INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN UZBEKISTAN

May 18, 2016- the Delegation of the European Commission visited the mainstream school №13 in Samarkand that is one of the pilot schools of the project “Inclusive Education for Children with Special Needs”. The Head of the Delegation was the Vice-President of the European Commission Mr.Maroš Šefčovič.

The Delegation was composed of Mr.Yuri Sterk, Ambassador, Head of the EU Delegation in Uzbekistan, Mr.Svetlin Sergeenkov, Political Adviser and Mr. Akmal Rustamov, Project Manager of the Department for Technical Cooperation.

The representatives of the Ministry of Public Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Republican Center for Social Adaptation of Children (RCSAC), City and Regional Departments of Public Education, teachers of pilot schools and kindergartens, parents of children with special needs, as well as the project staff During the visit the members of the delegation were introduced to the process of project implementation, discussed major issues with teachers and educators of inclusive schools and kindergartens, as well as had a talk with parents of children with special needs.

The outcomes and activities of the project “Inclusive Education for Children with Special Needs in Uzbekistan” were presented by Vasila Alimova Sattarovna, Director of the Republican Center for Social Adaptation of Children (RCSAC) that is the main beneficiary of the project. It was particularly highlighted in the presentation that because of the mutual cooperation with the Ministry of Public Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Higher and Secondary Special Education and the Ministry of Finance the project achieved the following results:

- Developed draft of the National Strategy on Inclusive Education;

- 800 children with special educational needs were included in 15 pilot schools and 15 pilot kindergartens;

- Retrained 944 pedagogical staff and 90 specialists of Medical, Psychological and Pedagogical Commissions;

- Applied 4 modules on inclusive education for training, retraining and advanced training of pedagogical staff;

- Established five pilot Resource Centers, provided more than 1511 consultations for children with special educational needs and their families, as well as experts participating in the development and implementation of inclusive educational services;

- Raised public awareness;

- Produced and distributed 1500 Guidelines on inclusive education in Russian and Uzbek languages;

Umarov Azamat Mardonovich, Head of the Regional Department of Public Education introduced participants to the progress of inclusive education process in Samarkand region. Teacher of the inclusive school №13 in Samarkand Yusupova Lola Valerevna described the organization of the education process in inclusive classes and achievements in this regard.

Moreover, guests and participants of the event saw at first hand the successful application of inclusive education in mainstream schools in Samarkand by visiting the lower inclusive grades in school №13 and had a talk with teachers I.G.Ismatova, L.B.Yusupova and N.U.Umarova.