Integration of disabled citizens vital to development of society

by Ananda KANNANGARA

Sri Lanka's last school census, taken in 2001, reveals that out of the total student population of 4.2 million, nearly 2.37 percent of schoolchildren are disabled, said Program Accreditation Analyst of the Education Ministry's Distance Education Modernisation Project, Prof. Uma Coomaraswamy last Friday.

She said the differently abled must be given a proper place and due recognition in society; this can be achieved through the entire nation's efforts to help them have education at all levels, lead healthy lives and make them join the mainstream, in every sphere.

Prof. Coomaraswamy was speaking at a meeting held to coincide with the 37th AGM of the National Council For the Deaf (NCFD) in Colombo. NCFD, Director Maud Senaratne presided over the meeting.

Referring to the 2001, census, she said nearly 1.6 per cent of the country's total population are disabled with 20.2 per cent of them having hearing and speech disabilities.

She said differently abled citizens should be integrated into society so that they can lead normal lives like any other person. Prof. Coomaraswamy highlighted the importance of designing training programs to empower young grass roots leaders with disabilities as well as sensitising non-disabled professionals and officials to accessibility issues for citizens with disabilities.She said due to various social, political and cultural reasons, certain segments of the population including people with disabilities suffer reduced access to formal education and literacy programs.

Therefore, she said, education policies must focus on inclusion, literacy, quality, capacity development and finance. She also urged authorities to promote inclusive policies that open schools to disabled children, indigenous children and those from other disadvantaged groups.She emphasised that the recently adopted UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities calls for inclusive education at all levels.

"Inclusion means a commitment to educate differently abled children in mainstream schools and it entails ensuring that relevant support services are introduced to mainstream schools as and when needed," she said.

Prof. Coomaraswamy also said the Government annually allocates a large sum of money for the welfare of mentally and physically retarded citizens, but it is reported that this allocation is sometimes inadequate to meet their needs.