THIS is unacceptable that the authorities have not been able to open the school for students with visual impairment in Pabna in seven years after its construction. The two-storey Integrated Visually Impaired School was constructed with public funds in 2017 in the district, where there are about 6,225 visually impaired people and at least 25 per cent of them are students. The authorities have cited a shortage of human resources and other equipment as reasons for the failure. Various positions, including resident teachers and teachers with Braille skills, were created in 2017, but only a security guard has so far been hired. The building and the area are now used by local people for hanging around and dumping wastes. The authorities are reported to have been arranging education for several visually impaired students in regular schools. Such an arrangement for students with visual impairment in regular schools frustrates the objective of the establishment of the special school. It also denies the students with visual impairment a fair access to education as regular schools do not have the necessary arrangements for students with special needs, especially those with visual impairment.
The situation is reflective of the deep and widespread disparity that students with special needs face. While the government often announces its commitment to addressing needs of students with disabilities and ensuring their access to education and while there are laws and directives to this end, there is a shortage of special schools for students with special needs. There are about 4.5 million persons with disabilities in Bangladesh, as the National Survey on Persons with Disabilities 2021 says. Most of them are excluded when it comes to access to education, even primary education. Bangladesh is nearing the goal of full primary school enrolment, with 97 per cent, but only about 41 per cent of children with disabilities of primary school-going age are enrolled in schools. The enrolment sharply drops to 24 per cent for the secondary school-going age group. This shows that children with disabilities not only have a low school enrolment rate but also a high drop-out rate. Students with disabilities also find it difficult to get enrolled in mainstream schools although there is a government directive for mainstream schools to admit children with special needs. Even when enrolled, students with disabilities suffer at regular schools as most of them do not have friendly infrastructure and a proper support system.
The authorities should, therefore, assess the situation properly and take initiatives to ensure access of students with disabilities to education. The authorities need to set up more specialised schools for students with visual impairment and other disabilities. Regular schools should also have friendly infrastructure and a support system to cater to the needs of students with special needs. The authorities should immediately recruit the human resources needed to open the school in Pabna.
