A Commentary-Inclusive Education as it applies to the child with special needs

The Education moth 2012 theme is 'transformation the nation through Inclusive education'. As the Subject Specialist, Special Education I would like to  highlight what  this year’s theme means for the children with disabilities or with a learning needs or both? We all have some basic conception of what that term means.  It serves as a reminder to us to put the term in perspective through the provision of appropriate and effective services at varying levels specific to children with these needs. The inclusion process is more than a slogan; it is a philosophy that demands a paradigm shift in thinking where we ask and answer the question “ how can we build an inclusive education system that benefits every child?”  Since as a country we are still evolving,  it places us in an opportune position to set a task force whose goal it  is to examine the inclusive practices already in existence and to tailor them to the local structures. It also demands that we attach funding to needs.  Additionally we need to revise the communication structure throughout the layers in the Ministryof Education, a necessary task to enable us to achieve the national goal of delivering quality education to all our children. Some ways we could work to find a holistic approach to successfully meet the needs of our children with disabilities are to waiver the teacher allocation to schools with children identified as having learning needs and allow in classrooms, when it is necessary, para- professionals such as interpreters. The goal of any education system is to provide basic primary education that would grant children a future, enabling them to function within their abilities. Some economically sound executions of the inclusive process for children with learning needs are:

1. Automatic supports within the school system – the Districts’ education personnel are cognizant of a child with needs in specific schools because the communication process from placement to headteacher operates to benefit the child. 2. Inclusive education is placing the student at the centre of education and other support services. It’s emphatically supporting the children with an “eye” on their future.