The Ministry of Education and Vocational Training has been requested to send special teachers for children with disabilities in Mwanga district, Kilimanjaro.

The request was made by primary school teachers in the district who said there was a dire need of such teachers to assist the children.

They said the ministry must ensure that all children with disabilities receive appropriate education which can help them grasp necessary skills to lead normal lives upon completing school.

Speaking here on Thursday on behalf of fellow teachers in Mwanga district, Ms Grace George, a teacher of Kigonigoni primary school, said children with disabilities in the area have been "totally excluded" from the mainstream education.

According to her, it would take time for people with disabilities to be self reliant as the government has not set a good policy to enable them overcome challenges in life.

"There are few special schools for disabled children. Many parents are poor and cannot take their disabled children to these schools.

The only alternative is to train enough teachers who can teach these children", she said.

She said some schools also lacked teaching and learning materials for children with disabilities.

This makes their teaching very difficult, she noted.

Ms George called on the ministry to come up with a new syllabus for teaching disabled children.

She said currently there was no such syllabus.

On his part, the chairman of disabled people in Mwanga, Mr Gustav Mkekanule, said there were more than 600 disabled children in the district.

Most of them never go to school because they are hidden by their parents or guardians.

Most parents feel shy to have such children and many tribes in Tanzania regard them as not proper people.

Consequently, they are often isolated by their families and close relatives, he said.

He asked the government to set proper strategies which must also include provision of the right kind of special education to assist them.

Mr Mkekanule said skills imparted to disabled children could contribute to developing specific skills and launching their own projects.

It is estimated that there are nearly three million people with different forms of disabilities in Tanzania.

That is roughly equal to the entire population of Kilimanjaro and Arusha regions.