Governments should ensure that the right to education for children and youth with disabilities includes all levels of education from early intervention to pre-school, primary school, secondary school, vocational training and university level This should be provided in child-friendly and disability-friendly schools Ministries of education should develop guidelines that should be followed in all schools to ensure that schools are disability friendly
Ministries of education and school officials should understand the specific implications and requirements of including children with disabilities in the education system and where these differ from the requirements of children from other identified disadvantaged groups
Teachers in all regular schools should be aware of their responsibility to teach children with disabilities and of the support systems available to them, either from resource teachers within the school or from special education support centres Ministries of education should provide on-going training for teachers in regular classes to encourage acceptance of children with disabilities and to improve their expertise Teachers with designated special expertise should act as resource persons for the whole school and should be available to fulfil this role even if they have responsibility for an individual class as well They should not be deployed in administrative or other roles which make them inaccessible to class teachers who may need access to their expertise
Governments should ensure that schools buildings and premises are made accessible to all students and all obstacles are removed
Recommendations from BMF, Priority Area 3, Early detection, early intervention and education The following measures need to be taken, where appropriate, by governments in the region to improve the quality of education in all schools, for all children, including children with disabilities, in special and inclusive educational contexts: (a) conduct education and training for raising the awareness of public officials, including educational and school administrators and teachers, to promote positive attitudes to the education of children with disabilities, increase sensitivity to the rights of children with disabilities to be educated in local schools and on practical strategies for including children and youth with disabilities in regular schools; (b) provide comprehensive pre- and in-service teacher training for all teachers, with methodology and techniques for teaching children with diverse abilities, the development of flexible curriculum, teaching and assessment strategies; (c) encourage suitable candidates with disabilities to enter the teaching profession; (d) establish procedures for child screening, identification and placement, child-centred and individualized teaching strategies and full systems of learning and teaching support, including resource centres and specialist teachers, in rural and urban areas; (e) ensure the availability of appropriate and accessible teaching materials, equipment and devices, unencumbered by copyright restriction; (f) ensure flexible and adaptable curriculum, appropriate to the abilities of individual children and relevant in the local context; (g) ensure assessment and monitoring procedures are appropriate for the diverse needs of learners
Governments need to implement a progressive programme towards achieving barrier-free and accessible schools and accessible school transport by 2012
Regular primary school
Governments must ensure that all regular teachers have training to enable them to teach children with disabilities in their regular classes with appropriate knowledge of adapted and flexible curriculum and flexible teaching methods, and access to necessary resources and assistive devices
Governments should provide assistant teachers or teaching aides to help in classes which have children with disabilities Parents and volunteers could be encouraged to participate and a volunteer network established
School principals should ensure that class size is manageable to enable teachers to teach children with disabilities effectively
Governments should provide an adequate budget to ensure the necessary resources in terms of assistive devices and technologies
Schools should develop guidelines for child-friendly and disability-friendly school environments Schools and teachers should be rewarded with recognition or certificates for retention of children with disabilities as an incentive during the early stages of including children with disabilities in regular schools
Ministries of education should ensure that school systems have a flexible approach to assessment with clear understanding of achievement based on the individual strengths and capabilities of each child This should include an on-going monitoring system to ensure that students are making progress toward the objectives on their individualized education plan
If individualized education plans are used to determine aspects of a child’s individual learning programme, the plan should be formulated in consultation with support centre personnel, school and class teachers, and the child and her family
Schools should have regular workshops for parents of children with disabilities to help them understand how they can support their child in the regular school They should encourage the development of formal and informal parent support groups
Schools which educate deaf children should provide training in sign language to parents and family members of deaf children so that they can communicate with them at home Sign language can be taught to all children, but particularly to those in classes with deaf students
Head teachers should ensure that appropriate information about children with disabilities is shared amongst staff, parents and other relevant stakeholders, and that short-term objectives are regularly set and reviewed A close relationship between support centre staff, the school and family is important School systems should conduct regular workshops to share examples of good practice at all levels from local, provincial, national and regional