Figures from the ministry showed that despite the expanding network of educational facilities for people with disabilities, the distribution of these centers remained uneven across regions.
Many localities lacked these educational facilities due to a shortage of strategic planning.
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A teacher gives a student with disability a lesson at Tien Lu School of Rehabilitation and Vocational Training for People with Disabilities in Northern Hung Yen Province. |
Reports by the National Special Education Research Center showed that as of 2023, there were 14 inclusive education development support centers, 25 provincial-level specialized schools, and 23 district-level specialized schools across the country.
Among these, only 2.9% of schools were designed to provide access for disabled children, and just 9.9% had sanitary facilities suitable for people with disabilities. Only one sixth of primary schools and one tenth of secondary schools had teachers trained to provide inclusive education for disabled children, and only one seventh of kindergarten teachers were trained to care for and nurture disabled children.
Deputy Minister of Education Ngo Thi Thi Minh said to improve opportunities for individuals with disabilities in education, the network of specialized educational facilities and inclusive education development support centers must be adequate in terms of structure, quantity and quality to meet the educational needs of people with disabilities in all regions of the country.
The specific goal would be to have at least one inclusive education development support center in 50% of localities across the nation by 2025 and 100% by 2030.
There are many opinions regarding the issue.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) representative in Vietnam suggested that in addition to comprehensive solutions, there should be a strong emphasis on raising public awareness about inclusive education for disabled children.
The Vietnam Blind Association recommended that individuals with disabilities should have opportunities to work at inclusive education development support centers. The Vietnam Deaf Association proposed that the planning should pay attention to all levels of education to ensure that people with disabilities have opportunities for higher education.
Furthermore, some opinions highlighted the need for additional focus on individuals with autism and policies to enable disabled individuals to work in businesses.
Deputy Minister Minh acknowledged the importance of these contribution, as feasible and convincing planning was essential for practical implementation.
Planning should have clear criteria for establishing specialized educational facilities for people with disabilities and must ensure a correct and comprehensive understanding of the roles and responsibilities of inclusive education development support centers, she said.
The education official also emphasized the interconnectedness and the challenges posed by planning and development of specialized databases for people with disabilities and the inclusive education development support center system.
The ministry has conducted an initial assessment of the current situation and begun drafting the planning, she added.
However, feedback was required from representatives of relevant ministries and agencies, experts, as well as specialized education institutions. This was necessary for comprehensive and feasible planning, she said.
Source: VNA