From excluded to enrolled

MANILA, Philippines - Wearing rubber flip-flops with his school uniform just like many rural primary students in the Philippines, five-year-old Dan (not his real name) – a child with a disability – makes his way for the first time to Magsaysay Elementary School in Atimonan, Quezon, a small municipality 175 kilometers south of Manila.

At the same time, at Maligo Elementary School in South Cotabato, 10-year-old Mikaela (not her real name), a child with delayed motor and mental development, sits down at a school desk for the first time. “It is never too late for schooling,” say her parents.

They, and almost 400 other children, would not have been enrolled as students in mainstream public schools had it not been for the US government’s  “Access to Education for People with Disabilities” program.

US Ambassador Harry  Thomas Jr. says, “The United States is committed to advancing the interests and needs of people with disabilities into mainstream education efforts in the Philippines.” 

The US Agency for International Development (USAID)-supported project aims to expand the access of persons with disabilities to quality education through building and leveraging community support for inclusive education.

In 2009, the Department of Education (DepED) found that 97 percent of school-aged children with disabilities have had no primary education, despite the long-standing provision of special education in legislation. Children with disabilities (CWD) are referred to special education (SpEd) centers which are often too expensive or inaccessible for the average family. SpEd centers are very few and usually very far from the families that need them most. As a result, most parents of children with disabilities find it almost impossible for their child to access education.

“If the Magsaysay Elementary School would not have accepted him,” Dan’s parent says, “my child would not be attending school.”

This sentiment is borne out by the data that in every barangay, an average of 40 to 50 school-age children with disabilities are not attending school, which equates to roughly two million children nationwide.

USAID/Philippines helps children with disabilities by improving access to mainstream primary schools and promoting inclusive education. Implemented by Leonard Cheshire Disability, the Access to Education for People with Disabilities program facilitates disabled children’s enrollment in primary schools by offering a full battery of assessments, referral support, therapy and help in obtaining appropriate assistive devices. This is followed up with training for parents and children in daily life skills, including hygiene and dressing, mobility, and basic and social communication skills. The program also introduces child-to-child activities that engage both the disabled and non-disabled in the process of learning.

Only one year into implementation, the program has assessed 415 children with disabilities in the National Capital Region, Luzon and Mindanao – of which 391 have been enrolled for the 2012-2013 school year.

“Opportunities for children like Dan and Mikaela have opened as their communities have gained an increased understanding and appreciation of the rights of the child and the power and necessity of inclusive education,” USAID/Philippines mission director Gloria Steele says. 

In addition to engaging local communities, increasing access to education for CWDs also requires engaging the national government. In support of its inclusive education program, USAID has established a strengthened partnership with the DepEd which will pave the way towards fully implementing the statutory requirements of universal access to basic education in mainstream schools in the country.

Steele also notes, “The program illustrates how a small investment can make a big difference in making inclusive education a reality in the Philippines. We will continue to work with the Philippine government to enable Filipino children, including those with disabilities, to complete primary school and be able to read.”

Not surprisingly, investments in jumpstarting inclusive education for children with disabilities are having impacts beyond project sites. Nearby schools are beginning to replicate the USAID-funded interventions for children in their communities.

Now, with a spot in the class and a chance to achieve, Dan and Mikaela have what so many more children with disabilities in the Philippines need – a chance at an education, a livelihood, and a better, happier life.