Speakers of an advocacy meeting, held yesterday, stressed the need to implement the rights of persons disabilities to education as stated in the country’s laws.
The speakers also observed that the rights of millions of children with disabilities are not being upheld, and it has become essential that the state takes measures to ensure that every child gets the opportunity to receive quality education, giving them an equal opportunity to participate in their communities, the workforce and, more broadly, in society.
The meeting, presided over by SPEED Trust Mission Head AHM Shamsul Islam Dipu, was organised to observe the Global Campaign for Education’s Global Action Week, which began on May 4.
Highlighting this year’s theme ‘‘Education and Disability, Equal Right, Equal Opportunity,’’ the event was organised by the Society for People’s Education, Empowerment and Development (SPEED) Trust in collaboration with the Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE) at SPEED Trust office in the city.
The speakers also noted that education is a fundamental human right, and so it includes persons with disabilities, and yet children with disabilities are most likely to drop out of school early.
According to the Education Policy 2010 and Rights and Protection Law 2013, the provision of providing
equal opportunities to disabled persons has yet to be implemented, they added.
They further called for ensuring necessary steps to construct special toilets and tube wells in educational institutions and the production
and distribution of educational and sports materials based on the type of disability.
Appointed teachers should be trained in disability issues and the teaching method should support the learning needs of the disabled person, they observed.
Persons with disabilities should have access to vocational training to enhance their skills so they can participate in the job market more competitively, they suggested.
They also called on the civil society to strengthen the voice on such issues and urged the mass media to highlight the contributions and achievements of persons with disabilities.
Professor M Moazzem Hossain, convener of the Barisal District
Public Policy Forum, attended the meeting as chief guest and Das Gupta Ashish Kumar, regional president of the Teachers’ Association, was the special guest.