The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has called for stronger collaboration among government, development partners and communities to ensure children with disabilities have equal access to quality education across Malawi.

The call was made on Monday during the handover of a resource room at Chamwasongwe Primary School in Lilongwe by Link Community Development Malawi under the Realising Inclusive and Safe Education (RISE ) Project, which is being implemented in partnership with the ministry.

Director of Inclusive Education, School Health and Nutrition, Virginia Kachigunda, said inclusive education can only be achieved through coordinated efforts among all stakeholders she said the ministry is committed to ensuring that every child, regardless of disability, has access to education and urged partners and communities to continue supporting government efforts to make schools more inclusive.

Kachigunda said enrolling children with disabilities in school promotes their cognitive development while encouraging parents to become more involved in their children's education.

Head of Programmes for Link Community Development Malawi, Innocent Ng'oma, said the organisation is implementing the RISE Project in line with government policies to strengthen inclusive education.

Ng'oma said the project has so far distributed 798 assistive devices to learners with disabilities to help remove barriers to learning and improve their participation in school.

The project has also established 20 resource rooms in selected schools, equipping them with furniture, mattresses, toys and stationery to create a more supportive learning environment, particularly for girls with disabilities