Education Ministry Pushes Early Detection Of Vision And Hearing Issues
Working with the Ministry of Health to diagnose visual and auditory problems early is the aim of one of the Ministry of Education’s recent initiatives.
Speaking at the RapidFire Kidz Foundation’s distribution of eyeglasses in San Fernando on Sunday, Education Minister Dr Michael Dowlath says his Ministry is well on its way to fulfilling its mandate of ensuring all students have an equal chance at quality education.
“At the Ministry of Education, we’ve developed a programme which is to do the early diagnosis, from four to six years old, for visual and hearing but the lead happened years ago with RapidFire and many other organisations. And so I want to commend the RapidFire Kidz Foundation for being pioneering, together with all the other organisations who would come to the Ministry of Education to do their part.”
With thousands of students at the ECCE, Primary and Secondary School levels, the Minister noted that private sector assistance is needed for the success of the mandate.
“We are pursuing programmes involving the vision screening, refractory testing and the provision of prescription spectacles for students in identified schools. But we want to recognise, as Kevin would have said, partnerships are really important. You can’t just do this by yourself. And so that is why this programme requires national recognition. Yes, the government has that central responsibility for education, but it can’t carry that responsibility alone.”
Meanwhile, President of the RapidFire Kidz Foundation, Kevin Ratiram, highlighted the importance of the organisation’s initiative.
“Today we give 61 pairs, making 1,500, and this might just be a drop in the bucket, but you know what we do with this 1,500? With this 1,500, we give a new lease on life to 1,500 children who otherwise, quite likely, wouldn’t have had that opportunity.”
The Eyes Right Project is sponsored by Republic Bank Limited and provides free eye examinations and prescription eye glasses to Primary School students.
