Dubai, October 16: The Ministry of Education will set up 60 schools in the country equipped to include children with special needs otherwise turned away for want of resources.
Integration standards, in accordance with the UAE Disability Act of 2006, are being formulated to enable every child with special needs to be included in public and private schools.
“By next year there will be a total 28 model schools in all emirates and 60 within three years,” Noura Ibrahim Al Marri, Director of Special Education, said at an event commemorative of the International White Cane Day in Dubai on Thursday.
“My aim is to enable these children to be included in a school that is near their home,” Al Marri told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the event organised to provide visually impaired students with technology to assist their integration.
The ministry has allocated more than Dh2 million to improve opportunities for students with special needs: the amount is being used for training teachers, technology and setting up facilities in schools and buses.
Visually impaired students who wish to join public schools this year are also being asked to apply to the ministry by October 20. “They shouldn’t need to be travelling to far away institutes or Abu Dhabi to be educated,” Al Marri said.
The ministry has already developed 10 model schools that have an inclusion policy in the Northern Emirates. Apart from Abu Dhabi, all other emirates will have inclusion schools, with three in Dubai next year.
“The 10 model schools this year are still in the process of improvement,” said Al Marri. “We are training the staff through workshops and summer training courses.”
These schools will include both male and female students, from KG1 to Grade 12, with special educators. All teachers will be equipped with all that is needed for effective teaching.
“The schools are not exclusively for students who are visually impaired or need special attention,” she said. “We would like to include as many as we can — but in a regular classroom.”
Last year, nearly 225 visually-impaired students studied at public schools. At the event, 66 students received special laptops, braille and other assistive tools.
“Each child received equipment depending on their case,” Al Marri said. “They include computers with talking programs, calculators and magnifiers.”
Recipient and student of the Wasit model school in Sharjah, Nada Abdul Aziz Al Jasmi, received a computer and braille machine and braille paper. “I am grateful for the provision the ministry has made for us,” she said.
“One of the teachers who came for training initially said that inclusion was not possible,” Al Marri said.
“But the training session has made her realise that it is very much possible, but a little more effort is required.”
Isphana Al Khatib, director of the Al Noor Center for Special Needs, said students with visual and hearing impairment must be included in regular schools.
“Ideally, an inclusive setup works for such students as these are single sense barriers that need to be overcome,” Al Khatib added.
–Agencies