CHALLENGES FACED BY DEAF
PEOPLE IN EDUCATION AND
TERTIARY TRAINING
TENDAI DONDOFEMA
DEAF ZIMBABWE TRUST
Deaf education has been a problem in many
countries and Zimbabwe is one of them
 Deaf children face many problems in Zimbabwe
 Maybe this is because deafness as a disability is not
visible
 It is also maybe as a result of bad social attitudes.

INTRODUCTION
WHY IS EDUCATION IMPORTANT TO PEOPLE






For development of the country
For opening our minds and taking a job to take care
of our families
So that we work and put food on the table
For security of our lives
Education leads to Work which provides hope and
dignity but with Deaf people language barriers stand
in the way of employment
It provides a livelihood, confidence and opportunities
for further training






Very few people do their planning with the deaf in mind.
The same with our education system.
As a result many deaf are not well educated, have no
jobs, are poor, have no houses
Most Deaf people are vendors in town because of lack of
education
No access to information. AIDS, Ebola and Cancer is not
known to Deaf people
No access to health, communication is a problem with
the health providers
Cannot participate in the development of this country
because of discrimination
CHALLENGES FACED BY DEAF PEOPLE





The profile of the Deaf community is one of high
levels of poverty, unemployment and poor
education
Most deaf people lack even the most basic skills to
seek employment
Poor educational outcomes as a result of being
taught in inappropriate formats. Few teachers in
Zimbabwe know sign language
As a result the Deaf people have poor educational
outcomes and only a few have gone through to
tertiary education (colleges and universities)
Deaf people in rural areas don’t learn sign language
resulting in communication problems with others
People who are teaching Deaf people do not know
how to sign. We need people to learn sign language
 Deaf people need open university or college for the
Deaf in Zimbabwe
 Workshops should be conducted for Deaf people in
health issues. For example AIDS, Ebola, Cancer, etc
 Teacher training colleges, there are no deaf people
being trained so that they can teach the Deaf. We
want to see Deaf people trained as teachers as well

TRAINING NEEDS
There should also be Deaf people awareness
campaigns so that people know that we exist.
 Education system should have trainings which help
Deaf people to learn and improve their English
grammar
 Training in practical subjects is needed, for
example computers, hairdressing, culinary not the
traditional carpentry and stone carving
 People from the mainstream are fortunate enough
to work in support of goals that offer personal,
financial and social satisfaction and fulfilment

In short, we as Deaf people we also want to work
because we need to, we want to, and have the
ability to work.
 But because of the challenges I have mentioned
before, this cannot be achieved.
 Thousands of Deaf people in Zimbabwe cannot
take a job for granted because they have never
known the security of sustainable employment.
 Most of the Deaf people sell airtime for their
livelihood. This needs to change for we also want
better jobs.

 If
we work together to change the
education system in Zimbabwe to be
inclusive of Deaf people in all their
trainings, we will change the world.
 So lets work towards inclusiveness.
Thank you.