Inclusive education, key to promoting rights

Ariful Islam was born blind to a poor family that lacked the resources to care for him. With the help of a NGO, he joined the School of Happy World where he could learn to read and write Braille, and gained independent living skills. Ariful is an incredible boy, with a big heart and modest expectations. He has become confident moving around without any help, and loves to make new friends. His spirit is a happy one, and he is often found making jokes and laughing.
Though the boy managed to get education, there are many other disabled children who had been deprived of education across the country.
Parents are not favourable to education of their disabled children mainly due to their financial condition and superstition surrounding the disability.  In many cases, disabled children are barred from admitting into schools due to opposition by teachers and students though there is no law restricting their admission into inclusive school. It has been reported that a visually impaired youth was admitted into an inclusive college, but later he had to leave the college due to opposition by the college authorities.       
Every child has the right to learn together; all children are equal and should have the opportunity to celebrate and value their own and others' endeavor; and all children should have equal access to resources. Inclusive education ensures equalization of opportunities and participation of all. Children, who learn together, learn to live together. Inclusive education is needed to ensure the rights of the disabled children.   
Inclusive education is based on the right of all learners to a quality education that meets basic learning needs and enriches lives. Focusing particularly on vulnerable and marginalized groups, it seeks to develop the full potential of every individual. The ultimate goal of inclusive quality education is to end all forms of discrimination and foster social cohesion.  Inclusive education means that all students in a school, regardless of their strengths or weaknesses in any area, become part of the school community. They are included in the feeling of belonging among other students, teachers, and support staff.
Inclusive education ensures a sense of belongingness to the diverse human family, provides a diverse stimulating environment in which to grow and learn, enables development of friendships, provides opportunities to develop neighborhood friends, enhances self-respect, provides affirmations of individuality, provides peer models and provides opportunities to be educated with same-age peers.  
  The principle of inclusive education was adopted at the World Conference on Special Needs Education: Access and Quality (Salamanca, Spain, 1994) and was restated at the World Education Forum (Dakar, Senegal, 2000). The idea of inclusion is further supported by the UN Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities proclaiming participation and equality for all.
Education is not only a fundamental right but also a basic necessity to be able to participate and flourish in one's community. All children have a right to education. Children with disability are no exception. No matter how serious or severe their disability may be, children should be able to tap into their fullest potential. It is specifically stated in Article 23 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child that disabled children have a right to enjoy a full and decent life, in conditions that promote independence and community inclusion.
Child Sight Foundation (CSF) have recently reviewed (mid term evaluation report of community based rehabilitation and education programme of CSF) childhood blindness situation in Bangladesh. "Our review found the following: Two Bangladesh studies Rahman 2004 and Anam 2002 indicate that 96% of disabled children do not attend school. Within the 4 % that do attend school, only 13% are visually impaired. It is obvious that a huge need exists to increase the opportunities to attend school for disable and visually impaired children in Bangladesh".
CSF said traditionally, disability has been seen as a medical concern. However, there is a growing realisation that the greatest problems facing children with disabilities are prejudice, social isolation and discrimination in society. Disability is a barrier to education. But the problems related to attitude, accessibility to existing facilities/options and awareness level of others also act as barriers for education of the girls and women with disabilities.
Many of the schools are not open to the idea of education of children with disabilities; even if a few students are casually included, they encounter negative treatment where the peer students are not sensitized on disability issues and  teachers have no training.
The overall reality in Bangladesh is that of an unequal educational system, a rigid and learner-unfriendly education curriculum, deficiencies in the physical facilities and learning environment, teachers without adequate professional skills and without motivation to do their best, compounded by their ignorance and a lack of awareness of parents and community members.
The reasons also include absence of personal assistance in school and absence of clearly stated policy guidance.
Mohammad Harunur Rashid, vice chairman of the National Federation of the Blind, said there is lack of supporting education and other materials for the visually impaired students, which is hampering their education.     
Most of the visually impaired people are poor, hence their parents discourage them for their education thinking their education as worthless. Instead of arranging education for children, the parents use their visually impaired children in earning activities such as begging on street, said Harun, adding that cost of education and movement outside homes for visually impaired people is more than normal people. It is very tough for poor parents of visually impaired children to send their children for education.
Education is vital to empower disabled people. Only education can give disabled the end means to alleviate themselves from poverty and bring them into the mainstream of the society. The empowerment of disabled and their equal participation in society is absolutely necessary for attaining real development.
Realising the importance of education, international and national bodies and laws advocated for education of all children highlighting its importance.     The Asia Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (1993-2002), the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the National Constitution of Bangladesh, the most recent Education policy of Bangladesh (1997) and Salamanca Declaration of 1994 emphasized on ensuring education for all children on the principle of equal opportunity, the purpose of which is to develop the full potential, tolerance and gender equity of children.
The educational institutions need to be adequately prepared both to increase enrolment and to meet the challenges of quality education for children with different disabilities, including visual impairment. The general teachers should have the knowledge of curricular adaptation techniques while teaching and they should know the techniques of involving a visually impaired child in co-curricular activities.  There is need to address the training needs of general teachers in managing children with visual impairment in their schools. The government and all others should take necessary measures for ensuring education for the disabled children in the country's interest.
The writer is a journalist, email:  [email protected]