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“Every child is like any other” – Robert Lumu wins Inclusion and Education photo contest

Por Gem Report

Robert Lumu’s photograph of 9-year-old Jemba John, sitting and reading with his peers at his school in Central Uganda, where Albinism is still considered a curse, is the winner of the 2020 GEM Report photo competition on inclusion and education. The competition was calling for photos that capture either the essence of inclusive education or help depict some of the key challenges standing in its way, illustrating different interpretations of inclusive education from around the globe and influencing the way people think through images.

The caption to Lumu’s photo speaks for itself. “As the first term of 2019 began on 4 February, amongst the learners who reported at Kanziira Islamic primary school in Kiboga district was a young, zealous and courageous young boy, Jemba John. Now ten years old, Jemba lives with his grandmother in the villages of Kanziira. He is a happy young boy living with Albinism.

In most rural areas of Uganda, children living with disabilities or with Albinism still face big challenges of discrimination by both their immediate relatives and communities at large. They are considered to be a curse in the family. Discrimination towards people living with Albinism in particular is one of the major issues in Uganda and some other African countries that needs special attention. Children living with Albinism need a lot of protection.

In an effort to promote inclusiveness in education and protect children living with disabilities and Albinism, an NGO called Building Tomorrow champions this cause in the hard-to-reach communities of Uganda where I served as a fellow for two years between 2018 – 2019. I joined an initiative to include Jemba, a boy living with Albinism who was side-lined in class for years due to his skin appearance. I worked hand-in-hand with the different stakeholders including Jemba’s grandparents who are his guardians, the school administration, school management committee, and community education volunteers.

In February 2019, Jemba was admitted into the Kanziira Islamic primary school in Kiboga district, Uganda, in primary one class where he was made to share a desk with other pupils. This served as a clear indicator that every child is like any other. Within a few weeks, Jemba had many friends and they could read books together and play together. Jemba could narrate stories better than any of the other children which made him popular throughout the entire school.

Jemba is currently one of the happiest learners at school, although he still has challenges getting necessary skin protection supplies which are expensive for him and his grandparents to afford. Sometimes, especially during hot sunny seasons, this makes his life difficult as he is highly affected by the sun’s heat on his skin and light on his eyes. He needs protective sun lotions and glasses to help him move at the same pace as other learners”.

The 2020 GEM Report, due out on 23 June 2020 will cover inclusion in education, addressing all those excluded from education with disabilities, such as Jemba, but also looking at the exclusion of girls, the poor, migrants, those in rural areas, refugees, ethnic and linguistic minorities, LGBTI communities. Pictures speak louder than words when it comes to explaining the way inclusion in education works in practice. This is why the GEM Report launched an international photo competition to seek out new and original images to complement its innovative findings and analysis. As with every year, the winning photographer was chosen by a panel convened by the GEM Report, received a prize, and the chance to have their photographs featured in the 2020 GEM Report.

We will be featuring the top finalists’ submissions on our @gemreport Instagram page in a photo series over the coming weeks.

Fuente: https://gemreportunesco.wordpress.com/2020/04/10/every-child-is-like-any-other-robert-lumu-wins-inclusion-and-education-photo-contest/

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Improving Inclusive Education in South Africa

Africa/ South Africa/ 12.08.2019/ Source: www.borgenmagazine.com.

 

ince 1989, UNICEF has recognized the right of every child to equal and quality education. However, many nations fall behind in having an education system that supports children with disabilities or those who come from poorer backgrounds. South Africa is no different. Only half of those who enter first grade make it the full 12. Despite the fact that inclusive education in South Africa has been a government priority since the early 2000s, little progress has been made. Fortunately, organizations are stepping in to create initiatives that have a positive impact on hundreds of children.

Children with Disabilities

A recent report by Human Rights Watch accused South Africa of failing to provide inclusive education for children with disabilities. These children often do not have access to the programs and supplies that would give them an equal opportunity to succeed at school. Approximately 600,000 South African children with disabilities are not in school, in part because of the fees required. While many children are not required to pay school fees, this is not extended to children with disabilities and they are often charged an additional fee.

Additionally, rather than creating inclusive schools, separate schools for children with disabilities were created. Many of these special schools do not provide the same level of education that supports the holistic development of cognitive skills of these children. Therefore, they ultimately fail to prepare these students for employment.

Steps to Improve Inclusive Education

The government has taken some steps to improve this, such as adopting a national curriculum for South African sign language, distributing teaching materials in Braille and even declaring that public schools for children with disabilities would soon abolish fees, but there’s still a long way to go before inclusive education in South Africa meets international standards. There are organizations and projects that are trying to improve things a little faster.

  1. Inclusive Education in South Africa (IESA): IESA has been working since 1995 to promote and support inclusive education practices. Its efforts are aimed at educators and professionals, giving them theknowledge and tools necessary to provide high-quality education for all students, regardless of disability or background. One of IESA’s methods is a two-day training for early childhood educators and caregivers on inclusive education. The training teaches them how to accommodate children with disabilities in their centers.
  2. The Workbook Project: In 2012, the Department of Basic Education and the EU’s Primary Education Sector Policy Support Programme began a workbook project to supply literacy and numeracy workbooks to every child in school. This project is a response to low literacy and numeracy rates, fuelled by a lack of classroom resources, including workbooks. In an effort to be inclusive, workbooks in braille and large print were created and distributed to students who needed them. However, there is still a need to further adapt the workbooks for a wider variety of disabilities.
  3. Focusing on Vocational Skills: While there is still a long way to go, the Department of Basic Education has recognized the need for job training and made an effort to make it more available for children with disabilities. Kempton Park Panorama School’s vocational training program provides an example for other schools seeking to provide inclusive education in South Africa. The school works with local mechanical workshops, nursery schools and bakeries to provide students with workplace skills development. For students with disabilities, or those with little interest in receiving higher education, finding a job is often crucial. There is also a shortage of students going into vocational education programs, so making these programs more accessible to students can help fill an employment gap and ensure people with disabilities can make a living for themselves.
  4. Full-Service Schools: As of 2017, South Africa had 900 full-service schools. These schools welcome all students, including those who are disabled and meet the differing educational needs of all students. One of these schools is Isiziba Primary School in Gauteng’s Ekhuruleni North District. Of the school’s 1,309 students, 108 have a learning disability. All 35 teachers have received training on how to identify and support those students. The school provides a model for inclusive education that all schools should be striving to meet.

Moving Forward

UNICEF is currently preparing a survey on inclusive education to assess whether standards are being met in countries around the world, which could help South Africa and other nations improve their inclusive education programs. Current initiatives need to be expanded to increase their sensitivity to and accommodation for children with disabilities.

Awareness of the impact that these schools can have on the children needs to be spread if inclusive education in South Africa is to be achieved across the nation. Furthermore, accurate data also needs to be released about the educational needs of children with disabilities. With that data, the government and other organizations can make smart decisions about how to use their funding and resources to best help the most children in need.

Source of the notice: https://www.borgenmagazine.com/improving-inclusive-education-in-south-africa/

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The Guardian view on special educational needs: segregation is not the answer

By: The Guardian.

As the proportion of SEN children in alternative schools continues to rise, it’s time to stand up for inclusion

A showdown between parents of children with special needs and the government is coming. Three families from different parts of England have won the right to a judicial review of the funding allocated to local authorities to fulfil their obligation to educate the 253,680 young people in England with an Education, Health and Care plan (EHC) – or “statement” – and the 1,022,535 other children also entitled to some form of SEN support. Such budgets have been stretched beyond breaking point, while the number of children assessed as having special needs has increased for two years in a row until these groups now form 14.6% of the school population – with autistic spectrum disorders the most common type of need for pupils with a statement.

In December the Local Government Association predicted a funding shortfall of £1.6bn by 2020/21. Paul Whiteman of the National Association of Headteachers believes the code governing special needs education has been reduced to an “empty promise”. Yet so far the response from ministers has served to underline the problem rather than solve it. This is because, while additional resources are urgently needed, there is another aspect to the special needs crisis in England. Namely, that decades of progress towards an inclusive model in which, as far as possible, all children are educated together, are being rolled back.

In many ways, life for children with special needs and disabilities has improved immeasurably since Baroness Warnock’s seminal 1978 report. Gone is the discriminatory, prejudicial language of the past, while advances in child psychology and teacher training mean that children struggling with emotional or learning difficulties are less likely to be written off in primary school as simply naughty. But recent evidence shows that a decade of cuts has led to segregation once again increasing, with the percentage of EHC pupils attending state secondary schools falling 8% between 2010 and 2018, the bill for councils funding private special school places rising, and exclusions and unofficial “off-rolling” of hard-to-teach pupils both on the up.

It is not clear to what extent these shifts are the unintended consequence of policy changes and funding reductions that have increased pressures across the system, and to what extent they were ministers’ aim. But last week’s announcement that the government plans to open 37 new special free schools appears to confirm that the direction of travel has changed – in defiance of the UN, whose disability convention asserts the right of disabled people to learn with everyone else.

Clearly, mainstream schools are not for everyone and high-quality alternative settings are required for children who do not thrive in them. But moves to divide children according to their needs more frequently rather than less should be vigorously opposed. Inclusive education is not a liberal piety. Properly resourced, it benefits not only the children being included, but everyone else. That there is an unignorable socioeconomic dimension, with pupils with SEN more than twice as likely to be eligible for free school meals than those without, only serves to reinforce how undesirable segregation is.

As well as building special schools, ministers should focus on boosting inclusion. This is a fragmented system in which vulnerable children are falling through the cracks, and councils are loaded up with duties they lack the resources to fulfil. That families are taking ministers to court shows it has reached breaking point.

Source of the article: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/18/the-guardian-view-on-special-educational-needs-segregation-is-not-the-answer

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Coding drives inclusive education in Africa

Africa/Source: gadget.co.za.

Is coding a universal language that can bridge not only the gender and income gaps but enable also inclusive access to 21st century education? For the passionate team of Africa Code Week ambassadors in Mozambique, the answer is a resounding yes. 

“Coding is a language that everyone can – and should – speak in order to be active participants in the global digital economy,” says Sonia Santos, local coordinator for Africa Code Week, which saw activities across the continent over the past month. “With the support of our public and private sector partners, Africa Code Week is delivering on its vision of a 21stcentury inclusive education by reaching Mozambique’s hearing-impaired community for the first time.”

With more than 1.8 million young Africans already introduced to coding skills over the past three years, Africa Code Week has made a lasting contribution to the continent, enabling free access to thousands of digital skills development workshops while building teaching capacity in ICT education through the training of over 28,000 teachers and community members so far.

The universal language of code

Africa Code Week’s coding workshops for hearing-impaired children in Mozambique were part of SAP’s  broader commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs), specifically Goal 4, which aims to ensure quality and inclusive education.

The programme also gives credence to SDG goal 17 through sustainable partnerships with its Africa-wide partnership network.  According to Santos, the response to their first foray into providing inclusive  workshops for local deaf communities was overwhelmingly positive.

“Earlier in October, we held hugely successful Master Trainer sessions in Maputo where 24 teachers from several special needs local schools were trained in coding skills. These teachers then led the coding workshops with support from volunteers in Maputo, where a total of 105 hearing-impaired students participated over two days.”

Mozambique has an estimated 305 000 deaf people. However, due to a lack of adequate support structures and ongoing  stigma, many are unable to access formal education or work opportunities.

“Mozambique only has three schools dedicated to teaching deaf children, which leaves most of the community without exposure to digital skills development opportunities. As the Fourth Industrial Revolution gathers pace, those without such skills are at risk of being left behind. It is our goal to empower Africa’s youth with the skills they need to thrive in the global digital economy in an inclusive and sustainable manner.”

A private sector partnership with Mapal, a German industrial manufacturing firm, resulted in a sponsorship of a Train-the-Trainer session that was held at the Institute of Vocational Training in Vilankulo.

“With the generous support of our private sector partners, we trained 20 teachers who in turn inspired 200 youth as part of this year’s ACW.”

Partnership with government extends ACW reach

She says that government support for this year’s Africa Code Week activities has been hugely encouraging.

“We have partnered with the Ministry of Science and Technology, Higher and Vocational Professional Education, that has delegations (CPRDs) in each of our provinces with access to computers in regions where many children had never touched or worked on a PC before. With the support of the National Institute of Electronical Governance, we have also trained 345 teachers as part of this year’s Train-the-Trainer activities, focusing on parts of the country where digital literacy is lagging.”

According to Sunil Geness, Project Lead for Africa Code Week at SAP Africa, the in-country support and participation of government and NGOs is one of the cornerstones of Africa Code Week’s sustainable impact across the continent.

“In addition to support from key partners, UNESCO YouthMobile, Google and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Africa Code Week is actively driven by more than 15 African governments and in excess of 150 partner organisations across 36 countries. We believe this shared-value approach holds the key to achieving our vision of building community capacity in ICT education across the continent and equipping youth with the skills and abilities that will drive their – and Africa’s – success in the 21st century.”

Source of the notice: https://gadget.co.za/coding-drives-inclusive-education-in-africa/

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Paula Tesoriero: Inclusive education produces better outcomes for all

Oceania/ New Zeland/ 21.11.2018/ Source: www.nzherald.co.nz.

All children in New Zealand bring diverse backgrounds and needs to their education and every child deserves to have those differences acknowledged meaningfully. So it was disappointing to read last Wednesday’s editorial in this newspaper, «One in five pupils now need help with learning disorders«, which implied these children were a problem in schools.

Inclusive education means all children can attend the school of their first choice and receive the support they need to thrive alongside their peers – everyone is welcome and all students learn in a way that suits their individual needs. The system needs to change to fit individuals and not the other way around.

Internationally, it has been found that learning which benefits all students not just some, produces better outcomes for all. A 2017 review of 280 studies from 25 countries found clear and consistent evidence that inclusive educational settings can confer substantial short- and long-term benefits for students with and without disabilities. These include stronger skills in reading and mathematics, higher rates of attendance, reduced behavioural problems, and increased likelihood of students completing secondary school.

Disabled people make up 24 per cent of the population, but disabled children are not getting a fair go in the education system. That is a huge chunk of New Zealanders we are letting down. I continue to hear stories about disabled children being discriminated against in the classroom or not being able to access the resources they need.

Multiple reviews and reports over several years have shown the education system is not working for disabled students. Significant outstanding issues for the system include under-resourcing, a lack of good accountability mechanisms, lack of data and options and a lack of training and support for teachers. We’ve known this for a long while, New Zealand just has not addressed these issues meaningfully and comprehensively.

All this can result in low aspirations, discrimination, an underlying expectation that disabled students should be segregated or siloed or that they are taking resources away from others. Many children and their families have experience of the frustration of just wanting to access a quality education and having to fight for inclusion.

The Ministry of Education is leading big educational reforms at the moment. The recent announcement of 600 learning support co-ordinators in classrooms by 2020 is a small step in the right direction. But it does not go far enough.

I am really hoping these reforms shift the system-level issues. This is a critical time for our education system and the impact our system will have on future generations.

Rather than talking about young disabled people being the problem, New Zealand needs to make the most of these reforms and talk about how we create an education system that is fit for purpose for all children.

Source of the notice: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12162766

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Nepal: Barries to Inclusive Education

Asia/Nepal/25.09.18/Source: www.hrw.org.

Children with disabilities in Nepal face serious obstacles to quality, inclusive education, Human Rights Watch said today.

Despite progress in law and policy, the government segregates most children with disabilities into separate classrooms. It has yet to train teachers to provide inclusive education, in which children with and without disabilities learn together. Tens of thousands of children with disabilities remain out of school.

“Despite several new policies to promote disability rights, including for access to education, many children with disabilities in Nepal are not getting a quality, inclusive education,” said Alpana Bhandari, disability rights fellow at Human Rights Watch. “Public schools should provide adequate support for children with disabilities to learn in classrooms with other children and not segregate them.”

Based on research conducted in May 2018 in 13 public schools in five districts across Nepal, Human Rights Watch found that segregating children with and without disabilities has denied many children with disabilities their right to education. Human Rights Watch interviewed 80 children with disabilities, their families, representatives of organizations for people with disabilities, teachers, principals, government officials, and United Nations staff.

Human Rights Watch report “Futures Stolen: Barriers to Education for Children with Disabilities in Nepal,” which found many children with disabilities in Nepal faced barriers in accessing schools and obtaining a quality education. Since that time, Nepal has improved laws and policies regarding access to education for children with disabilities, and some children have benefited. Thousands of children with disabilities continue to face significant obstacles to education, however.

Based on UN and World Health Organization estimates, Nepal has 60,000 to 180,000 children ages 5 to 14 with disabilities. In a 2011 report, Human Rights Watch estimated that at least 207,000 children in Nepal have a disability. In 2016, UNICEF found that 30.6 percent of children with disabilities, or approximately 15,000 to 56,000 children, ages 5 to 12, did not attend school.

Very few mainstream public schools enroll children with disabilities. Out of more than 30,000 schools in Nepal, just 380 have what they call “resource classes,” where children with a particular disability, such as children who are blind or who have an intellectual disability, are grouped with others with a similar disability. In the schools Human Rights Watch visited, children in resource classes ranged in age from 7 to 17, with some even in their 20s. Children often remain in these classes for years, although some may move to mainstream classrooms in the higher grades, with limited support.

Nepal has no academic curriculum for children with intellectual disabilities, including children with Down Syndrome. Those who do attend school learn only basic skills, largely focused on self-care. Denying education based on a child’s disability is discriminatory, Human Rights Watch said.

In 2010, Nepal ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which guarantees the right to inclusive, quality education. Children with and without disabilities should learn together in classrooms with adequate support in an inclusive environment. Research shows that an inclusive approach can boost learning for all students and combat harmful stereotypes of people with disabilities.

“Sunita,” 15, who is deaf, attends a resource classroom in a public school in Lalitpur. “I have never been to a regular class,” she said. “I want to learn together with others. It is more fun learning together with friends.”

Most mainstream schools visited also lack teachers trained in how to use accessible learning materials, such as braille and audio equipment, and how to make testing accessible. The classrooms lack accessible infrastructure.

A principal at a public mainstream school in the Gorkha district in western Nepal said that one former student with a physical disability crawled on his hands and knees to get from one classroom to another for the seven years he attended the school, because the school was not wheelchair accessible.

Since 2011, the Nepali government has introduced reforms to strengthen the rights of people with disabilities and to expand educational opportunity. The 2015 constitution says that education is a fundamental right and provides for free and compulsory primary education and free secondary education, as well as the right to free education through braille and sign language.

In 2017, Nepal adopted the Disability Rights Act and an Inclusive Education Policy for Persons with Disabilities. The policy says that children should be able to study, without discrimination, in their own communities, but also allows educating for children with disabilities separately.

The government is also developing an inclusive education master plan to create disability-friendly educational infrastructure and facilities, improve teacher training, and develop a flexible curriculum by 2030. However, the government has yet to articulate in law or policy a clear understanding of what quality, inclusive education in line with international standards requires and how to provide it.

Nepal’s major education reform, the School Sector Development Plan for 2016 to 2023, covers pre-school through high school education. The budget for the first five years is estimated at US$6.46 billion. Eleven percent of the cost is provided by international donors, including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and the European Union. The program builds on a previous reform plan, which the government acknowledged did not do enough to ensure education for children with disabilities.

The government should ensure schools are accessible for all children, children with disabilities are taught in mainstream classrooms, and all teachers are trained to provide inclusive education, Human Rights Watch said.

 

The overnment should also provide reasonable accommodations to support individual learning. This can include braille textbooks, audio, video, and easy-to-read learning materials; instruction in sign language for children with hearing disabilities; and staff to assist children with self-care, behavior, or other support needed in the classroom.

“Nepal’s government and its international partners have made education a clear priority, including for children with disabilities, but they need to do much more to make this vision a reality,” Bhandari said. “Support for children to study in mainstream classrooms, teacher training, and a flexible curriculum are essential to make sure children with disabilities aren’t left behind.”

Nepal’s Education System for Children with Disabilities

Until early July 2018, mainstream schools could apply to the Education Ministry for funding to teach children with disabilities. As of August 28, schools apply to local authorities instead. However, funding is only allocated if a school has a set minimum number of children with a specific type of disability. Because of the funding structure, children are compartmentalized into classrooms based on their disability. And if a school has funding for one type of disability, it may not have the resources to teach children with other disabilities.

Problems of Grouping Classes by Disability

The principal of one school in the Gorkha district told Human Rights Watch that his school has a resource classroom for children with intellectual disabilities and is not physically accessible, nor can it accommodate children with hearing and visual disabilities. Similarly, the principal of a public school in Mahottari, which has a resource class for children who are blind or have low vision, said that his school cannot enroll students with intellectual or hearing disabilities because the school does not have the necessary accessible learning materials, sign language interpreters, or trained teachers.

A teacher at a different public school in Mahottari said that the school has 10 students with visual disabilities. One girl is blind and has a mental health disability, which causes the student to frequently move around the classroom. The teacher said that she did not have the training and skills to teach this student, who was not making academic progress as a result.

If a neighborhood school doesn’t offer instruction for a child with a particular disability, the child may be forced to study and live in a school that does, in some cases as far as 500 kilometers from their home.

Ten-year-old Sita, who is blind and attends a school in Mahottari, said:

I live in a hostel … I go to school… I miss home, but I love school. There is no school near my home [that can educate blind children]. My mom says you cannot learn anything at home, and I must go to school to learn.

Shyam, who has cerebral palsy, attended a neighborhood school near his home in Kathmandu in the early grades. However, at the end of sixth grade, the teachers encouraged his parents to place him in another school because seventh grade and other upper grades were on upper floors. Shyam now travels with his father up to two hours each way by bus to attend a public mainstream school in Jorpati that enrolls children with cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, and physical disabilities.

Segregation

Some schools that Human Rights Watch visited had children in different grades together in one resource classroom. Others had children in different grades in separate resource classes. In resource classrooms, children with hearing disabilities learn sign language and children with visual disabilities learn braille.

Human Rights Watch interviewed children who expressed their desire to study with children in mainstream classrooms, rather than to remain segregated. Sunita, the 15-year-old girl who is in a resource classroom for deaf students in a public school in Lalitpur, said:

I study in grade 5 … I have never been to a regular class. I want to learn together with others … It is more fun learning together with others. After grade 6, I would want to study together with friends. I [would] get a chance to teach sign language to other kids in the regular class and I can communicate with them. I want to be a teacher when I grow up because I want to teach children with hearing disabilities.

An Education Ministry official involved in developing an inclusive education policy said resource classes should be preparatory environments for younger children who should move to a mainstream classroom around grade six. However, based on interviews with principals, teachers, disability rights advocates, and parents of children with disabilities, children do not consistently move into mainstream classrooms as they get older, due to the lack of accessibility and reasonable accommodations.

Some older children remain in resource classrooms for their entire basic education, through grade 8. Some parents said that when their children did not move to the older grades in mainstream schools, they felt compelled to place their children in other segregated environments, such as a special school or vocational training program. Few older children studied in mainstream classrooms in the schools Human Rights Watch visited.

Gita, who is 16 and attends school in Lalitpur, was able to move into a mainstream classroom. She said: “I am 16 years old. I am in grade 10. … I am deaf. I joined the regular classroom in grade 7. I like studying together with others because learning together becomes fun, and we learn from each other.” A sign language teacher supports Gita’s learning in the mainstream classroom.

Lack of Physical Accessibility

Most schools visited had limited physical access for students with disabilities, including at school entrances, classrooms, and toilets. In some cases, this means that children who use wheelchairs cannot remain in school. The father of a 20-year-old man with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair said:

I enrolled my son in a public secondary school [in Kathmandu] for one year and he     passed grade 6. But then the teachers said, “Your child is disabled, your child does not fit         with children without disabilities. Take your child to a               school where children with disabilities attend. The seventh grade is on the third floor, and your child will not be able      to reach it.

Out of the 13 schools that Human Rights Watch visited, including two that were recently constructed after the 2015 earthquake, only one, in Jorpati, Kathmandu, was accessible for children who use wheelchairs. The school has an accessible entrance, no internal stairs, an accessible toilet, and a flat playground that allowed children who use wheelchairs to move freely. The school has 354 students, of whom 27 use wheelchairs. The principal said the school does not provide specific, individualized support for children in the classroom, such as an aide who can provide direct support in personal care, moving around the school, or other tasks. Instead, teachers encourage other students to support their peers who have physical disabilities.

Disability rights activists confirmed most schools lack physical accessibility. A disability rights activist and representative of the National Federation of the Disabled Nepal, who lives in the Gorkha district, said he is not aware of any public schools out of roughly 450 primary and secondary schools in the district that are accessible for students who use wheelchairs.

Under international human rights and Nepal law, public buildings – including schools – should be accessible for people with disabilities based on Universal Design principles. Universal Design means the design of products, environments, programs, and services should be usable by everyone to the greatest extent possible, without adaptation or specialized design. This should include assistive devices for particular groups of people with disabilities, as needed. Nepal’s Disability Rights Act of 2017 establishes accessibility standards for the construction of buildings, including educational institutions, housing, workplace, road, and transport facilities that are intended for public use, while the National Building Code requires public buildings and facilities to be accessible for people with disabilities.

The 2015 earthquake destroyed or damaged 92 percent of public schools, leaving many children, with and without disabilities, out of school across the country, according to a 2017 Asian Development Bank report. Newly built or renovated schools should adhere to Nepal’s National Building Code and Accessibility Guidelines and comply with accessibility obligations under the CRPD.

However, the two newly built schools that Human Rights Watch visited did not comply with national building codes and universal design principles. One, in the Gorkha district, had stairs at the entrance and no ramp or lift, and stairs inside as the only way to reach upper floors. In Lalitpur, the principal of a public school admitted the school does not meet national physical accessibility standards, and an additional building under construction is slated to have only an entrance ramp and only stairs internally to reach the upper floors.

Lack of Reasonable Accommodations

Human Rights Watch visited some schools where children with disabilities studied in a regular classroom with children without disabilities. However, most of the schools Human Rights Watch visited did not provide sufficient reasonable accommodations to ensure children with disabilities receive a quality education.

Schools do not have a full range of textbooks in braille, or material in audio or easy-to-read formats. Schools lacked adequate staff, such as aides to support children’s participation in mainstream education. The aides, who are not fully licensed teachers, can constructively address behavioral challenges, provide personal care assistance, or take on other support roles.

Typically, schools who teach deaf children only have one sign language teacher, who works in the resource classroom. The instruction is limited to approximately 5,000 words in sign language, a fraction of the spoken vocabulary taught in mainstream schools.

The lack of vocabulary, as well as the absence of visual materials, means that even deaf children in a mainstream classroom may not receive a full education. One sign language teacher at a school that Human Rights Watch visited said,

There are 46 students in the class, one of whom is deaf. It is difficult to teach children who are deaf due to a lack of visual materials and a limited sign language vocabulary. When the teacher teaches in the class and new words come up during a lesson, it becomes difficult to describe and explain the lesson.

Samjhana, an 18-year-old deaf student there, described her experience:

Sometimes it is difficult to understand lessons that are taught in the class. I ask my [sign language] teacher when I do not understand. The teacher tries to explain, but I do not understand the words. The learning is more fun and easier with something you can see and understand.

Children who are blind or have low vision learn braille in resource classes, but a limited number of textbooks are available in braille and very few, if any, materials are available in audio or digital formats. One 17-year-old girl, who is blind, described her experience in a mainstream classroom in Lalitpur:

The challenge I have is that I am not able to see and follow what is written on the blackboard. I depend on other students to understand what is written on the blackboard. Not many braille books are available. In this school, children who are blind do get the opportunity to learn, teachers are helpful and so are my friends.

In Kathmandu, Suman, 14, who is blind, attends a mainstream classroom in a school with a teacher who knows braille to support children with visual disabilities. Suman used technology at home to learn, though, since none was available at the school:

I got my digital tablet from an NGO … I also use my mobile telephone at home. I read books with the tablet. … The app has a voice, and I can read by listening. I spoke with my teachers about digital learning, and teachers say they are hoping to adopt that.

The lack of reasonable accommodations, such as aides, can also place serious burdens on families. Some family members may feel compelled to give up employment and the care of their other children to accompany their child with a disability at school. Hari, the father of an eighth grader with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair in Kathmandu, said he had to quit work when his son was 8 to accompany him in school all day. The public school Shyam attends does not provide an aide to help him move between classes and feed him. His father said:

My son is big. Who would care for him? I come to school every day to support my son in the school. The school does not provide assistance to support my child. … He can fall any time.

The school principal said the staff encourages Shyam’s classmates to help him with homework and classwork.

Lack of Reasonable Accommodations for Examinations

The schools Human Rights Watch visited provide few accommodations for students with disabilities during exams, though most are mandatory for passing to the next grade or for enrolling in high school or a university. The accommodations provided – such as a writing assistant for students with visual disabilities – are often ineffective. The assistant is often another child, typically from a lower grade, who is not paid.

In one example, there are no options for children with visual disabilities to take math and science tests in an accessible format. Tests often require description of diagrams or pictures, which blind children cannot see.

Nisha, in grade 10, who is blind and attends a public school in Mahottari, said:

The writing assistant helped me take my tenth grade exam. The writing assistant would read me the questions, and I would answer, and then the writing assistant would write down the answers for me. … I wish I could take exams on my own, not with the help of a writing assistant. It’s difficult to perform math and science exams because they have questions related to geometry and questions with drawings, and I cannot see them.

Furthermore, the family of the student taking the exam must pay for the transportation and meals for the assistant. Teachers and disability advocates said exams are not modified for children who are deaf who have been instructed in a limited vocabulary.

Children with Intellectual Disabilities

Children with intellectual disabilities do not receive an academic education and have few if any opportunities to enroll in secondary education or a university. Under the Disability Rights Act of 2017, a person is considered to have an intellectual disability if their “intellectual development does not progress with their age and therefore has difficulty performing activities based on age and environment.” The Education Ministry’s Curriculum Development Center created a curriculum for children with intellectual disabilities in 2015. The curriculum limits children with intellectual disabilities to learning practical life-skills in resource classrooms or special schools for up to 10 years. It includes tasks like personal hygiene, brushing teeth, going to the toilet, getting dressed, and eating independently. Children who are 14 and 15 years old can learn vocational skills such as candle-making, sewing, or origami.

A teacher in the resource classroom at a public school in Mahottari, said:

The school has not received any curricula for children with intellectual disabilities from the government. I teach children with intellectual disabilities using pictures. It would be possible to teach children with intellectual disabilities by using simplified curricula that suits their learning style.

Lack of Trained Teachers

Nepal’s 2017 Disability Rights Act (section 23.2) provides for special training for teachers who educate children with disabilities to promote their access to quality education, but does not mention training for teachers in inclusive education. Training is focused on developing specialized teachers, rather than training all teachers in inclusive methods that will benefit diverse learners. One mainstream classroom teacher said the only training she had on children with disabilities was a one-week program focused on discipline and classroom management conducted by a non-governmental organization.

 

The Education Ministry’s Center for Education and Human Resource Development, formerly the National Center for Education Development (NCED), is responsible for teacher training. The agency’s deputy director, Upendra Dahal, told Human Rights Watch the government provides one month of professional development training to special education teachers who work in resource classes or in special schools. He told Human Rights Watch the center is currently not offering the five-day refresher training that exists. Occasionally, the agency holds training sessions of a day or two for specific disability-related topics, such as teaching children with autism.

Human Rights Watch found some resource teachers had received less than a month of training. Kumar, a resource teacher for children with intellectual disabilities at a public school in Gorkha, said:

I have been a resource teacher for three years. I only received nine days of training from the Department of Education [Now the Center for Education and Human Resource Development]. Otherwise, I have received training from the local nongovernmental organization, Blind Association Gorkha. I do not know how to teach children with intellectual disabilities. I want to teach these students, but I do not know how to impart knowledge to them.

Monitoring

Until early 2018, federal, district, and regional authorities were responsible for monitoring schools. In mid-2018, with the decentralization of education funding to municipal and village authorities, local education offices will have that responsibility.

An Education Ministry official said monitors examine schools’ budget implementation, student attendance, teaching methods, uniforms, school sanitation, food quality, and quality of accommodations in residential schools.

For schools with resource classes, monitoring also examines whether schools have met requirements for a resource classroom. Those include the presence of a full-time, permanent teacher and of the required minimum number of children, and the “minimum enabling conditions,” which include a separate classroom, separate toilet for girls, a ramp at the school entrance, and a disability-friendly classroom, although there is no clear definition for this.

Recommendations

The government of Nepal should:

  • Guarantee quality, inclusive education for children with disabilities in community mainstream schools on an equal basis with others, in line with the CRPD
  • Ensure maximum inclusion of children in mainstream classrooms and avoid segregation of children with disabilities in separate classrooms. Education should be delivered in the most appropriate languages and modes and means of communication for the individual, and in environments which maximize academic and social development, in line with the CRPD.
  • Ensure reasonable accommodations for children with disabilities, based on individual learning requirements. These can include braille textbooks and other materials; digital, visual, audio, and easy-to-read learning materials; instruction in sign language for children with hearing disabilities; and aides to assist students with behavior, self-care, and other considerations.
  • Ensure children who require individual support, or support for small group coursework, are fully included in the school environment with other students.
  • Ensure all schools are physically accessible. Ensure all schools renovated or newly built adhere to Nepal’s building codes and Universal Design Principles.
  • Ensure the examination and assessment system is flexible and responsive to the needs and academic progress of individual learners, based on their individual learning requirements.
  • Mandate the Education and Human Resource Development Center to provide adequate pre-service and ongoing training in inclusive education for all teachers, including on how to address all children’s diverse learning needs.
  • Ratify the Marrakesh Treaty, which permits the reproduction and distribution of published works in formats accessible to people with visual disabilities.
  • Strengthen monitoring and oversight to ensure children with disabilities are enrolled in school and they receive reasonable accommodations to receive a quality education on an equal basis with other children in mainstream classrooms.
  • Collect data on the total number of children with disabilities in the country, including the number of children in and out of school, disaggregated by disability-type, location, and other demographic markers. Formulate educational policies, plans, and programs based on data.

Multilateral and Bilateral Donors should:

  • Ensure the government of Nepal prioritizes the inclusion of children with disabilities in schools across the country and provide adequate resources to ensure they can study in mainstream classrooms with flexible curricula, reasonable accommodations, and trained teachers and other staff
  • Support the government to improve systematic data collection on children with disabilities by age, gender, d

 

Source of the notice: https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/09/13/nepal-barriers-inclusive-education

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England: Music education should be inclusive. So where are the disabled teachers?

England/ 16.04.2018/ From: www.theguardian.com.

For Kris Halpin, a disabled musician who delivers music lessons in schools, the thought of being in front of a room full of students used to be terrifying. But he knew what it would have meant to him at 14 to see a disabled person teaching his class.

“My experience in education [in the 1980s] was not immensely positive,” Halpin says. “I was bullied a lot at school because of my disability. Not by my peers but by the staff … When I had to flag an access [problem], I was told I was only disabled when it suited me. It was not a supportive place to be. Music education was my one salvation.”

Representation in the arts

At charity Drake Music, we wanted to look at the representation of disabled people in music education. But finding the data was problematic. Figures from Arts Council England [pdf] show that only 4% of the wider arts workforce identify as disabled. UK Music’s diversity research did not include disability in its survey.

In an attempt to improve knowledge in this area, we spoke to 36 music education hubs [pdf] about their workforce. Music hubs are groups of organisations – such as local authorities, schools, art organisations and voluntary organisations – working together to provide music education. They are so varied that making direct comparisons between them is difficult, but it gave us some idea about disability representation.

A third of the hubs said they had at least one paid member of staff who self reported as disabled. One in five (22%) were paid music leaders. There was a wide range of understanding and experience of disability, and each hub was at a different stage in providing truly inclusive music education services. But we were heartened to see that many recognised the importance of the topic. One respondent told us: “You are opening up a discussion we need to have.”

Diverse populations need teachers from a range of ages, backgrounds, experiences and communities. A more balanced and representative workforce creates relatable role models and opens the door to new possibilities for young people. It makes space for positive, constructive debate about the best teaching methods and approaches for working with young disabled people, and it combats negative perceptions and misunderstandings.

We know that music is a powerful force for many of the disabled people we work with. If made accessible, it can be a space for self-expression and offer a way in to a world of creative opportunities. That doesn’t happen enough.

Change cannot be affected by one organisation, or by a single policy, but will take many small movements across music education. There is increasing recognition that making music education more inclusive is important. This month, Youth Music launched the Alliance for a Musically Inclusive England, promoting diversity and cultural democracy in music education. Accessible practice is taking centre stage at conferences such as Music Mark. And there is recognition of the problem of declining music provision in schools more broadly.

From: https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2018/apr/13/music-education-should-be-inclusive-so-where-are-the-disabled-teacher

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