Needless to say, in any society disabled people’s underprivileged condition goes against good moral values. So, there is no alternative to bring them to mainstream educational system treating them at par, any discrimination or neglect to their cause is bound to seriously impact the nation and our policy makers should also take note of it.
It is sad people in most part don’t see investment in disabled children as worthy investment because they will not be able to work. Moreover they need special classrooms and methods of learning. But it appears that disabled people can very much work now provided they are trained and given special working environment. So their case for proper education can’t be ignored from both practical and greater humanitarian point of views. They should have equal claim on resources to build a productive life to live in dignity.
The rights group is right when it said billions of dollars of potential income in the world’s poorest countries have been regularly lost for lack of schooling and employment of people who have disabilities. They are constantly left at the very back of the queue with disastrous impact at individual level and on the overall economy. In UNESCO’s view education sector globally has been substantially under-funded and it is very alarming when it comes for education for disabled.
Experts fear is not unfounded when they say attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in education by 2030, that aims at inclusive and equitable education for all may be missed if all government can’t ensure education to disabled children. In Bangladesh most of our disabled children remained out of the mainstream education and they have hardly any better chance to build a productive career. We can’t any more say we have not enough money; we are lacking imagination and practical mobilization to bring those children under the fold of education. It must be treated as a smart investment for the nation. Their cause can’t be overlooked.
