Civil society partnerships and new specialist centers may increase school enrollment rates for disabled children.
By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 17/12/09
Morocco is working to improve services for Down's syndrome and other handicapped children, many of whom have no access to local primary schools.
Halima, 45, lives in Sidi Kacem with her husband and four children, including an 8-year-old boy with Down's syndrome. For years, Halima hoped her son would be able to attend school in spite of his disability, but no schools in the region cater to children with special needs.
"Othmane is a Moroccan citizen, even though he has a disability," she said. "The state should think about all children like him. To send him to school, I'd have to move to Casablanca or Rabat, but it wouldn't be easy for my husband to move to either of those two cities," she said.
According to a survey conducted in 2004, only 32% of all disabled children attended school. This figure is one-third the rate of school enrollment for other children.
Morocco has only been paying particular attention to children with special needs over the past few years, according to sociologist Samira Kassimi. "The High Commission for the Disabled was only established in 1995, and the State Secretariat for the Disabled was created in 1998," she said.
In addition to creating special classrooms and institutions for these children, Kassimi continued, "we must not neglect their families, who are the primary source of support for these children."
Minister of Social Development, Family and Solidarity Nouzha Skelli said her department is trying to overcome the lack of infrastructure to provide for handicapped children, but emphasized the enormous strides made in the last year.
While only 15 special integrated classrooms were set up last year to provide for special needs children with mild disabilities, a "record number" of 400 classrooms were created in 2009, the minister said.
The Ministry of Social Development is also devoting a budget of 11 million dirhams so that 1,427 children with severe disabilities can receive an education at 48 specialist education centers. The Ministry also gives priority to organizations that are able to teach children in suburban and rural areas, where the cost of teaching is high.
Down's syndrome children have also been placed in integrated classrooms, said Fatima Serhane, who serves as president of the Moustaqbal Association for special needs education.
"Thanks to the National Human Development Initiative, carpentry and hairdressing workshops have been created for people with special needs," she added.
Minister Skelli encouraged civil society organizations to assist the state in providing education for disabled children, to overcome the lack of facilities and instructors.
Abdallah Cheddadi, who heads the Mohammed VI National Center for the Disabled, echoed this view. He said that organizations that operate in this field need to adopt a clear view of their role, and devise a strategy to accomplish local-level objectives as well as large-scale goals.
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2009/12/17/feature-02.
By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 17/12/09
Morocco is working to improve services for Down's syndrome and other handicapped children, many of whom have no access to local primary schools.
Halima, 45, lives in Sidi Kacem with her husband and four children, including an 8-year-old boy with Down's syndrome. For years, Halima hoped her son would be able to attend school in spite of his disability, but no schools in the region cater to children with special needs.
"Othmane is a Moroccan citizen, even though he has a disability," she said. "The state should think about all children like him. To send him to school, I'd have to move to Casablanca or Rabat, but it wouldn't be easy for my husband to move to either of those two cities," she said.
According to a survey conducted in 2004, only 32% of all disabled children attended school. This figure is one-third the rate of school enrollment for other children.
Morocco has only been paying particular attention to children with special needs over the past few years, according to sociologist Samira Kassimi. "The High Commission for the Disabled was only established in 1995, and the State Secretariat for the Disabled was created in 1998," she said.
In addition to creating special classrooms and institutions for these children, Kassimi continued, "we must not neglect their families, who are the primary source of support for these children."
Minister of Social Development, Family and Solidarity Nouzha Skelli said her department is trying to overcome the lack of infrastructure to provide for handicapped children, but emphasized the enormous strides made in the last year.
While only 15 special integrated classrooms were set up last year to provide for special needs children with mild disabilities, a "record number" of 400 classrooms were created in 2009, the minister said.
The Ministry of Social Development is also devoting a budget of 11 million dirhams so that 1,427 children with severe disabilities can receive an education at 48 specialist education centers. The Ministry also gives priority to organizations that are able to teach children in suburban and rural areas, where the cost of teaching is high.
Down's syndrome children have also been placed in integrated classrooms, said Fatima Serhane, who serves as president of the Moustaqbal Association for special needs education.
"Thanks to the National Human Development Initiative, carpentry and hairdressing workshops have been created for people with special needs," she added.
Minister Skelli encouraged civil society organizations to assist the state in providing education for disabled children, to overcome the lack of facilities and instructors.
Abdallah Cheddadi, who heads the Mohammed VI National Center for the Disabled, echoed this view. He said that organizations that operate in this field need to adopt a clear view of their role, and devise a strategy to accomplish local-level objectives as well as large-scale goals.
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2009/12/17/feature-02.
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