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States News Service
February 6, 2013 Wednesday
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES CAN TRANSFORM
LIVES, SAYS UNICEF
NEW YORK
The following information was released by the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF):
Progressive policies in inclusive education have made positive changes
in the lives of children with disabilities in Central and Eastern
Europe and Central Asia, according to UNICEF today.
More schools are welcoming first grade children with disabilities in
Serbia as a result of years of policy advocacy. Huge nationwide
awareness raising campaigns in Montenegro and strong engagement of
civil society in promoting inclusion in Armenia have led to increased
public demands for inclusive schools, UNICEF said.
At a briefing focusing on the issue of children with disabilities this
week during a meeting of UNICEF's Executive Board in New York, other
governments and donor communities were urged to support policies that
realized all children's right to quality education as one way to
reduce inequities created by social exclusion.
Countries highlighted their achievements to the President of the
UNICEF Executive Board and Permanent Representative of Finland to the
United Nations H.E. Jarmo Viinanen, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony
Lake, Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe and the
Commonwealth of Independent States Marie Pierre Poirier, and members
of UNICEF Executive Board and permanent missions from the region.
Mr. Viinanen focused on the importance of the right to education
irrespective of disabilities, colour, sex, language, religion or
economic background. "We cannot afford leaving any child outside
schools. Every child must have an equal right to basic education," he
said.
He shared some Finnish experiences in education with the audience: "In
Finland basic education is completely free of charge including also
school meals and materials, health care and commuting. The aim is that
all children including children with disabilities could attend the
same schools. The school network is regionally extensive and a lot of
emphasis has been given to the quality training of motivated teachers.
Qualified teachers are instrumental to successful inclusive
education."
"The examples shown today clearly demonstrate that we know how to make
schools welcoming for children with disabilities. But much more needs
to be done. Current policies common across many countries mean that
children with disabilities are often hidden behind closed doors," said
Ms. Poirier of UNICEF.
"They endure stigma instead of discovering their talents. They are
left out of birth registers and become invisible. And even when
children with disabilities have access to education, they are excluded
from regular schools or often segregated in special schools, away from
their families and communities," she said.
The key achievements cited at the briefing included:
Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development from
Serbia, Dr. Zarko Obradovic described innovations such as the Network
for Inclusive Education where the government and over 50 teachers,
school psychologists, pedagogues and the members of national civil
society groups work together with the National Monitoring Framework
that tracks progress in reducing inequities in education. Some 15,000
teachers, or a fifth of the total, have now been trained. A third of
Serbian primary schools increased enrolment of children with
disabilities into the first grade in 2010.
The Permanent Representative of Armenia, H.E. Garen Nazarian, speaking
on behalf of the government focused on the importance of making a
strategic shift from grassroots school-level work to a comprehensive
policy effort, including the transformation of special schools.
Deputy Minister of Education and Sports from Montenegro, Ms. Vesna
Vucurovic outlined a three-year advocacy campaign reaching 80 per cent
of the population. One in four people surveyed said they had changed
their behaviour and are now more accepting that children with
disabilities are included in mainstream schools and society.
UNICEF welcomed greater focus by the donor community on more inclusive
assistance programmes, which in the area of inclusive education and
children with disabilities was currently being led by the Government
of Australia.
The 2011 World Disability Report estimated the number of children with
disabilities at 5.1 per cent of the population. This means about 93
million children in the world and about 5.1 million in Central and
Eastern Europe and Central Asia. However, these figures only represent
very gross estimates and should be treated with caution. In most
cases, the underlying national data should be improved in quality and
collected using up-to-date definitions and consistent methods to
provide a reliable picture.
Children continue to remain invisible whether they are excluded from
education, or segregated within the mainstream or make up the more
than 600,000 children in institutions, which is still a common
approach in many countries of the region.
A UNICEF paper The Right of Children with Disabilities to Education: A
Rights-Based Approach to Inclusive Education was presented at the
briefing detailing how inclusive education promotes tolerance and
equal participation in society. It leads to better learning outcomes,
not only for children with disabilities but for all children. It is
central to the achievement of high quality education for all learners,
reducing inequities and building more inclusive societies.
All students, including children with disabilities, require
individualized services and approaches to learning. Inclusive
education does not require special schools, specialized care,
expensive materials or highly technical expertise.
UNICEF is working with governments to support families to prevent
separation; end placement of children in large-scale institutions; as
well as provide quality inclusive education. Inclusive education means
each and every child - with or without disability, rich or poor,
regardless of gender, ethnic, religious, cultural origins - is able to
attend a neighbourhood school, which fully nurtures every child's
potential.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
February 6, 2013 Wednesday
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES CAN TRANSFORM
LIVES, SAYS UNICEF
NEW YORK
The following information was released by the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF):
Progressive policies in inclusive education have made positive changes
in the lives of children with disabilities in Central and Eastern
Europe and Central Asia, according to UNICEF today.
More schools are welcoming first grade children with disabilities in
Serbia as a result of years of policy advocacy. Huge nationwide
awareness raising campaigns in Montenegro and strong engagement of
civil society in promoting inclusion in Armenia have led to increased
public demands for inclusive schools, UNICEF said.
At a briefing focusing on the issue of children with disabilities this
week during a meeting of UNICEF's Executive Board in New York, other
governments and donor communities were urged to support policies that
realized all children's right to quality education as one way to
reduce inequities created by social exclusion.
Countries highlighted their achievements to the President of the
UNICEF Executive Board and Permanent Representative of Finland to the
United Nations H.E. Jarmo Viinanen, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony
Lake, Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe and the
Commonwealth of Independent States Marie Pierre Poirier, and members
of UNICEF Executive Board and permanent missions from the region.
Mr. Viinanen focused on the importance of the right to education
irrespective of disabilities, colour, sex, language, religion or
economic background. "We cannot afford leaving any child outside
schools. Every child must have an equal right to basic education," he
said.
He shared some Finnish experiences in education with the audience: "In
Finland basic education is completely free of charge including also
school meals and materials, health care and commuting. The aim is that
all children including children with disabilities could attend the
same schools. The school network is regionally extensive and a lot of
emphasis has been given to the quality training of motivated teachers.
Qualified teachers are instrumental to successful inclusive
education."
"The examples shown today clearly demonstrate that we know how to make
schools welcoming for children with disabilities. But much more needs
to be done. Current policies common across many countries mean that
children with disabilities are often hidden behind closed doors," said
Ms. Poirier of UNICEF.
"They endure stigma instead of discovering their talents. They are
left out of birth registers and become invisible. And even when
children with disabilities have access to education, they are excluded
from regular schools or often segregated in special schools, away from
their families and communities," she said.
The key achievements cited at the briefing included:
Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development from
Serbia, Dr. Zarko Obradovic described innovations such as the Network
for Inclusive Education where the government and over 50 teachers,
school psychologists, pedagogues and the members of national civil
society groups work together with the National Monitoring Framework
that tracks progress in reducing inequities in education. Some 15,000
teachers, or a fifth of the total, have now been trained. A third of
Serbian primary schools increased enrolment of children with
disabilities into the first grade in 2010.
The Permanent Representative of Armenia, H.E. Garen Nazarian, speaking
on behalf of the government focused on the importance of making a
strategic shift from grassroots school-level work to a comprehensive
policy effort, including the transformation of special schools.
Deputy Minister of Education and Sports from Montenegro, Ms. Vesna
Vucurovic outlined a three-year advocacy campaign reaching 80 per cent
of the population. One in four people surveyed said they had changed
their behaviour and are now more accepting that children with
disabilities are included in mainstream schools and society.
UNICEF welcomed greater focus by the donor community on more inclusive
assistance programmes, which in the area of inclusive education and
children with disabilities was currently being led by the Government
of Australia.
The 2011 World Disability Report estimated the number of children with
disabilities at 5.1 per cent of the population. This means about 93
million children in the world and about 5.1 million in Central and
Eastern Europe and Central Asia. However, these figures only represent
very gross estimates and should be treated with caution. In most
cases, the underlying national data should be improved in quality and
collected using up-to-date definitions and consistent methods to
provide a reliable picture.
Children continue to remain invisible whether they are excluded from
education, or segregated within the mainstream or make up the more
than 600,000 children in institutions, which is still a common
approach in many countries of the region.
A UNICEF paper The Right of Children with Disabilities to Education: A
Rights-Based Approach to Inclusive Education was presented at the
briefing detailing how inclusive education promotes tolerance and
equal participation in society. It leads to better learning outcomes,
not only for children with disabilities but for all children. It is
central to the achievement of high quality education for all learners,
reducing inequities and building more inclusive societies.
All students, including children with disabilities, require
individualized services and approaches to learning. Inclusive
education does not require special schools, specialized care,
expensive materials or highly technical expertise.
UNICEF is working with governments to support families to prevent
separation; end placement of children in large-scale institutions; as
well as provide quality inclusive education. Inclusive education means
each and every child - with or without disability, rich or poor,
regardless of gender, ethnic, religious, cultural origins - is able to
attend a neighbourhood school, which fully nurtures every child's
potential.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress