Inclusive Education

In Pakistan the education system has some important strengths but it is not yet so strong that each and every person gets access to education. The social and economic reasons preventing some groups from accessing education are huge and complex.  

In such a context education for people with disabilities, in a friendly and appropriate environment, is particularly difficult to achieve and as yet, is far from being seen as a basic right. Despite the presence of many institutes and organizations working to promote education for the PWDs, few aim to achieve equality of education with the able-bodied.

One of the problems is that from the moment of birth parents are conditioned through social stigma to keep their children out of sight. To educate them would mean bringing them into public view and there are very real fears that people will make fun of their disabilities. Parents try to protect their children from such experiences but the result can be an isolated and hidden existence.  

Our research shows that parents can also be discouraged by the logistical challenges of taking physically disabled children to and from school safely. Many poorer families have no access to private transport and finding workable alternatives can be time consuming, particularly when both parents may need to hold down jobs in order to provide for both their PWDs and able-bodied children.

While there are some families that want person with disabilities (PWDs) to be educated, the shortage of inclusive institutions means the best option available to them is to try and secure a place at an institution which caters exclusively for those with disabilities. These institutions can be effective and also promote the value of education.

The Effectiveness of Inclusive Education

Whilst some educational opportunities are available within institutions that cater specifically for person with disabilities (PWDs), educating PWDs in inclusive educational facility brings the advantage of enabling children to expand their circle of fellowship and interaction both able-bodied and PWDs. We have seen this develop confidence when parents then visit the school or program and see able-bodied and This in turn brings  inclusive education brings opportunity for the community to develop through the positive interaction of the parents visiting the institute. Group work and activities can be worked out very thoroughly in the inclusive education system. In the inclusive education system children can get through a healthy environment and friendly competition. It brings the positive attitude of learning and the confidence of the PWDs to its best level. Their bowl of depending on others gets emptied. It encourages other people to bring their PWDs to such friendly and most suitable environment for the education. In such healthy atmosphere and seeing the other non-disable children working well the PWDs try to compete them and thus their skills and talents come out with its complete flow. Competing with the other non-disable children and winning them makes their intellectual and self-confidence brighter. The inclusive education system encourages the PWDs students to complete their studies and do not run out of it without completing their education. The completion of the education and studies allows the PWDs students to be employed and get good standard income for their earning. Such institutes always bring new and friendly teaching methods for the teachers and for the students to equally treat and be treated. These methods make the teaching and the learning easy to absorb.

SATH Foundation wants to do:

SATH Foundation is also focusing on the inclusive education system to develop the skills and talents of the students. SATH Foundation has plans to work on:

 Awareness programs to develop the inclusive education system among the society through seminars and meetings.

 Visiting door to door, colleges and schools for the motivations and to gather the strength

 Diagnosing the levels of disabilities and providing the environment and facilities for the students accordingly

 Teacher’s Training programs for Government and private teachers to teach them methods effective for the inclusive education

 Inviting child specialist doctors and the heads of other inclusive systems for the meetings and talks on the radio programs

 Meetings with political and government representatives to share about the work we do and to share the budget for the system

  Using our theater facilities for the awareness programs

 Distributing the pamphlets, booklets or leaflets about our inclusive education efforts

 Documenting all the work on the CDs or DVDs or in writings; saving the tools that       

      are used to work