1 / 19

Disabled People’s Association ( DPA )

Disabled People’s Association ( DPA ). Evaluation and Report of Disability Discrimination Case Studies in the Asia Pacific Region: Implementation G ap. The Exemption of Children with Disabilities from the Compulsory Education Act of Singapore. Compulsory Education Act 2003.

pules
Télécharger la présentation

Disabled People’s Association ( DPA )

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Disabled People’s Association (DPA)

  2. Evaluation and Report of Disability Discrimination Case Studies in the Asia Pacific Region: Implementation Gap The Exemption of Children with Disabilities from the Compulsory Education Act of Singapore

  3. Compulsory Education Act 2003 • Compulsory Education (CE) was implemented in Singapore in 2003. • The two key objectives of CE are to give children in Singapore: • A common core of knowledge which will provide a strong foundation for further education and training to prepare them for a knowledge-based economy; and • A common educational experience which will help to build national identity and cohesion.

  4. Reasoning behind CE: • By 1999, Singapore had achieved almost universal education at the primary and the secondary levels • Yet, about 3% (1677) of children who eligible to start schooling who were not enrolled (national or special education schools). The Government became concerned that this group of children were are not being equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to be productive citizens in a ‘knowledge-based economy.’ • Thus, the Committee on Compulsory Education in Singapore was formed in December 1999 and recommended CE except for 3 types of exemptions.

  5. Compulsory Education: Exemptions Designated Schools: Schools currently offering full-time religious education including 6 madrasahs and an Adventist School. Home-schooling: Children granted exemption from CE to be home-schooled provided the parents are able to satisfy MOE that the two key objectives of CE can be achieved for their children.

  6. Compulsory Education: Exemptions Special Needs: Children who are not able to go to national schools because of physical/intellectual disabilities are exempted from CE in national schools. Parents of children with special needs do not have to obtain certificates confirming exemption from CE.

  7. Difference Between Mainstream and Special Education Schools • There are 20 Special Education (SPED) schools run by Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) receiving funding from the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the National Council of Social Service (NCSS). The SPED schools run different programmes catering to distinct disability groups of children who are unable to benefit from mainstream schooling. SPED schools do not follow the national curriculum, although some schools such as Pathlight for children with high-functioning autism and other SPED schools for children with hearing impairments do take the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) and if they pass they can go into mainstream secondary schooling. • SPED schools provide customised educational programmes aimed at developing the potential of pupils and helping them to be independent, self-supporting and contributing members of society. Besides receiving classroom instructions conducted by their teachers, pupils also receive support from paramedical professionals such as psychologists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and social workers. • This is not the same as the 2 aims of CE as it misses out second aim of CE (common educational experience which will help to build national identity and cohesion)

  8. Exemption or Exclusion? • Although Children with special needs are ‘exempted’ from CE there is no legislation pertaining to the process or need for such a process. • In practice, the centres that run the Early Intervention Programme for Infants & Children (EIPIC), which provides educational and therapy services for children aged 0 to 6 who are diagnosed to be at risk of having special needs that will affect their development, assess the children when they reach the age of 5, or recommend him/her for an assessment at the hospital, to determine if he/she is ready for mainstream education. • If the child is found unsuitable for mainstream education, the centre or doctor will recommend the child attend a special education school. • Yet, not all children with disabilities attend EIPIC centres for a multitude of reasons and thus may miss out on this assessment. About 10 children with special needs do not attend national or SPED schools each year.

  9. Exemption or Exclusion? • Unlike with the 2 other exemptions, there is no educational standards that the children with special needs need to meet in order to continue to be exempted from CE. • Thus, once a child is in a SPED school it is not that easy for them to be mainstreamed into national schools. Yet, there are programmes being set up to identify children who are able to cope with the national curriculum and be integrated into mainstream schools. • Yet, this does not deal with the issue of ensuring that the educational standards and aims of the SPED schools are commensurate with the national curriculum

  10. Political/Social Implications of Exempting Children with Special Needs from CE • Children attending SPED schools do not necessarily benefit from the 2 aims of CE • Fosters a culture of difference, rather than mainstreaming disability. This is detrimental not only to children with disabilities, but does not encourage children without disabilities to be inclusive • Yet, there are some attempts to get children with and without disabilities to mix. E.G. The Townsville-Pathlight partnership that was started in September 2009, in which 40 pupils from the primary 3-5 level of Townsville go over to have their recess at Pathlight. Similarly, about 25 pupils from Pathlight would have their recess at Townsville. Currently, there are eight SPED schools in satellite partnerships with 11 nearby mainstream schools. • The problem is that these are school-led initiatives and only occur when a SPED school is geographically close to a mainstream school. Thus, only a small number of mainstream schools will benefit from these kinds of partnerships.

  11. Accessibility and Exempting Children with Special Needs from CE • Takes the pressure of Ministry of Education (MOE) to make schools more accessible. Currently only 1 school per cluster is accessible (28 clusters in total). • Even then these schools are not fully accessible or remain accessible. • The Government’s code on Barrier-free accessibility is a mandates that all public buildings (post-1999) are accessible, yet it does not apply to schools • Thus, schools are becoming more accessible due to aging staff members and not students with disabilities

  12. Transport Implications of Exempting Children with Special Needs from CE • Due to the fact that SPED schools are run by VWOs there is no government subsidies for transport to and from school, which is costly • There Government run charity fund called ‘LTA Cares Fund’ to cater to the transport needs of working adults and students in mainstream schools who are financially and physically disadvantaged. Yet, it does not apply to children attending SPED schools

  13. School Fees for Children with Special Needs • In mainstream primary schools, there is no school fee but there is a S$5.50 miscellaneous fee regardless of the parents' income. • In SPED schools, the school fee is dependent on the family's income. Fees could range from S$14 to S$500 a month depending on the school. • For low-income families there is a Government Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) • Parents of children with special needs who earn more than S$2500 a month will still have to pay more school fees than those whose children go to national schools

  14. Reasons for Excluding Children with Special Needs in CE • The Ministry of Community Development, Culture and Youth (MCCY) says that practically all children, including those with disabilities attend school, so there is no need to change the legislation. • Yet, the reason given for CE was to ensure the small number of those who did not attend school were found and brought into mainstream education. The same principle should apply to children with special needs • In addition, when child with special needs has access to SPED schools, there are more issues to contend with that might be resolved by inclusion in CE • For example, given the small number of SPED schools there are waiting lists to enrol and children sometimes have to travel a long way to go to school that caters for their disability. If these schools were under MOE’s purview it will be held accountable for these waiting lists and transportation issues, rather than VWOs

  15. Parents of Children with Disabilities and CE When MOE is asked why Children with disabilities are not included in CE the standard response is that it places an undue burden on parents of severely disable children to compel them to attend school Yet, a 2003 survey by a researcher at National Technological University involving 2489 parents, guardians and care-givers of children with special needs showed that their attitudes towards compulsory education for children with special needs were very positive. 98.2% agreed to strongly agreed that all children should attend school, and 95.9% believed that education should be made compulsory as every child has the right to be educated. Most of them agreed that compulsory education will make their children more confident (97.5%), independent (97.1%), and happier (97.7%). Their children would also make more friends with other children (96.0%). They also agreed that the schools could provide more meaningful opportunities to learn (96.6%) because they have better educational programmes (98.6%), which will be beneficial to their children (98.3%). These experiences will make it much easier for their children to integrate within the community (95.2%).

  16. Singapore and the CRPD • Singapore has announced its intention to sign the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by December 2012 • Yet, the current CE act is at odds with Article 24.2 (a) The government is to ‘ensure that persons with disabilities are not excluded from the general education system on the basis of disability, and that children with disabilities are not excluded from free and compulsory primary education, or from secondary education, on the basis of disability’ • In order to remain true to this article of this article of the convention SPED schools must come under MOE governance and thus the Government (and not just the VWOs) must be held accountable for the level, quality of and access to education of children with special needs.

  17. Singapore and the CRPD • Article 24.2 (c) The government is to ensure that ‘persons with disabilities receive the support required, within the general education system, to facilitate their effective education.’ • Accommodation within the education system for students with disabilities appears to be ad hoc and decided by individual institutions. For example, enrolment of children with special needs in mainstream schools appears based on the individual discretion of the schools principal. • Another example is that Students with profound hearing loss who use of sign language to communicate can only attend school in four secondary schools, where sign language interpreters are employed. There are no provisions for interpreters at post-secondary schools or at the universities or tertiary institutions. Hearing impaired students have to pay the standard school fees as well as for sign language interpreters • Yet, the Government announced in March 2012 that they will set up an advisory council to streamline and standardise the application process

  18. CE for Children with Special Needs in the Future? • The Enabling Masterplan 2012-16 recommended a study be done on the implications of including children with special needs in CE, with the aim of including them by 2016. At this time there is no date available for when this will take place • The same plan recommended accountability and guidance in the SPED school system, modelled on the national school system and led by MOE • There is also a plan for a study to see how many SPED school graduates are able to get open employment, since there have been many complaints that upon leaving SPED schools many graduates are not ready for open employment

  19. Conclusion • Although the policies and practices that ensure that children with special needs have access to quality education are improving, these children must be included in CE • It will legally mandate access to education for all children with disabilities, whether it be within mainstream schools or SPED schools • It will mean more if not all schools are truly accessible • By including these children in CE, it signifies that the education of children with special needs is as important as that of children without special needs

More Related