Rozina Akter has three children. Two of them are disabled. Her husband believes that there’s no need to spend time on them. Instead, he believed she should get a job so that they can earn more money. Rozina finally stopped taking her children to school seven months after their admission, and started working at a garment factory. Poverty and negative attitudes of the family as well as society destroy the hopes and aspirations of children with disabilities.
There are many children with disabilities (CWDs) living in our society, and they are deprived of the opportunities non-disabled children usually get. School is an important place where children adapt themselves in the socialisation process through mutual sharing with their peers and teachers. If CWDs keep staying at home, they fail to learn how to socialise.
In some cases, guardians send them to special schools, even though very limited numbers of CWDs get this chance. Disabled children are able, but differently, and therefore they need extra care and opportunities compared to their non-disabled peers. A new idea known as inclusive education has been developed and practised abroad where disabled students are included in mainstream education.
In this approach, children with and without disabilities participate and learn together in the same class. The teacher takes classes of all of the students in regular classroom settings instead of segregating the CWDs in special classrooms. This means that all students are welcomed by their neighbourhood schools to attend regular classes and are supported to learn, contribute, and participate in all aspects of their school life.
This is important not only for the disabled students, but also for marginalised students. In this way, disabled and other marginalised students learn to live alongside their non-disabled peers. They learn, play, and grow up together. In an inclusive classroom, children with disabilities have a chance to feel like the other kids and get more opportunities to make friends.
The chance to achieve alongside their peers without disabilities can help their self-esteem. With the support of a skilled teacher, they may become more socially competent and feel less isolated. Students, who do not have disabilities may gain greater understanding and empathy of others, as they learn to accept and appreciate students with disabilities.
There are many challenges to promote inclusive education in Bangladesh. Lack of access to school buildings and toilets, substantial space in classrooms, proper lighting, and suitable blackboards are major barriers for CWDS to study in regular schools. Physically and visually impaired children face problems in this situation. The teachers in the existing schools do not know sign language and the Braille system. Due to lack of these skills, teachers cannot teach children with visual and hearing impairment properly.
Existing educational materials such as blackboard, printing map, chalk and slate, books, pictures, etc are developed considering non-disabled students, which are not suitable for students with low vision. In most of the primary schools, there are many students and only one teacher in a class. As a result, the teacher cannot give extra attention to the disabled children.
The primary education curriculum is one of the most important guidelines to implement the primary education system. But in reality, it does not properly support the education of various types of disabled students. Textbooks used in different classes from I to V are not suitable for students with disabilities.
Children with varying degrees and types of impairments are unable to follow the instructions mentioned in the text books. The font size of words in textbooks is too small to read for children with low vision. Above all, there is a lack of awareness about inclusive education for CWDs in the communities and families.
National and international legal instruments provide support for the education of CWDs. The Bangladesh government approves and ratifies UNCRPD, and is thereby accountable and committed to ensuring different rights of disabled people. Bangladesh has introduced acts and policies such as Disabled People’s Rights and Protection Act 2013 and National Education Policy 2010 that support to promote equitable, inclusive, and high-quality education for CWDs and reduce disparity.
The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education has taken some initiatives to promote the inclusive education for CWDs such as training school teachers to teach CWDs, setting ramps in new school buildings so that wheelchair users have easy access to classrooms, etc. The government provides stipends to CWDs so that poor family members are encouraged to send their disabled children to school. Recently, pre-primary sessions have been introduced in primary schools. But, not many CWDs have access to these facilities.
Different kinds of CWDs have different needs. Due to limited resources, it is difficult for the government to bring a vast number of CWDs under mainstream education. Long-term plans and strategies are needed to ensure education of the vast number of CWDs. The government should motivate NGOs and also the corporate sector to work in this regard. Many NGOs have been working to provide formal or informal primary education to poor children. If these NGOs include CWDs in their existing programs, grassroots CWDs will be benefited.
Joint initiatives by the community, NGOs, corporate sector, and the government can ensure inclusive education for CWDs. We should stand by CWDS to build them as resources instead of burdens of our society.
