Over 40% of the children with Special Educational Needs (SENs) are today integrated into secondary schools, while the rest do not attend these and stay at home with the family, being isolated from the community and their mates. Among the main obstacles to applying inclusive education is the resistance put up by society, the parents of students who study in a class with children with SENs and by teachers. The subject was discussed in a press club meeting staged by the Independent Journalism Center, UNICEF and the United Nations in Moldova, IPN reports.
UNICEF Representative in Moldova Nune Mangasaryan said the fact that more than half of the children with SENs haven’t been integrated is due to the society’s attitude because the schools actually have the capacity to include these children in the general education system. “If we want to be a society with equal people, with equal rights, we must ensure full social inclusion, including of children with special needs, in the education system,” she stated.
Nune Mangasaryan noted there are also positive relevant examples in Moldova such as the National Inclusive Education Program owing to which the number of integrated children rose to 44%. Statistics show that the number of children with SENs integrated into schools increased from 1,600 to 7,600 over three years. One of the problems is the fact that some of the teachers do not realize the importance of inclusion. Also, each third child does not understand why a child with SENs should study together with him in the same class and thus do not accept him. To change the situation, the teachers should be further trained, the mentality in society should be changed, while the education institutions should be adjusted.
Education Specialist at UNICEF Moldova Liudmila Lefter said a study shows that 70% of the teachers are afraid to see children with SENs in the class/institution where they work because the situation is unusual.
According to the director of the National Psycho-Pedagogical Assistance Center Virginia Rusnac, they work a lot with teachers in this regard and organize training seminars that involve different specialists. The integration of the children with SENs brings additional results when the teacher goes to get a higher teaching rank. A module on inclusive education was recently introduced in teacher-training education establishments.
Deputy Minister of Education Nadia Cristea said the situation is yet better now than 10 years ago, when only several education institutions accepted children with SENs. In 2010 the Ministry of Education launched the National Inclusive Education Program that encourages the schools to accept such children. “It’s true that 40% is not much, but this plan covers the period until 2020 and there is yet time to make effort to increase this figure,” she stated.
