Pakistan’s education system may be lacking in many ways but I focus on its attempt to include those who are mentally disabled. During my school years I never saw any disabled person in my school from nursery to A’levels. It is impossible that there were not any disabled children in Lahore during that time. This represents the level of inclusion private schools in Lahore offer. It is important to note that disability does not only refer to those who are physically handicapped but also those who are mentally challenged.
My mother’s friend has a daughter, Alia (this is a pseudo name so its easier to refer to) diagnosed with autism. Initially I was surprised to know that she goes to a regular school. My surprise stems from the fact that I have seen mentally challenged people before but have never seen them interact or perhaps being allowed to interact with the society on a daily basis. My father’s friend had a mentally challenged son, he went to school initially when he was younger but as his condition regressed he was not only withdrawn from school but also completely shut in his bedroom. Returning to Alia’s case, she studies in a private school in Lahore. Her mother was satisfied with the idea that her child was able to go to school and learn concepts that people at her age usually do. Their classrooms were inclusive but because the school, being aware of their condition, did not put much effort into their learning. It is also important to draw this comparison where one child was completely shut off from society whereas the other one was allowed to prosper at her own pace. It requires great initiative from the parents to fight prejudices of the society and own that child like their other children.
I wanted to explore further on how the school helps these children so I went on to their website. They did not advertise on their front page that they admit children with autism or any other disability. I could also understand this because Pakistani parents would be hesitant sending their children to a school which has children with different abilities. In one of the tabs they had mentioned reviews from parents about the school. There were a total of five slides and only the last two showed pictures of children who were disabled. Even the comments did not outrightly mention that. This shows how we as a society are intolerant and scared of children who simply look different or act different. These were only two of the numerous stories that exist in Pakistan.
A thought that I would like to leave you with is that if it is so difficult to provide education to disabled children more peaceful region how challenging it must be to do so in regions facing active conflict ?
The sad reality is that our education system pays no attention to the requirements of the disabled, and simply doesn't cover for them at all. Apart from the lack of understanding for the disabled, they are deprived of educational institutes as well. According to the 2017 Population and Housing Census, 0.48% of the population is disabled. If this number isn't accounted for, and not catered to, a huge chunk of the population will end up uneducated. The idea of segregation for such individuals is also interesting. On many occasions, people with lower/moderate disabilities aren't segregated, and continue to pursue their education with their peers. I disagree with this idea, because this isn't a practical solution, and such individuals have special…
It would be naïve to think that everyone receives the education they are entitled to by Pakistani law. Despite efforts to include children with special needs in the educational system, Pakistani teachers and schools lack the necessary resources and instructional strategies to effectively socialize children with disabilities. The role of media becomes very essential for successful integration of children with disabilities into the society. It helps realize the importance of community acceptance of the rights of the persons with disabilities and develops respect & positive community attitude towards learners with disabilities. Most importantly, awareness campaign can encourage people to disclose disability of their children at an early age because possibility of treatment at an early age is a lot higher. There…
While in normal circumstances the educational infrastructure for the disabled is so sparse - someone in class mentioned how they were bound a wheelchair due to an injury and how difficult it was for them to access a class on the first floor - imagine how difficult it must be during and after conflict. In conflict settings, access to education for the able-bodied is curtailed, I cannot even fathom how difficult it must be for the disabled to find opportunities for education. Furthermore, we see silence when it comes to the media and research to highlight the effect of conflict on the education of the disabled. We have seen the devastating effects of the Taliban conflict on education, but …
I believe a major reason why access to education is so limited for students with cognictive disabilities is because of the lack of awareness amongst parents, educators and the society as a whole. Such children are often during their childhood labelled as 'burdens' and individuals who will not be able to do anything significant with their lives even if they are provided with relevant, quality education. Spending on the education of these children is considered to be a waste of valuable resources that could be diverted to the development of able students, who would supposedly be able to contribute to society more. Parents of such children are often told that there is no point in spending on their education as…
I’ve been thinking about this problem for a bit now as I was working on it for another course’s project. It is absolutely disheartening to see that Pakistan does not cater to children who face issues such as autism or ADHD. I feel like there should be separate sections in schools dedicated to such children so that they may receive the attention they need and continue to learn. This way they will not be pushed to follow a pace that normal students do and can adapt in their own time. I also believe all teachers in schools should receive proper training on how to interact with children who face mental health issues and how to cater to their needs because…