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A FAMILY has taken their child out of school because of a shortage
of teachers for hearing impaired students.
Henny and Pam Sudmeyer fear other parents will also remove their
children after they withdrew their son Callum, 12. Callum is now
being taught at his Warrnambool home.
He is one of 49 school-age children in southwest Victoria who no
longer have a teaching specialist for the hearing impaired. Every
other region in the state has staff to help the children learn in
regular schools.
Mr and Mrs Sudmeyer said they had no option but to take Callum out
of school. ``We don't blame the school. It's the system that let
Callum down,'' Mr Sudmeyer said.
``We're not stirrers. We, like any parent, just want the best for
our kids. It borders on discrimination because it's the law that
says no child should be discriminated against.''
Callum, who left Woodford Primary almost two years ago, is now being
taught at home through the Distance Education Centre.
A report last year into the provision of deaf education in
the region, partially funded by the State Government last year,
recommended teaching specialists be appointed.
The parents have since won a commitment to fund a teacher for the
rest of the year.
Deaf advocacy group, Victorian Services for Deaf
Children, said a long-term commitment needed to be made. VSDC chief
executive Damian Lacey said: ``You are not going to attract someone
if it is only a short-term contract.''
The report also recommended a scholarship scheme to overcome the
shortage in teachers of the deaf.
Parents of hearing impaired children set up the South West Hearing
Support Group to campaign for help. But
group president Greg Lee said that after almost two years of
fruitless lobbying, frustrations were reaching boiling point.
``What is happening in this region is a significant human rights
abuse,'' Mr Lee said.
``Many of these kids will
never recover from the neglect this current system has imposed on
them. We have had a serious gutful of the political bulls--t
delivered to us over the past two years.''
Twelve years ago, the region
had four specialists to help deaf
or hearing impaired children. Staffing levels were slowly reduced to
just one person who was made redundant in 2001.
South-West Coast MP Denis Napthine called on the Government to
implement the recommendations of its own report. ``The kids are
going backwards while we wait for the Government.''
Tim Mitchell, spokesman for
Labor Education Services Minister Jacinta Allan, said the ***review of the southwest services has prompted a statewide study of
services.
``We need to look at a statewide approach, not just one region,'' he
said.
Mr Lacey said children needed help
now. ``All these musings in Spring St are not
helping.''
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