With the adoption of the new Law on Primary Education in 2019, as well as the adoption of the Concept for Inclusive Education by the Ministry of Education and Science, the state made a big step towards recognising the right to inclusive education of children with disability and special educational needs and set a solid framework for the upcoming reform processes.
The two most significant initiatives, which are being implemented within the reform processes in education and refer to pupils with disability are:
- Transformation of the special primary schools in primary schools with resource centres which have extremely important role in accordance with their responsibilities for support of the reform process.
- Employment of 500 educational assistants who should provide direct support to children with disability and the teaching staff in the mainstream educational process (according to data from the Ministry of Education and Science approximately 800 children with disability are included in the mainstream educational process). The engagement of the educational assistant should greatly facilitate the work of the teachers and free the families from paying for assistants.
Recognising this, the state clearly sets the intention for creating systematic approach in providing conditions for every child to receive equal opportunity for inclusion in the regular educational process.
Despite the positive changes in the legal framework and the progress in educational policies, the research conducted by the Republic Centre – PORAKA on the progress in the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities shows that a more serious initiative is needed to improve educational inclusion. Considering that concrete actions like engagement of educational assistants, began in the second half of 2021, it is still early to assess the success of the policies and to predict the effects, but positive outcomes are expected.
The research also shows that a strong political will and commitment of the stakeholders in the reform is needed, in order to implement the initiatives that have been started, and to maintain what has been achieved within optimal frameworks. But the fact remains that to achieve fully inclusive education, the state should take additional measures and investments to improve the infrastructure, adapt the curricula, raise awareness, and special attention should be given to strengthening and training the teaching staff. In that direction, individual good practices for improving the inclusion of children with disabilities in preschool education and training of the kindergarten staff by certain organisations have been observed.
It is especially important to create conditions for overcoming the existing difference relating the right to education, which depends on the level of disability. According to the statements of parents, the inclusion in the mainstream educational system is still possible only for children with mild intellectual disability and for a certain small number of children with moderate intellectual disability, while other children, especially those with severe and profound intellectual disability are not at all included in the education system.
Recommendations:
- Provision of all necessary material, financial, infrastructural and human resources for full compliance with the positive legal framework for inclusive education and complete abandonment of the current practice to segregate pupils with intellectual disability in segregated educational settings.
- Providing opportunities and support for every child/person with intellectual disability to be included in an education programme, regardless the level of disability.
- Introducing new methodologies for working with children with disability in the educational system and updating the curricula according to the requirements of the labour market.
- Provision of adequate support, resources and qualified training for teachers and support staff to encourage inclusion.
- Ensuring universal accessibility to educational facilities and premises, at all educational levels.
- Raising awareness among teaching staff, school children and their parents regarding the rights and needs of children with intellectual disability.
