NGOs call for equal education for children with disabilities

A poster by Save the Children. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Wang Chao, the representative of Save the Children in China, said at a news conference on Wednesday that since many disabled children go to special schools they do not get the needed opportunities to mix with the mainstream society. The Inclusive Education project believes in the the philosophy of integrated education, as well as the right of disabled children to study in ordinary school with other kids.

"At present, China still has a large number of school-aged disabled children who are not getting the quality of compulsory education they need," said Xu Jiacheng, the secretary of the Chinese Society of Education Special Education Branch.

There's still a long way to go to achieve the goal of educational equality. Wang Xingxing, the manager of the Inclusive Education project, said that more than 30 percent of adults still use "the disabled" in a discriminatory way and about 80 percent of them have no idea of Inclusive Education.

Many people have devoted themselves to the Inclusive Education career to help these children. Zhou Hang, the head teacher of a primary school in Sichuan province, along with teachers and parents from his school, have already brought changes to these children's daily life by helping them in many ways. Zhang Xinyue, one of his students,  won a prize in the painting competition, which made both the student and the teachers happy.

The Save the Children has launched a public campaign which calls for concerted efforts to help the children with disabilities instead of neglecting or discriminating against them. 

"Let's go to school together" is the slogan of the Inclusive Education project, which the organization believes also represents the need of many children with disabilities to make friends with other children, learn useful knowledge and lead a hopeful life.