Former SPED students open skills training hub

By Jason B. Neola

NAGA CITY --- Life goes on.

This was reiterated by one of the former students of the Department of Education’s Special Education (SPED) program who felt overwhelmed when the Naga City Post-SPED Vocational Skills Training Center (NCVSTC) was finally inaugurated last Monday, November 19,

The completion of the facility, which will serve as “boot camp” for the young PWDs to feel prepared and strong, came after 3 years when parents and guardians of former SPED students proposed its establishment to the city government.

SPED teacher and NCVSTC coordinator Norelyn N. Oco said the center will operate as “one happy place where former SPED students will develop their skills in preparation for employment so that they can be able to live productively despite their handicaps.”

The former SPED students joining the center are those with intellectual disability, developmental delay, orthopedic handicap and cerebral palsy.

In an interview, a parent said that they pushed for the establishment of the center with the city government, which is housed at the Naga City Children’s Center, after their sons and daughters had completed their basic education thru DepEd’s special education program.

“Our children always wanted to go back to school because they always find staying at home monotonous and unexciting. But the DepEd cannot admit them anymore as they have reached the age limit and have already completed the basic education,” he said.

Oco explained that because of inactivity or idleness, most of the post-SPED students got bored, a situation that usually ended up in tantrums and bad temper that most of the times cannot be contained even by their parents. “With the completion of this facility, we can be sure that we are doing a great job for these former SPED students,” she said.

Mayor John Bongat said the center will cater to young PWD individuals to be able to acquire skills like cooking, gardening/landscaping, or cellphone repair/electronics or laundry for them to be able to earn a living. “They [PWDs] can be hired, once they finished their training, as attendants in laundry shops, hotels, and other businesses where they can be good and dependable workers,” he said.

The mayor also thanked the parents of post-PWD students for approaching his office about the proposal to put up the center.