BackIn the eve of the International Human Rights Day on December 10, the Ombudsman presented its "Research on the inclusion of children and youth with special needs in the secondary education", prepared in cooperation with the NGO “Open the Gates” and financially supported by the UNICEF Office in Skopje.
"Six years after the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, unfortunately things have not moved forward, this has switched on the alarm for changes in the approach towards solving the problems related to this issue. Instead of asking: "What's wrong with the people with disabilities" we should ask ourselves: "What should be changed in the society so that people with disabilities would be able to enjoy all human rights"? Although from the perspective of the Ombudsman, disability is not an obstacle on the way to exercising any right, in many spheres however, there are no significant changes for children and persons with disabilities that would improve their lives, their place in the society, but also the attitude of the society towards them".
This among other was stated by the Ombudsman, Mr. Ixhet Memeti in his welcoming speech.
He emphasized that the Ombudsman, as a National Human Rights Institution, will continue with the efforts to improve the situation and the implementation of the rights of persons with disabilities in all spheres of the society.
By presenting the research, Deputy Ombudsman, Ms. Vaska Bajramovska-Mustafa stressed that regular education should be the first option for children with disabilities, and not an exception.
"There should be a mechanism in place for systematic identification, recording and monitoring of students with disabilities in the regular education, while as the education should be set up in order to support the identified abilities and needs of children and youth with disabilities, physical accessibility to all school facilities in line with the international standards (including the inner space), as well as adequate equipment of schools for inclusive teaching (to establish standards for accessibility of school facilities, equipment and teaching process in general)" said Bajramovska-Mustafa.
The presentation was attended by the Minister of Education and Science, Ms. Renata Deskoska, the Deputy Representative of UNICEF Office in Skopje, Ms. Elspeth Erickson, as well as representatives of non-governmental organizations and parents of the children with special needs.
Source: Ombudsman Republic of Macedonia
