Promoting inclusive education and supporting students with dyslexia is a major goal for Vila North School (VNS) this year.

This goal was realised with support from VNS Principal, Ms Elina Gilu, and two Australia Pacific Training Coalition (APTC) Education Support alumni who are currently teaching at the school.

Dyslexia is also known as a reading disability, and is a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and linking them to letters and words.

In collaboration with the Vanuatu National Exams Unit, the Inclusive Unit at the Ministry of Education and Training and APTC, arrangements were made for two dyslexic Year 8 students to use APTC’s classrooms to sit their internal mid-year examination. Members of the inclusive education team assisting the students in transcribing their answers and supporting them to write legibly and at a reasonable speed.

Alice Aissav, an APTC Education Support alumni and inclusive teacher at VNS, mentored the two students from term one.

Ms Aissav’s aspirations for the students go far beyond the mid-year examinations held last month.  

“I want these two students to be better equipped to handle any challenges they will encounter in their life’s journey. I want them to work towards achieving their dreams, get a successful career and feel supported all the way through,” she said.

Ms Gilu commended the teachers for preparing the two students to undertake the examination, and thanked all partners involved in making this possible.

“I would like to extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Vanuatu National Exams Unit and the Education Ministry’s Inclusive Unit for supporting this initiative and to APTC for allowing our students to use their facilities. By serving as scribes, the inclusive team supported two dyslexic students to sit their internal mid-year examination,” Ms Gilu said.

APTC Country Director for Vanuatu and Nauru, Ms Anna Naupa, acknowledged VNS and APTC’s Education Support alumni for the initiative.

“APTC alumni and their work contributions are significant factors of how the organisation has influenced them personally and professionally. It is encouraging to see our alumni involved in such classroom innovations. As our partnership with Vila North School continues to grow, I look forward to seeing more developments in the area of inclusive education,” Ms Naupa added.

With support from the Australian Government, APTC has more than 80 ni-Vanuatu alumni in its Education Support programme to provide an inclusive education environment and improved educational outcomes.