INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN UZBEKISTAN

On September 21-22, 2016 Tashkent hosted the final conference titled "Impact of the project "Inclusive Education for Children with Special Needs in Uzbekistan", involving representatives of ministries and state agencies, officials of the EU Delegation in Tashkent and international donor community, national and international experts from Tashkent, Namangan, Samarkand, Surkhandarya and Khorezm regions, as well as parents and children with special needs benefiting from the project activities.

It was noted that during the conference that 907 children with special educational needs wereintegratedinto the general education system in 27 pilot schools and 27 pilot kindergartens, while the total number of children who benefited from the project is about 1500.

The achievements in the field of inclusive education duringthe project implementation phase were pointed out during the presentations delivered by theconference participants. In particular, the key achievements of the project included the Long-term National Strategy on Inclusive Education in Uzbekistan and the Action Plan for 2016 – 2018.

The draft of the Strategy, developed with contribution of international and national experts, built a foundation fordevelopmingthe inclusive education system in the Republic of Uzbekistan, which will ensure the equal right of every child to a quality education, adapted to his/her special educational needs, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, the language of communication, religion, social status, physical and mental development.

The conference highlighted that in the Republic of Uzbekistan there are alreadya number of normative documents and approved programs, which are demonstrateimportant steps taken by the Government towards quality education for all, such as the National Plan of Action - Education for All of the Republic of Uzbekistan (2002), Order of the Minister of public education from 2005 "On the approval of the interim provisions on inclusive education for children and adolescents with disabilities", as well as the Plan of the Development of Education in Uzbekistan 2014-2017 (2013).

In addition, the Law "On Education" of the Republic of Uzbekistan guarantees the right of every child to education, and the Law "On Guarantees of Child’s Rights" guarantees additional benefits for education of children with special needs. Thus, the legislation provides the necessary basis for the further development of inclusive education in our country.

During the event the Project Manager Mrs. StefanijaAlisauskienespoked about activities designed todevelop teachers' capacity to deliver services in the field of inclusive education in Uzbekistan. In particular, during the project implementation phasewere produced threemodules for trainingand professional development of teachers to implement inclusive practices in education system of Uzbekistan.

During the event, a number of international and national experts highlighted the following achievements of the project:

   - 1350 members of medical and psycho-pedagogical commissions and teaching staff have been trained to provide inclusive education services;
   - Five pilot resource centers were opened, which have provided more than 2000 services to children with special educational needs and their families and experts involved in development and application of inclusive educational services;
   - More than 150 articles were published, 11 TV broadcasts and 24 radio programs were aired to raise the awareness in Uzbekistan on the issue of social and educational inclusion of children with special needs; 
   - The project web-page www.inclusive-education.uz was launched and is currently successfully operatingin three languages with total number of views reaching 110 thousands.
   - Eightprojectbulletinsand fivemanuals explaining principles of Inclusive Education werepublished.

In addition, teachers involved in the project couldshare their experience,telling about implementation of inclusive practices in general schools, the success stories of children with special needs, as well as further steps to be taken by the Government to ensure the sustainability of the project and development of inclusive education in Uzbekistan.

Inclusive education means ensuring equal access to education for all children, in terms of adapting to the different needs of children, including children with special needs. The principles of Inclusive Education means that every child has a fundamental right to education, and must be able to acquire and maintain an acceptable level of knowledge. Persons who have special educational needs must have access to regular schools. Ordinary schools should create conditions based on pedagogical methods aimed primarily at children in order to meet those needs.

For information:

The project "Inclusive Education for Children with Special Needs in Uzbekistan", funded by the European Union, covers the period betweenMarch 2014 andOctober 2016 with project activities in Tashkent, Samarkand, Namangan, Khorezm and Surkhandarya regions. The main beneficiary of the project is the National Center for Social Adaptation of Children (NCSAC).

The project was implemented in close partnership with the Ministry of Public Education, Ministry of Higher and Secondary Special Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan, a number of NGOs and civil society groups, in order to provide multifaceted assistance to children with special needs, their families, friends, teachers and members of the teaching staff.

Contacts in Tashkent:
The National Center for Social Adaptation of Children  2 nd floor, room №31, Abdulla Kahhar Str. 34 Tashkent, 100100, Uzbekistan tel: +998 90980 8298,  E-mail:inklyuzivnoe.obrazovanie@hd-ie.com

For more information about the European Union Delegation, and cooperation between the EU and Uzbekistan, please contact AkmalRustamov, the Manager, Technical Cooperation Department (tel. 1201601/02/03 add. 117, email:Akmal.RUSTAMOV@eeas.europa.eu)