• THE National Vocational Rehabilitation Centre yesterday held its first graduation ceremony at its premises in Ndola. Picture by REBECCA MUSHOTA.

By REBECCA MUSHOTA –

THE National Vocational Rehabilitation Centre (NVRC) is unable to provide adequate training and allowances to the disabled because its funding from Government has been static for nine years.

NVRC Board chairperson Ibrahim Malik said at the first graduation ceremony held at the institution in Ndola that NVRC was unable to provide the appropriate training for its students because its funding had been static for nine years.

Mr Malik said it had been a challenge to provide tertiary education to disabled people because of the lack of adequate funds.

“Funding has been static for nine years leading to numerous problems like lack of adequate training tools, inadequate provision of staff allowances and difficulties in maintaining the institution,” he said.

Mr Malik appealed to Government to scale up the support to the institution for it to achieve its goals of providing skills to disabled people countrywide.

He said it was important to provide tertiary education to the disabled because skills training helped increase financial independence.

Mr Malik said the disabled in Zambia had limited training access which contributed to poverty in the country.

He urged those that graduated yesterday to execute their duties well so that their characters could have a positive impact on the institution.

Deputy Minister of Community development, Mother and Child Health Dorothy Kazunga said it was unfortunate that disabled people were associated with charity.

Ms Kazunga said the disabled, therefore, had an opportunity through training to dissociate themselves from negative theories.

She said her ministry was doing all it could to ensure that the labour market absorbed people with disabilities.

About 70 people graduated in metal fabrication, tailoring, carpentry, machining, secretarial, Information Communication Technology and general agriculture.