipped to handle," said Paus.