Government not ready to mix students with special needs at mainstream schools

Stakeholders meet to devise strategy for special education department.

KARACHI: “We are not ready for a totally integrated form of schools,” declared Imtiaz Ahmed Sheikh, the adviser to the Sindh chief minister on special education, at a meeting of stakeholders on Tuesday.

The meeting was called at the National Special Education Complex to develop a policy for the department of special education which received its first thumbs up since it was set up in 2006.  Representatives of non-governmental organisations, teachers, academics and other professionals working in special education were present to provide insights to the department officials.

When some attendees asked if the government planned to integrate students studying in the special education schools with the existing school network this year, Sheikh offered a reality check. “Perhaps the government has signed an international convention on this, but we have to live with ground realities.”

Teachers at special education schools presented a host of problems, such as the existence of rudimentary one-or-two-room schools, a lack of basic facilities such as books and no uniformity in the education system, that explained why inclusive education was still a pipe dream.

Another grave indicator came from Shahida Sajjad, the head of the special education department at the Karachi University, who said, “There is no standard sign language in Pakistan,” and said students find a ‘new’ form of sign language at every institute.

Sajjad also noted that the people focus on physical disabilities and ignore ‘hidden’ learning disabilities which are “found in every school.”

Dr Azhar Mehmood, the deputy director at the Special Education Complex, noted that the complex lacked neurologists for its students.

Others, such as Farooq Ahmed at a Pakistan Navy-run school, asked about the progress of a pilot project on integrated schools set up a few years ago.

The conversation often veered from being productive and engaging to a litany of complaints. But Sheikh promptly quizzed a few who were griping, such as the members of a parent-teacher association about why they hadn’t asked for volunteers, and another who said there needs to be a “seminar” on when she planned to do one since she was free to organise one. “A month,” the woman stammered. “Why do you need a month?” Sheikh asked promptly. “It’s very important,” she retorted. “It will take a month!”

Dr Nabila Soomro of the Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation offered the institute’s services and its staff and said she would be willing to work as a liaison between schools and the institute - which she said has excellent staff and facilities as well.

Sheikh later told reporters that he planned to create and implement the policy soon, and thanked President Asif Ali Zardari and Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah for their support to get things going. He also told the attendees that the policy will be implemented in private schools - which were working on their own but had no uniform plan. The department will also offer to train the teachers and will work with Soomro’s institute.

“If you’re working in good faith and have political will, things are possible,” Sheikh said, hitting the nail on the head. Despite all the best intentions, it is political will that ensures how effective departments and policies can be. On Tuesday, Sheikh demonstrated that on paper, at least, the special education department was off to a good start.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 29^th, 2012.