Minister of National Education Mahmut Özer said that every child has equal right to have accessibility to education and the Ministry of National Education (MEB) has been carrying out projects in order to increase equal opportunity in education.

 

Minister Özer made statements about activities carried out in order to support the education of children who need special education on the occasion of December 3 World Disability Day. He said, "Our Ministry always supports special children. It is important to offer inclusive education to children who have special needs in the same school with their peers. It is an important part of equal opportunity in education. Within this framework, we organize various different education activities for children who need special education in order to support their social and vocational development, disseminate equal opportunity in education and provide equal accessibility to education. In Türkiye, children who need special education are benefiting from inclusive education, special education classes, special education centers, dormitories and education at home or in hospital services. Within this framework, 334 thousand and 366 students with special needs enrolled in inclusive education and 79 thousand and 832 of them are enrolled in special education classrooms. Moreover, 60 thousand of them are studying in special education schools. Our Ministry provides education services to 10 thousand and 578 students who need special education at home. The Ministry also gives private tutoring in 12 thousand and 189 support education classrooms. 993 students who need special education are getting their education in the hospital and 34 of them are residing at dormitories. Our Ministry also prepared the "National Action Plan for Inclusive Education Practices" which will be implemented between 2022 and 2026 and this plan is the first of its kind."

 

Minister Özer noted that the Ministry conducted field research in cooperation with its stakeholders in order to monitor and make assessments about inclusive education and surveys with students, parents, teachers and school administrators before the preparation of the action plan.

 

Özer went on to say that: "We have founded a commission in the Ministry for the preparation of this action plan. 6 thousand and 871 special education students enrolled in inclusive high school education, 79 thousand and 227 parents, 44 thousand and 176 teachers and 10 thousand and 220 school administrators were surveyed as a part of the field research. We analyzed the data obtained from the field research and reviewed the national action plan draft with our stakeholder."

 

Noting that "National Action Plan Through Inclusive Education" is the first of its kind, Minister Özer said, "For the first time, a detailed road map was prepared in order to support the education process of children who need special education, assist their adaptation to life and reduce the moral and financial load of their parents.  

 

The national action plan includes four main policies namely, "Accessibility to Education", "Increasing the Quality in Education," "Raising Awareness" and "Legal Regulations", 19 articles and 51 indicators. Özer stated that the action plan aims at founding a traceable and auditable system and increasing the quality of education services provided to students who need special education."

 

Click to see the national action plan.