ACTIVIDADES

The Working Group feels that, whereas action to make inclusive and special education more effective and efficient has to be prioritised, some changes in the legal framework, including the Constitution, are called for.

The Constitution of Malta refers to education under three articles, all included within the Declaration of Principles.

Two articles - 10 and 11 - under ‘Education’ refer to education in general: 10. “Primary education shall be compulsory, and shall be free of charge.” 11. (1) “Capable and deserving students, even if without financial resources,

are entitled to attain the highest grades of education.”

(2) “The State shall give effect to that principle by means of scholarships, of contributions to the families of students and other provision on the basis of competitive examinations.”

The only reference in the Constitution to disabled persons is included in the ‘Social and Insurance’ section, under Article 17:

17. (3) “Disabled persons, and persons incapable of work are entitled to education and vocational training.”

The Working Group feels that, in general, the Constitution should be more specific about provision - and not just entitlement - of education to persons with a disability. For example, the Constitution of Slovakia guarantees “special care for handicapped citizens in preparation for their career”. Amendments to Malta’s Constitution should incorporate more suitable language, and specify the principle of inclusion.

Unlike various other countries - for instance, Cyprus - Malta does not have one specific law regarding students with IENs.

As observed in Section 1 (Background), specific provisions regarding education for students with IENs are found in the Education Act, 1988 and the Equal Opportunities (Persons With Disability) Act, 2000.

The references in the Education Act - including, the Group would point out, two provisions that actually exclude children with special educational needs from the mainstream - are:

4. “(b) It shall be the duty of the State to provide a system of schools and

institutions accessible to all Maltese citizens catering for the full development of the whole personality...”;

16. “(1) It shall be the duty of the State to provide for the primary education of the children of Maltese citizens being of compulsory school age who do not have special educational needs, or who have not qualified for secondary education.”

17. “It shall be the duty of the State to provide for the secondary education of the children of Maltese citizens who have completed their primary education and who do not have special educational needs.

18. “(1) It shall be the duty of the State to provide special schools for the children of Maltese citizens being minor children having special educational needs.

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(2) A minor shall be deemed to have special educational needs when that minor has special difficulties of a physical, mental or psychological nature.” The Group feels that the above legal provisions need to be critically reviewed and revised.

The provisions in Articles 16 and 17 excluding children with special educational needs from State mainstream secondary are an antithesis to a policy of inclusion and have become anachronistic. The terms providing for exclusion should be deleted and replaced by terms specifically providing that children with individual educational needs should, as far as possible, be provided with education in primary and secondary schools, suitably enabled to provide for these needs.

Article 18 (1) should be amended such that, in line with the recommendation made by the Working Group in Sections 6 and 7, it shall refer to “provision in resource centres, whose specialised role will include provision for children with individual educational needs who would benefit more from being in such centres than in mainstream schools, for such time as may be appropriate depending on their needs”. Article 18 (2) should be replaced by a definition applicable to all three related Articles: i.e. 16, 17 and 18. The definition should read: “a physical, sensory, intellectual or psychological nature”.

The Group recommends that this part of the Education Act should also stipulate the obligation of non-State educational institutions to provide inclusive education. It should also register an undertaking by the State to provide adequate financial resources to cover individual or shared learning support that parents may be required to pay for directly in Independent schools, subject to the procedures applicable in the State and Church sectors, and to appropriate regulation.

Once the Constitution is made more assertive regarding inclusive and special education, and the Education Act is amended along the lines recommended above, it should be even less necessary to enact specific legislation, as is the case in some other countries. It would nevertheless be desirable to monitor and evaluate, on an ongoing basis, both local developments as well as models and experiences elsewhere, over and above the obligation of education authorities to carry out operational monitoring and evaluation. The Working Group suggests, therefore, that consideration should be given to establishing a Standing Committee of the House of Representatives on Disability Issues, enabled with adequate support resources. Among its main objectives, the Standing Committee on Disability Issues would:

• monitor and evaluate how prevailing legal provisions regarding disabled

persons, including education, are being implemented;

• keep track of relevant developments in progressive foreign societies,

particularly in relatively small countries, like Eire, Cyprus and Iceland; • keep abreast of best current practice in the sector;

• report its observations to the House at least once a year; and

• recommend to the House new legislative provisions that it feels may be

necessitated by philosophical and practical developments, both in Malta and abroad.

The Group further suggests that such a standing committee should be chaired by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to reflect and confirm its inclusive national character and objectives.

Crossing the Workplace Desert