Goals and targets of Priority Area 3, Early detection, Early Intervention and Education, Biwako Millennium Framework
Millennium Development Goal
In this priority area the Millennium Development Goal is to ensure that by the year 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling and that girls and boys will have equal access to all levels of education
Targets
Target 6. Children and youth with disabilities will be an integral part of the population targeted by the Millennium Development Goal of ensuring that by 2015 all boys and girls will complete a full course of primary schooling
Target 7. At least 75 per cent of children and youth with disabilities will, by 2010, be able to complete a full course of primary schooling
Target 8. By 2012, all infants and young children (birth to four years old) will have access to, and receive community-based early intervention services, with support and training for their families
School and community
Non-governmental organizations should engage with ministry of education officials to ensure that they are aware of, and participating in, the non-government projects on including children with disabilities in education
Disabled peoples’ organizations should advocate to ministry of education officials to fulfil the right to the education of children with disabilities by including them in national education policies and schools
Parents should advocate for the inclusion of their children in local community schools within the national education system
Lessons learned: Moving forward towards inclusive education for children with disabilities
International and regional mandates such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Dakar Framework for Action on Education For All and the Biwako Millennium Framework are important catalysts for change For their benefits to be maximized they should be implemented and monitored at the regional level within a framework of capacity building and support to governments by the respective United Nations and other development agencies, such as UNESCO, UNICEF, UNESCAP and the World Bank
Good examples from the UNESCO Bangkok office have included awareness training for EFA coordinators and UNESCO country officers on the importance of including children with disabilities in Education For All and national education planning, monitoring and evaluation processes In 2004 and 2005, EFA coordinators attended UNESCO Regional Workshops on Inclusive Education in Asia and the Pacific
Advocacy to government by organizations of persons with disabilities, and parent groups, has been effective in influencing policies on education to make them more inclusive Non-governmental organizations working to include children with disabilities in community schools can also play an important role in advocating for change and demonstrating strategies that are effective
22 Towards Inclusive Education for Children with Disabilities: A Guideline
The Cook Islands government ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1999 and as a direct result of signing this convention in 2000 appointed a Special Needs Education Adviser to develop a national policy and action plan for special needs education The policy established closer links between the special classes and the regular schools to encourage the placement of children with disabilities in regular schools, with support to the classroom teachers provided by teachers with special training A programme of in-service training was set up to prepare teachers in regular classes to teach children with different abilities The pre-service teacher training curriculum for regular teachers was modified to include the teaching strategies needed for teaching children with a wider range of abilities
Checklist
1 Has the government of your country signed or adopted any of the following mandates or agreements? n Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) n UN Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (1993) n Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action (1994) n Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons and the Agenda for Action (1993-2002), with its targets on education n Biwako Millennium Framework targets on education in the second Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (2003-2012) n Dakar Framework for Action on Education for All (2000) 2 Can you summarize the rights to education contained in these mandates?
3 Has your government taken any action to include children with disabilities in the national education system and regular community schools as a direct result of adopting these agreements?
4 What organizations have been engaged in advocacy to government on the issue of the right to education of children with disabilities?
5 How can these organizations work together to advocate more effectively for change that will lead to more children with disabilities attending regular schools on the same basis as non-disabled children attend?
6 What forms of advocacy would be effective to encourage government to move towards adopting a policy of inclusive education, with particular focus on the inclusion of children with disabilities?
7 Are there any non-government initiated pilot projects to implement inclusive education? Does the ministry of education work in partnership on these projects?
8 Is there a mechanism within government to consult with organizations of persons with disabilities on issues concerning children with disabilities?
23 Formulating Policy, Enacting Legislation and Allocating Budgetary Resources
Chapter 2 Formulating Policy, Enacting Legislation and Allocating Budgetary Resources
A. Formulating policy The challenge
The Dakar Framework for Action (2000) has required all countries to develop national EFA policy and action plans, responding to the six EFA goals (Annex 1) Although none of the goals refer specifically to children with disabilities, they are included implicitly in the second goal This states that countries should ensure that all children have access to, and complete, free and compulsory primary education of good quality If children with disabilities, and other out-of-school children from disadvantaged groups, are not included in national policies and action plans then this goal, and the Millennium Development Goal on education, will never be achieved For countries with enrolment rates of 90 per cent and higher, this can be a motivating force for educational reform, as governments realize that “more of the same” strategies will not help them reach full enrolment
For these goals to be achieved, considerable reform of national education policy is going to be necessary Educational reform is most easily carried out where there is broad agreement about the need for change, clear understanding of the principles upon which it is based, and willingness by those required to carry out the actions necessary to achieve the change The national social, political, economic and educational context will determine the ease with which it is possible to adapt to changing times and adopt principles of equity to underpin education policy
Important factors for consideration in policy development will include:
u The need to be increasingly responsive to the issue of human rights in education, acceptance that every child has a right to education and that exclusion from school raises concerns about equity and discrimination;
u The current educational provision for children with disabilities; the extent to which education is provided by government or an NGO, and whether it is in a system of separate schools, or moving towards a system of inclusive education in regular classes; familiarity with the principles and practice of including children with a wide range of abilities in regular classes;
u The attitudes to persons with disabilities in the wider community and in school communities; the preparedness of schools to undertake the changes that are necessary to make schools inclusive and capable of providing quality education that enables all students to achieve good learning outcomes, and the articulation of strategies to achieve this;
u The strength of organizations of persons with disabilities and parent organizations, and the willingness of governments to consult widely with them, and with other concerned community agencies and organizations, harnessing their expertise to guide the development of strategies to achieve inclusive schools
24 Towards Inclusive Education for Children with Disabilities: A Guideline
Barriers for children with disabilities
u The use of the blanket terms “vulnerable”, “disadvantaged” and “children in difficult circumstances” in the six EFA goals of the Dakar Framework make it difficult for policy-makers to respond to the needs of the hidden children in these diverse groups
u The right to education is accepted in principle, but the rights are clearly viewed as hierarchical Steps to address the right to education for children with disabilities are seldom taken until all non-disabled children are enrolled in school Children with disabilities are not viewed as having equal rights
u Although governments are moving to address the issue of the education of children with disabilities, there is in some contexts a view of disability as being a “charity and welfare” issue Advocacy by parents and organizations of people with disabilities is not welcomed In this situation, the inclusion of children with disabilities will remain superficial, outside the national system and lacking full commitment to making the necessary changes
u Children with disabilities are frequently not included in national policies, and where they are identified as a target group, it may be in relation to a limited aspect of education such as early childhood education or education in special schools
u National plans are often prepared by governments without proper consultatio