Speakers urged the policymakers of the West Asian countries to initiate more facilities for the differently abled to ensure a better and equal future for them.
They made their observations at the two-day West Asian Regional Conference of the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI) held in Dhaka, on Wednesday and Thursday which concludes with the Dhaka Declaration.
Speakers focused on technology, communication and learning strategies to address the diverse needs of learners with disabilities.
They also suggested policy and legislative measures aimed at safeguarding the educational rights and opportunities of persons with disabilities.
Former advisor to the caretaker government Rasheda K Chowdhury while addressing as the chief guest of the final session said: “I announce unity with the Dhaka Declaration. Our government has arranged to study in Braille. Disabled people are under the Ministry of Social Welfare. This is a big policy issue. This needs to be brought under the Ministry of Education.”
“All over we need data to do advocacy and we have a lack of data. Data gives evidence and we need it to present in front of the government. We want to work with disabled people. We also need to think about the mentally retarded. This conference has made a way forward for us. We need leaders for the future. Though this is sad that we can not see further people come forward and lead us,” She added.
Akhil Paul, founder director- Sense India discussed inclusive education briefly and said: “According to Unicef 25 million disabled children are out of education in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. We can not separate two colours after mixing them, likewise the deafblind are also very critical and create intensive issues. We can follow many strategies to infrastructure like accessible schools, accessible toilets, especially for the girls.”
Besides in his paper titled “Accessible to the inclusion of a person with deafblindness- Challenges and Factors Responsible for Success”, he mentioned the adaptation of inclusive setup including braille, side language interpretation, mobile aides, Equip and Enable classroom teachers to develop ownership of children with deaf-blindness etc.
Disability Expert Limia Dewan shared her experience and said: “I started working with disabled people in 2003. It was very tough to start working in this field as there were fewer concerns in this sector. There is still an issue that I have been faced with, disabled people are very mocked by the general people. This language barrier is a very sad reality for us. There is a need to be more concerned about the disabled people in our society because we need to move forward with them.”
An Assistant teacher at Government High School Sagir Hossain Khan shared his struggle and said: “When I was 1.5 years old, I was infected by polio. In 1996, I started my educational journey. Every school had rejected me. They said I would spoil their environment. Finally, I was admitted into a madrassa. I had to go through stairs four to six floors with this situation. I used to be sick in every exam. Now I am a teacher at a government school which is a blessing for me. I teach many disabled students. They are learning but we still do not have access to many learning materials.”
“I have seen town-based improvement but not grassroots level. I have not seen a noticeable improvement in women at the grassroots level. I couldn’t get the chance to go to school after my disability. Though till now there is not much improvement now after 40 years. There is a need to make data in each area and council them. We have many small groups to help disabled families and also talk to the teachers. There is a huge challenge for us about transportation,” Mahua Paul, chairperson, of the Access Bangladesh Foundation talked about her experience with inclusive education in her community.”
“Enhancing access for leaving no one behind in education” was the conference theme.
It was hosted by Bangladesh for the very first time this year.
A total of 25 countries of the Middle East, Central Asia and the Saarc region have gathered and comprised the ICEVI West Asia region.
ICEVI was established in 1951 after World War II to promote the right to quality education for children and young people with visual impairment on shared commitment.