Education for the disabled essential to society
- By Zhang Fang
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 15, 2013
The new draft also provides direction on how to collect funding with the 42nd statute saying the country encourages donations from citizens, social organizations and companies.
"Society always has poor and rich people, and there is always the desire to help others. Donations will help society appreciate those who are financially well-off," Chen said.
Education should involve all children
Chen said this draft revision is really just a first step in popularizing national education.
This draft revision guarantees education for six kinds of people with sight, listening, speaking, physical, intellectual and mental disorders based on the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Disabled Persons.
"These six groups have clear symptoms, but other special children outside such groups don't have access to equal education, like children with developmental disabilities including autism, hyperactivity (ADHD), reading disorder and others. If they don't receive treatment, it will also trigger more social issues," Chen said.
Inclusive education, a concept promoted by Chen, is to cover all children in need, including street children and migrant workers' children.
Special education as a social responsibility
After working on special education for nearly 30 years, Chen said offering equal education to special need students is a social responsibility.
"Without good education, it's nearly impossible for disabled people to find a decent job, which may cause severe consequences like juvenile crime," Chen said.
"After all, education investments are important for society," she added.
However, the social attitude of discrimination towards the disabled is still common. "People are scared of seeing the pain and misfortune of disabled people, and are afraid that such hardships can happen to them," Chen said.
"But in China, helping people is our great tradition," she said.
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