Need to provide inclusive education for children with disabilities: Nakhro

May 27, 2023 22 Views No Comment

Morung Express News
Dimapur | May 27

State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Diethono Nakhro on Friday lamented that Children with Disabilities (CwDs) were one of the most disadvantaged groups when it came to education.

Delivering her keynote address during the workshop on ‘Rights of Children with disabilities related to education,’ Nakhro explained that this was due to the fact that they were more likely to be excluded from schools than their peers without disabilities and they were less likely to complete primary, secondary education or high education.

Due to which she stressed, it must be of utmost priority for the School Education department to provide Inclusive Education for these children across the State whether it be in private or government schools.

The workshop held at the Tourist Lodge, Dimapur was organised by Prodigals’ Home and supported by the Office of the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Nagaland, Kohima. It aimed to bring together resources from different government departments and the organisations about the need to address educational disparities and the challenges involved for children with disabilities.

Nakhro cited a 2016 UNICEF report where in it mentioned that the role of disability was the most dominant factor contributing to whether children attended school or not, apart from income and gender disparities. “Such findings contained profound implications not only in terms of unfair educational practices but also in terms of the life choices and opportunities denied because education is a gateway to children’s full participation in society,” she said.

One of the biggest challenges in regard to the scenario pertaining to children with disabilities was the lack of concrete date, she viewed. This includes the overall population of persons with disability as it has not been updated since the 2011 census.

On this note, an all out effort needs to be made by the concerned government departments, civil societies and church bodies to identify and reach out to the community, she noted.

Moreover, with the introduction of the New Education Policy (NEP), equity and inclusion is at the heart of this policy, Nakhro explained. “It is designed to avoid to segregation and isolation of ethnic and linguistic minorities; and those with disabilities (including learning disabilities),” she stated.

Nevertheless, whether or not such policies exist, the crux lies in the implementation aspect. Ultimately what matters will be how it is implemented on the ground, she said.

Deputy Director for Department of School Education, Nagaland, Nellayappan who was also present for the workshop noted that this was an opportunity for the department to learn and understand what needed to be done to provide an inclusive education in Nagaland.

He mentioned that the Nagaland Enhancing Classroom Teaching and Resources (NECTAR) project has been initiated to tackle these very challenges across the 16 districts. But regardless, he acknowledged that more needed to be done in the days ahead.

Rokovitsu Khate, Panel Lawyer from Dimapur District Legal Services Authority provided an overview of the Rights of CwDs related to education. Also, Ngaugonbe, Joint Secretary, NSDF Nagaland reported on the current scenario of CwDs as well.

The programme ended with a question hour and discussion round involving the parents, guardians and other stakeholders.