Brunei
Brunei has developed a well-known series of services for children with disabilities beginning with pre-natal care in maternal and child health clinics The early intervention centres then facilitate other interactions related to placing children in school when they are older The Child Development Centre has direct contact with the Special Education Unit of the Ministry of Education, which is in charge of inclusive education for the entire country In Brunei, creative partnerships exist between disabled peoples’ organizations and the private sector, encouraging fund-raising from corporate and private sources The small size of the country works in favour of cooperation, but centralization leads to a situation where services are better developed in the capital city than elsewhere Schools have held public awareness events such as music and sports events have included students with disabilities and their families
Samoa
The Samoan culture has always highly valued education The combination of influences from the local family and community and the global community continue to develop a stronger and more inclusive understanding of the right to education for ALL children In Samoa, anecdotal information credits the growing awareness of parents and staff at the NGO schools as one of the key catalysts for inclusion of children with disabilities into the policy and strategy documents A teacher’s manual was developed in 2002 on including children with disabilities into village schools The national organization of people with disabilities has been very active in developing awareness through community workshops, sports days, the media, family support workshops, public speaking, and guest lectures at the National University of Samoa
Thailand
The Guidelines for the Educational Service Area (ESA) offices throughout the country, state that one of their responsibilities is to raise awareness of parents, community and local authorities to understand clearly that Thais, of all ages and gender, have equal access and opportunity to a quality education service The 1999 National Education Act clearly mandates that this applies to all persons with disabilities Special education centres in each province facilitate the process of finding out-of-school children and assist families when their children are identified, by providing early intervention and assisted access to school The extent to which the search for out-of-school children is implemented depends on the resources and determination of specific special education centre personnel, the level of community awareness, cooperation with community-based disability field workers, awareness and willingness of parents to send their children to school, and the willingness of schools to accept them The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security is also engaged in the process of trying to find out-of-school children and conducts awareness activities at the village level to encourage the registration of children with disabilities There is an intensive awareness raising programme undertaken by special education centre staff and in areas where there are community-based disability initiatives, such as in the Roi-Et area,78 to encourage families to register their disabled children and family members
Viet Nam
In Viet Nam, one of the strategic goals of the Education for All Action Plan for 2003-2015 is “Mobilizing Full Community Participation for Education ” Indeed, all provinces were involved in a pilot project to encourage the preparation of EFA plans across the nation
Recommendations for action by stakeholders
Government
The government, the local or central education administration should develop more low-cost, high distribution documents to share how and why children with disabilities should go to school
Governments should support the development of ancillary services that enable children with disabilities to access education such as early intervention, physical rehabilitation, medical treatment and support for families
Schools
Schools should hold events, including teachers, other children and community leaders, which encourage positive attitudes towards children with disabilities and publicize their right to education
Schools should act as points of contact and share information with the community about education for children with disabilities
Heads of schools and local government officials should approach religious and community leaders and ask them to take an active role in persuading parents to send their children to school
Community
Community leaders, families, parents, women’s organizations, religious and disabled persons’ organizations should create greater awareness, understanding and acceptance of children with disabilities All parties should advocate for the right to inclusion in all aspects of society All levels of the system, from high-ranking bureaucrats to provincial, area and district officials, schools, community and villages must be included in awareness programmes about the rights to education of persons with disabilities
Local authorities should ensure that additional stakeholders, besides teachers, are involved in the provision of education for children with disabilities to emphasize life skills and vocational training Inclusive education efforts should be made in areas where community-based rehabilitation programmes (CBR) are in place CBR programmes should be encouraged for the full support and empowering of persons with disabilities in communities, and encouraging their full inclusion in all aspects of community life
The private sector, through local businesses, should be encouraged to sponsor schools and events that support inclusive education of children with disabilities
Community organizations should play a main role in the formation of parent groups at the village or commune level
Representatives of disabled peoples’ organizations and parent associations should be invited by community leaders to attend commune and local government meetings In addition, community leaders should be invited to attend meetings of disabled peoples’ organizations and parent associations when the topics are relevant and community involvement and support is sought
Any rights-based training programmes such as those advocating implementation of the convention on the rights of the child should include the rights of children with disabilities in both village and national campaigns
Community leaders can assist in awareness-raising at the community-level for the education of children with disabilities, using the necessary information and strategies to convince the parents to send their children to school
Organizations of persons with disabilities
Disabled peoples’ organizations should conduct awareness training in rural and remote areas and at the village level on education They should reach out more to remote areas and to disadvantaged communities Urban branches of these organizations could hold training for rural branches of their organizations or with rural communities to encourage the formation of new organizations
Disabled peoples organizations should strengthen their representation at community level, linking parents with community, schools and other relevant organizations and activities for children