The parents of students of determination told «Emirates Today» that schools and nurseries refuse to receive their children, or exaggerate the fees and charge them additional education costs, demanding that the school be obligated to specify a percentage of the school seats for owners of concern but not to exaggerate the fees, while school administrations confirmed that the admission of students People of determination depend on the type of disability and the possibility of providing its academic, medical and technological support.
The mother of a five-year-old child said that her son suffers from hyperactivity and difficulty in pronunciation, and that she failed to register him with KG1, in the current school year, and since last December she was trying to register him in schools to enroll in KG2, but she did not find any school that accepted him until now, noting Until her son is registered in one of the nurseries, and she has a certificate and medical certificates stating that his mental development is sound. However, the schools, upon hearing that he suffers from speech difficulties and hyperactivity, argue that there are no vacancies and that the priority is for the siblings of students enrolled in schools.
The mother of a student who suffers from hearing and uses a medical stethoscope, Najwan Rashid, explained that she was forced to register her daughter in a school in Khalifa City despite her residence in Abu Dhabi City, after she was unable to enroll her in any nearby school, on the pretext that there are no equipment for her condition through which support can be provided.
While Mohamed Omar, the father of a student with autism spectrum, who is studying in the second grade in a private school, indicated that he and the autism center in which his daughter is registered communicated with more than 10 schools to register with them, some refused directly, and the other asked him to register online on the site, and he did not receive a response, indicating Until he succeeded in registering his daughter in a school through a friend who is familiar with the principal.
He said: "I had to agree to all the conditions, as the school charges the full tuition fees, in addition to charging me the salary of a shadow teacher accompanying my daughter, and any educational materials my daughter needs in the classroom." He pointed out that the high costs of studying people of determination prevent many families from enrolling their children in Schools, and he demanded that schools be obligated to reduce tuition fees for students of interest as part of community participation.
The mother of a blind child, Marwa Salah, stated that she tried to register her son in more than one nursery, but she was not able, as all nurseries apologized for his acceptance of not being ready for such cases, which led her to register him on the list of one of the centers for people of determination until there was a vacancy.
Parents of children of determination, Muhammad Mustafa, Maryam Ali, and Seham Nabawi, stressed that many families are unable to bear the high fees for centers and private schools that accept the integration of people of determination, which has the effect of keeping the child at home, which makes the future integration process difficult. Noting that the fees for students with determination in schools are not less than 50 thousand dirhams annually, just as children of kindergarten age are not accepted in regular nurseries and they are directed to centers of people of determination according to the type of disability, which charges fees that are much higher than the fees for nurseries.
They expressed their dissatisfaction with the schools ’refusal to accept this group of students, and treating them as a burden that they want to stay away from, or requiring the payment of exorbitant school fees for the acceptance of most families that they cannot afford, which impedes the process of integrating them into society and affects their progress, indicating the need to emphasize schools By adhering to the regulations and laws that require them to accept people of determination, while establishing a system of careful monitoring of the tuition fees collected by schools of this category.
While officials in private schools confirmed that accepting students with disabilities requires equipment according to each case, and not all cases can be accepted, explaining that the most acceptable cases are for movement disabilities, or autism, especially since the latter is accompanied by a teacher who was still responsible for the child in the classroom.
On the other hand, the Education and Knowledge Department affirmed that private schools in the emirate should accept students with special educational needs (simple to medium cases), accommodate them, provide excellent services to meet their different educational needs, and integrate them - as much as possible - with others in daily school activities, noting Until the school may impose additional fees on parents in exchange for providing additional support to the student, provided that these fees do not exceed 50% of the approved study fees for other students.
The department identified nine categories of people of recognized and determined determination, which are included in the document of the Ministry of Education, which included intellectual disabilities, disabilities in education for people with special needs, psychological and behavioral dysfunctions, autism cases, speech and language dysfunction, physical and health disabilities, visual impairment, and hearing impairment, in addition to cases Multiple deficits.
The department indicated that all schools should provide appropriate educational support for students in general classrooms, which include matching the curriculum to meet the different education needs of each student, and implement the recommendations of learning support teams (defined by a team of specialists in each school, and includes the director, social worker, and classroom teacher And a teacher with special needs, and the school’s psychiatrist and other members may need to join) with different and specific plans for some students.
Support special education
The Ministry of Education has announced that enrolling students of determination in government schools for the next academic year (2020-2021) will be through special education support centers at the state level, where these centers will undertake the diagnosis and evaluation of students through interviews that will be determined by these centers in coordination with parents .
9
Categories of people of determination are recognized in the “Education” document.
Schools exaggerate the fees for people of determination and impose additional education costs.
Schools may charge fees for providing additional support to the student.