BAUCAU, 28 february 2022 (TATOLI) – ‘Sint Marie’ Primary School and São José Dormitory for students with Hearing and Speech Impairment is currently having no computer to support its students with computer literacy.
‘Sint Marie’ School called on any entities who wanted to provide their support and would be warmly welcome at the school.
In addition, Sint Marie School also desperately needed school materials to support the learning process of those students with hearing and speech impairment.
Sister Stefani Bernadetha Puspanintyas, Director of ‘Sint Marie’ Primary School informed that students with hearing difficulties need to learn computer literacy at an early age.
She said learning computers at an advanced age would make it difficult for persons with disabilities to absorb new information: “Due to their condition, therefore, it is necessary for them to learn computer literacy at an early age.”
“We have a total of 20 students and all are living here in this Dormitory. Some of the children are from Lautem, some are from Dili, and others are from Baucau municipality. We do really need computers to support these students because once they leave this school, they might not be able to learn computers with other institutions. Persons with disabilities are still experiencing discrimination and abuse in our society, and we don’t want them to go through it,” she said.
Puspanintyas stressed that students with hearing and speech impairment have the same intellectual capacity as others: “Hearing and speech impairment would not prevent these students from learning computer literacy, etc. One of our students with such conditions is currently doing well with her studies at the Teulale Catholic High School. Despite her condition, she always achieved the first rank in every trimester.”
“For those who are willing to support these children, they are more than welcome to visit our ‘Sint Marie’ Primary School,” she said.
Puspanintyas explained that Sint Marie School has been receiving financial support from the Ministry of Social, Solidarity, and Inclusion (MSSI).
“It is hard for us to manage the money because we have 17 teachers, therefore, we couldn’t manage to buy computers,” she added.
She emphasized that the establishment of the ‘Sint Marie’ School aimed to support children with special needs, so that they could have the same opportunity as others to work and live independently in society.
“Lorosa’e National University (UNTL) has signed an agreement with the Sint Marie School to allow our students to have access to UNTL without sitting for the admission test.
Article 21 of the National Constitution defines that: 1) “A disabled citizen shall enjoy the same rights and shall be subject to the same duties as all other citizens, except for the rights and duties which he or she is unable to exercise or fulfill due to his or her disability. 2) “The State shall promote the protection of disabled citizens as may be practicable and in accordance with the law.”
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Rafy Belo
