Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
I’m going to have to repeat full year, says deaf student Esha, 17
A DEAF student activist is to repeat a whole year of school – claiming lockdown learning has failed her.
Esha Razak, 17, said resources for remote lessons are often unusable and “very little” was done so she could keep up with her peers.
The lower sixth student added she is “sad and angry that my disability always gets in the way of everything” but that repeating a year was her best choice.
Advocates want the
Executive to give deaf children the same support they had before lockdown when schools go back next month.
However, Esha is worried about being able to access blended learning – and having to get by on Zoom classes and videos without subtitles or quality audio.
She said: “Since doing online learning I have really struggled and I have given up doing the work as well.
“I am not going to be able to keep up with the new content I have to learn next year, especially when the majority of class is going to take place online.
“That means I won’t be with my friends and classmates in September and that’s going to be really hard on me because I have to make new friends and ask them for help.”
Esha urged others who are struggling to ask for help, saying: “In my experience you cannot stay quiet, you have to voice your difficulties no matter how hard or bad they may seem.
“I would like people to learn that it’s hard being a deaf student doing school work in lockdown, that you are not like every other student, you’re different and you have to adjust your own personal needs to the situation even if it may mean hard change.”
Alasdair O’hare, Head of Policy for Northern Ireland at the National Deaf Children’s Society, said both in-class and remote learning had to be “completely accessible”.
He added: “Deaf children have faced new barriers to learning during lockdown and we need to make sure the return works for them.
“There will be new challenges to face and it’s crucial teachers and parents are thinking about how to mitigate these from the start.
“Education is a right, not a privilege, and no child should be left in a position where they can’t fully access learning or understand their teacher.”
A Department of Education spokeswoman said they were working with the NDCS NI.
She added: “As part of the Restart Education Work Programme, planning is underway to deliver the necessary support services to schools and special schools.
“The Department will continue to engage with National Deaf Children’s
Society in NI in relation to the impact of Covid-19 on children and young people