President Muizzu Pledges Emergency Alerts in Public Housing for Disabled Residents

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu stated yesterday that the government will consider installing modern emergency notification systems for persons with special needs in both existing and newly constructed flats.

He said this yesterday during a meeting with a hearing-impaired couple featured in a video of the “Rayyithunge Aadu” programme series, which is conducted to allow the public to share their concerns and complaints directly with him.

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The couple brought to the President’s attention the fear they face due to the lack of an adequate system that would immediately alert them in the event of an emergency, such as a fire, in their residential building.

Caring for a sick father, the couple, with the help of a sign language interpreter, shared with the President the challenges they face in requesting assistance if something were to happen.

They also shared the challenges faced by their three school-aged children in the school environment. They noted that even though the children do not have hearing impairments, the parents face significant difficulties in communicating with teachers regarding their children’s education.

Educational opportunities for deaf individuals at Maldives Polytechnic remain severely limited due to a critical shortage of Special Educational Needs (SEN) lecturers and qualified disability instructors, a member of the hearing-impaired couple revealed. 

Despite completing a Certificate Level 3 in Electrical Wiring, he was unable to advance to Level 4 coursework because the institution failed to provide dedicated sign language interpreters, rendering the higher-level classes inaccessible.

After listening to the family’s concerns, the President stated that the government would work to ensure that newly developed flats are equipped with modern systems capable of easily notifying persons with special needs during emergency situations.

The President stated that when allocating flats under housing projects, reserving the lower floors for families of persons with disabilities is already a standard practice. 

However, he assured that the government will give special priority to reviewing these matters further and establishing safe and convenient arrangements for such individuals in the buildings where they currently reside.