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At the seminar |
Deputy Minister of Education and Training Ngo Thi Minh chaired the seminar to seek opinions on the planning of the system of educational facilities for people with disabilities and inclusive education development support centers in the 2021-2030 period with a vision to 2050.
According to a report by the National Center for Special Education Research, regular schools are not ready to accept autistic students whereas there are 14 inclusive education development support centers by 2023 across the country, some 25 provincial-level special education schools, and 23 district-level special schools. Of these, only 2.9 percent of schools are designed for children with disabilities and 9.9 percent of schools have disability-inclusive and disability-accessible water and sanitation facilities.
Moreover, only 1/6 of primary schools and 1/10 of secondary schools have teachers who receive appropriate training to inclusively teach children with disabilities and 1/7 of preschool teachers have qualifications and experience in caring for disabled children.
According to assessments, the system of special centers is both lacking in quantity and unevenly distributed across regions. Many provinces and cities still do not have educational facilities for people with disabilities, but they are facing difficulties in establishing these facilities due to a lack of strategy and systematic planning; therefore, they failed to mobilize social financial contributions.
To help people with disabilities have better opportunities in education and to ensure fairness in access to education, the national overall goal is to develop a network of specialized educational establishments for people with disabilities and inclusive education development support centers to meet the needs of people with disabilities in accessing educational services in all localities throughout the country.
The Ministry of Education and Training aimed that at least 50 percent of provinces and cities in the country will have at least one center for inclusive education development support by 2025. By 2030, all provinces and cities nationwide will have at least one special educational center for these children.
Many seminar participants agreed with a planning system of educational facilities for people with disabilities and a system of centers for the development of inclusive education. A representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Vietnam said that, in addition to comprehensive solutions, it is necessary to promote public communication and raise awareness about inclusive education for children with disabilities.
According to some participants, it is necessary to pay more attention to autistic children because currently there are almost no centers to care for and support autistic children. At the same time, there needs to be a policy to help people with disabilities get a job.
