By Makutu Manneh
The Minister of Basic and Secondary Education, Habibatou Drame, has announced that her ministry is preparing a standardized national sign language to improve inclusivity in education.
Speaking at a ministerial town hall meeting, Drame noted that sign language is currently used in various forms across the country, which creates challenges in teaching and communication.
“The ministry has undertaken reforms to ensure that education is delivered more efficiently and effectively, and in this, we are not leaving anyone behind. Inclusivity is at the forefront of our work,” she stated.
She explained that a framework for the standardized sign language has already been developed and will soon undergo validation in collaboration with other relevant ministries.
Drame further revealed that the initiative includes the creation of a comprehensive sign language dictionary, which will serve as a reference guide for educators. This, she emphasized, will ensure that teachers of sign language use a unified system to better support students with special needs.