12,500 special students enter mainstream schools

Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan at the opening of ABLITIESme Exhibition at ADNEC, Abu Dhabi. –KT photo by Shoaib Anwer

Abu Dhabi - More than 12,500 special needs students are now included in mainstream schools, education officials said on Tuesday.

Marwan Ahmad Al Sawaleh, undersecretary of the Ministry of Education (MoE), said more than 7,000 students with handicap and learning disabilities are attending classes at MoE schools.

“‘School is for all’ is the concept we focus on by having legislations and procedures, and 2015 is the year we’ll achieve this,” he stated.

According to Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec), the government schools in Abu Dhabi are an example of the “success of inclusion” with about 5,500 students now attending Adec schools. She said the number of public schools providing education for special needs has increased to 202 in 2014, up by 40 per cent from 2010.

Citing the Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (SCAD) report, she said the number of special needs students included at Abu Dhabi schools has increased by 103.3 per cent in 2014 from 2010.

“The increase in public education during 2013-2014 is 99 per cent compared to 2010. This confirmed the commitment by Adec to provide the best opportunities for all special needs students in the UAE,” Dr Al Qubaisi said, noting that Adec schools are capable of dealing with 20 different types of disabilities including audio-visual, autism, mental and other behavioural disorders.

Speaking during the opening day of the ABILITIESme 2015 Conference and Exhibition, she called on all establishments, both private and public, to “open their gates, to train and provide jobs to those with special needs, benefit from their talents and give them the opportunity to contribute in building this country”.

Disabilities

Mariam Saif Al Qubaisi, head of special needs sector at Zayed Higher Organisation for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs (ZHO), said there are currently about 21,956 disabled people in the UAE, 11,606 of whom are in Abu Dhabi.

According to the 2010 Disability report, there were more than one billion people with disability around the world or 15 per cent of the population. “Disability is on the rise,” said Shaikha Dr Alya Al Qassimi, director of Social Programmes and Inclusion at the Dubai Community Development Authority. “But the reassuring part of it is that 80 per cent of people with disability can function and contribute in the community with very minor intervention,” she stated.

SCAD figures showed that 97.6 per cent of special needs students are enrolled in public schools, 1.6 per cent in private and .8 per cent in adult education centres.

Perception

Dr Al Qassimi said people perceive disabilities differently. She cited the United Nations models of perception, which included the charity model, where people “feel sorry” for them; the medical model, where the individuals with disability have problems “that need to be fixed”; the social model where he/she is treated as a subject and valued, different but still part of the community; and the right-based model, where society has to identify the barriers and challenges and mitigate them for the disabled.

According to her, the most common perception is the medical model but the ideal perception is that of the social model in order to make “inclusion a reality.”

Themed ‘Inclusion’, ABILITIESme Conference and Exhibition event was inaugurated on Tuesday by Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development and Honorary President of the Future Centre for Special Needs in Abu Dhabi.

“We live in a nation and country that is keen on enabling its sons and daughters, and providing them with a decent life where they can enjoy education, employment, health care and fully contribute to society opportunities,” said Shaikh Nahyan in his opening speech.

One of the key challenges is to transform our society and our view towards people with special needs from the typical “disabled persons” to “individuals with distinctive capabilities,” and this is the main reason for our support for “capable”, he added.

The two-day exhibition and conference showcases the latest advances in mobility, independent living, assistive technology and rehabilitation solutions. The annual event is currently being held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec). -olivia@khaleejtimes.com