The prospect of development of inclusive education was discussed on June, 11, by the Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children`s Rights Nikolay Kuleba, the representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, PMPK, representatives of the City Department of Education, public organizations and parents. The meeting was held at school # 281 of Svyatoshyn district where the system of specialized classes is implemented. The main message of the event has become the need of creation of this kind of concept of education for children with special needs which would be aimed at interests and needs of each child.
“The new approach to the realization of equal rights of each child to gain school education, including children with special needs, will support solving of the problem of providing of qualified and complex education to the Ukrainian disabled children. This is a hot topic as never before – according to data of the Research Institute of social labor relationship on the January, 1, 2013 the quantity of disabled children in Ukraine is more than 167 thousand and the quantity of special children is permanently growing.” – said Nikolay Kuleba.
“We have discussed those moments, which must fully change the system of education. We need the system that will allow children to receive the range of services providing them with life of full value. If a child needs a certain specialist, he has to receive the services of this specialist at public expense. This is a very sensitive moment for many families, after all, the education of a child with special needs is in times more expensive than the education of an ordinary child”, – stressed the director of the Foundation “Child With Future” Larisa Rybchenko.
In order to this kind of education would start to function, it is necessary to determine how many children with these needs are there in Ukraine, which specialists are necessary for comprehensive assistance to these children as well as to solve the problem the matter of financing. Nikolay Kuleba underlined that today the President of Ukraine is directing his efforts on protection of rights and interests of disabled children.
During the meeting participants have esteemed the success and difficulties of functioning of the specialized classes, have listened the opinion about necessity of accompany of children at the transaction from junior to secondary school, have acquainted with those children who are already getting education in these classes of 281 school. Most of these pupils are children with low vision.
“Nikolay Kuleba initiated creation of the expert group that will deal with matters of disabled children. Today we set a task for ourselves to develop a strategy, which will bring the situation of disabled children out of crisis. The task is not simple and requires reconsideration of many matters, one of which is a consolidation of efforts of the state institutions and non-public organizations, parents, shift from mutual blames to cooperation and understanding”, – says the Head of the Association of parents of children with autism Evgeniya Panichevskaya.