Education for Children with Disabilities Support Programme (September 2002-August 2005)

Disability Action Council (DAC) in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MOEYS)

Background

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that children with a disability, no matter how severe, have a right to an education that promotes their fullest potential and their inclusion in society.

In Cambodia, a basic education is a luxury that many parents cannot afford for their children. Children with disabilities are particularly marginalised. There are a small number of special schools run by charitable organisations and an unquantifiable number of children with disabilities are attending local regular schools but there is currently no specific support provided to them or their teachers. However the vast majority of children with disabilities are not receiving any education at all. The Project is seeking address this problem.

Rational

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport has recognized the needs of children with disabilities and seeks to develop appropriate education opportunities for them. However the Ministry recognizes that its staff has only a very limited understanding of the issues and seeks support for significant capacity building. Formal training opportunities and awareness raising visits to see disability programmes can go some way to fill this capacity deficit particularly for administrators and central MoEYS staff. Teachers require basic formal training along with ongoing follow up support, so that they can learn by doing. DAC has been developing this model of capacity building in its Inclusive Education pilot site in Svay Rieng.

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS) has set itself the goal of achieving Education for All (EFA) by 2010-15 and has adopted Inclusive Education as its vision. The purpose of the project is to support the Ministry to achieve its objectives with regard to children with disabilities. Access to education for children with disabilities is a vital means of empowerment and self help. Children with disabilities face the same difficulties as other educationally marginalized groups such as girls and ethnic minorities, however they have their own unique needs. Access to education is not enough if a child with a disability is not fully integrated into the school environment and if their special educational needs are not accommodated. Some children will require rehabilitation services and assistive devices to enable them participate in mainstream schools. A minority of children with severe and multiple disabilities will never be able to attend regular schools. These children require special facilities where they can learn and develop to their potential.

Effective development of educational opportunities for children with disabilities requires collaboration between the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Ministry of Social Welfare, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSALVY) and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and International Organisations (IOs) providing education and rehabilitation services. The DAC, as the national coordinating and advisory body on disability and rehabilitation, is in a unique position to facilitate such cooperation.

Since September 1999 the DAC has been coordinating the Project to Develop Education Opportunities to Meet the Specific Needs of Children with Disabilities. The Project's objectives of awareness raising and training, development of teaching and training materials and national policy development have succeeded in laying the foundations of education for children with disabilities. MoEYS has fully recognized the rights of children with disabilities to education but this is still a new area for the Ministry and they require further support. The DAC proposes a second phase of the Project to build on what has been achieved.

Project Organisation

The DAC is implementing this project in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS) and DAC affilliate members.

The Education for Children with Disabilities Support Programme will build the capacity of MoEYS, Special Schools, NGOs and UNICEF to develop and deliver appropriate, high quality, coordinated and sustainable education services for children with disabilities.

The DAC feels that effective education for children with disabilities requires a holistic approach to be taken. Rehabilitation services need to link with educational services. Special schools need to mesh more closely with and support mainstream educational provision. NGOs in the disability sector currently offering support to children with disabilities need to gain a greater understanding of education and the education system. The DAC is perfectly placed to facilitate such cooperation and coordination.

Programme Location

The Programme is based in Phnom Penh with regular visits to Svay Rieng and support, coordination and monitoring visits to other provinces where IE pilots are being implemented.

Programme Duration

The Programme will run for three years from September 2002 until August 2005.

Programme Personnel

The Programme is overseen by the Programme Coordinator, a national DAC staff member, Kong Vichetra.

The Programme Coordinator will receives technical and some administrative support from a Voluntary Service Overseas volunteer, based at the DAC. The volunteer, Mr David Jones, acts as a Special Educational Needs Advisor to the DAC, MoEYS and local Special Schools.

Budget

Total programme costs for the three years are estimated at $91,988 USD.

The DAC helped MoEYS to prepare and submit a successful funding proposal to UNESCO PROAP in Bangkok to provide additional support for the development of Inclusive Education. It supported further training and capacity building activities for MoEYS personnel, including teacher and trainer training, a national workshop and in-country study tours.

Project's Vision and Activities

The Project aims to set Cambodia along the path towards inclusive education for all children with disabilities. Project activities are focused on four main areas:

Programme Goal

Goal:
Develop appropriate, high quality, coordinated and sustainable education services for children with disabilities in Cambodia.

Programme Objectives

Objective 1: Capacity Building and Training.
Develop the capacity of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, NGOs and Special Schools to deliver appropriate, high quality, coordinated and sustainable education services for children with disabilities.

Objective 2: Development of Inclusive Education.
Support the ministry of education, Youth and Sports in the development of Inclusive Education in partnership with NGOs and UNICEF.

Objective 3: National Coordination, Monitoring and Reporting.
Coordinate, monitor and report on the education situation for children with disabilities in Cambodia in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.

Objective 4: National Policy Development.
Assist the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports to secure the on-going development of national policy on education for children with disabilities based on examples of good practice.

The Project takes a participatory approach to all its activities and is committed to capacity building and human resource development.

Teaching and training materials are developed by a working group which brings together project staff, skilled educators from the special schools and MoEYs personnel. The Project works directly with the newly established MoEYS Special Education Office, and provides on the job training to the MoEYS Disability Officer. It is hoped that such an approach will enable the aims and objectives of the Project to become institutionalised within the Ministry of Education. An Inclusive Education Working Group has been established in order to build partnership and cooperation between non-governmental organizations experienced in the field of disability and rehabilitation and the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports to promote opportunities for children with disabilities to access full schooling.

Past Achievements

Securing of policy commitments to develop education opportunities for children with disabilities by MoEYS in the Education Strategic Plan 2001-2005
The development of a 5-day in-service teacher training course, "Children with Special Needs in the Classroom"
The training of 33 MoEYS staff from 11 provinces and central the Ministry as trainers for the in-service course
The development of a range of awareness raising materials including posters, T-shirts and short training courses
The delivery of awareness raising training to MoEYs staff, health workers, NGO staff, teachers and the general public
Small and large awareness raising events
The inclusion of children with disabilities in national events such as Children's Day
Teaching and training materials including a poster series highlighting strategies for including children with disabilities in mainstream schools
Capacity building of MoEYS staff, including support in establishing the Special Education Office
Capacity building of NGO partners
National Workshop on Education for Children with Disabilities
The original pilot school cluster has been expanded to include a new school cluster in Svay Rieng Province
Grade 1 and 2 teachers from the new school cluster in Svay Rieng and newly selected school clusters supported by partner NGOs received a training course on " Children with Special Needs in the Classroom "
The training of 44 MoEYS staff from 13 provinces and the central Ministry have been trained as trainers for the in-service course
New teaching and training materials are being developed: Child-to-Child materials, Child story flipchart, Behavior Management booklet, Special Needs Manual
Teaching and training materials have been widely distributed to selected school clusters, our NGO partners and other groups
Disability Awareness shows have been performed around the country

Conclusion

Is this still relevant? It talks about the old project but the title of this piece is " Education for Children with Disabilities Support Programme (September 2002-August 2005)" so the project can not be successful yet!

The project has succeeded in achieving its initial objectives. MoEYS has made policy commitments to address the needs of children with disabilities in Cambodia over the next 5 years. The project has assembled, translated and developed a wide range of teaching and training resource materials. The pilot Inclusive Education programme has developed a low cost, innovative and effective system for helping develop the education of children with disabilities which is being replicated in 5 new provinces. Personnel from MoEYS and NGOs have received training throughout the country from basic disability awareness to specific teaching techniques. A core group of MoEYS trainers has also been developed.

The project has been successful because of the commitment, enthusiasm and support of its partners in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, its donors and the affiliated NGO members of the DAC. The DAC project team would like to warmly thank all of our colleagues and partners for their assistance and support. In particular the DAC would like to acknowledge the support and assistance it has received from MoEYS and we look forward to our future partnership. Moreover DAC would like to and warmly and sincerely thank to UNICEF, UNESCO and the Nippon Foundation who financially supported to the project for the last three year (Sept. 1999-August 2005).

Future Plans

I would suggest that this is too much information to be put on the website and some of it is already explained above. We could put some of the existing paperwork, reports, proposals, etc as separate documents which would be accessed via links. I don't think people would read as far as the end!

We also need to include relevant and snappy photographs.

Objective 1: Capacity Building and Training

The capacity building and training activities of the Programme will target 3 groups- the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, NGOs offering educational support services to children with disabilities and Special Schools.

Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports

The Programme will seek to raise awareness and understanding of the rights and needs of children with disabilities amongst key MoEYS planners and administrators through formal training opportunities, local and international study tours and exposure visits.
The Programme will work closely with the Special Education Office (SEO) and the Primary and Pre-school Department to build their capacity to effectively deliver education opportunities for children with disabilities.
The Programme will train one staff member of the Primary and Pre-school Department as a Special Needs Advisor to MoEYS. This individual will learn Braille, Sign Language and specialist teaching techniques through placements in special schools, formal training opportunities and on-the job training working closely with the DAC/VSO Special Needs Advisor. The Programme will provide further training to the MoEYS Special Needs Trainers and follow up support and seek to train further trainers.
The Programme will continue to develop the capacity of the SEO Disability Officer to coordinate, supervise and report on education provision for children with disabilities, through formal training and on the job training.
The Programme will continue to develop the skills of one staff member from the Pedagogical Research Department (PRD) in sign language development and curriculum adaptation.
The Programme will provide MoEYS with regularly updated information on rehabilitation services for children with disabilities.

NGOs

The programme will facilitate greater links between disability sector NGOs and MoEYS by keeping them informed of developments in MoEYS, by assisting them to reach formal agreements with MoEYS as appropriate and by providing a regular opportunity for them to meet staff of the SEO.
The programme will support education sector NGOs who wish to build their capacity to provide education opportunities to children with disabilities by providing disability awareness training, teaching and training materials and facilitating study tours and exposure visits to see examples of best practice.

Special Schools

Special schools will receive technical support from the DAC/VSO Special Needs Advisor, who will also work closely with the Rabbit School at the Nutrition Centre to develop it as a center of excellence.
Further teaching and training materials will be developed particularly in the field of specific learning disorders.

Objective 2: Development of Inclusive Education

The DAC in partnership with MoEYS has been developing a model of a holistic, coordinated approach to delivering education opportunities to children with disabilities in its pilot Inclusive Education programme in the K'Cheay school cluster in Svay Rieng. UNICEF and NGOs have recognized the early achievements of this pilot. The DAC pilot model of Inclusive Education will be replicated in 5 NGOs in selected clusters in 5 provinces. New Inclusive Education pilots will be implemented, in cooperation with MoEYS, by Operations Enfants du Battambang in Battambang; Veterans International in Prey Veng; Handicap International in Kompong Thom; National Centre of Disabled Persons in Kompong Spue and Cambodia Trust in Sihanoukville. UNICEF Children in Need of Special Protection (CNSP) will support most of these pilots.

The DAC will support the development of these IE pilots by providing technical support to the implementing NGOs and MoEYS in selection of sites, training for members of Provincial Implementation Teams (PIT), support to MoEYS trainers to deliver the in-service course "Children with Special Needs in the Classroom" to teachers and principals and in the sharing and provision of teaching and training materials.

The DAC will seek to integrate the implementation of the K'Cheay IE pilot with UNICEF Education activities to increase access for vulnerable groups and the development of child friendly schools.

The Programme will expand the IE pilot programme in Svay Rieng to another school cluster supported by UNICEF Education. Resourcing for the IE programme in Svay Rieng will be channeled through the POE following the UNICEF model thus building the capacity of MoEYS and ensuring mainstreaming of the programme's activities. The programme will build the capacity of MoEYS and UNICEF personnel to implement the IE pilot. DAC will seek to withdraw from a direct implementation role by the beginning of 2005.

The DAC will offer technical support to any other UNICEF supported school cluster that wishes to develop its capacity to assist children with disabilities as part of the child friendly schools programme.

The Programme will link with other IE programmes in the Asia Pacific region.

Objective 3: National Coordination, Monitoring and Reporting

The DAC will work with MoEYS to develop a coordinated and comprehensive reporting system on the development of education opportunities for children with disabilities.

The Programme will address issue of the current lack of reliable data on the education situation for children with disabilities. The programme will develop a simple tool for identifying children with disabilities to be used nationally and a common reporting format for use by NGOs providing educational support services to children with disabilities. The Programme will coordinate uniform reporting procedures for use in all pilot IE programmes to ensure that appropriate research data is made available to MOEYS and UNICEF to assist them in policy development.

The Programme will support the development of databases at MOEYS SEO and the DAC on the education situation for children with disabilities. The Programme will build the capacity of the Primary and Pre-school Department and the SEO to coordinate, monitor and report on the implementation of IE pilots and other education support programmes for children with disabilities provided by NGOs.

The DAC will produce a quarterly newsletter for distribution to NGOs and MoEYS, keeping them informed of the Programme's development.

Objective 4: National Policy Development

The Programme will seek to secure national policy development on education for children with disabilities. The Programme will continue to advocate for the needs of children with disabilities and raise awareness of the rights and abilities of the disabled with key MoEYS personnel. The Programme will ensure that MoEYS has accurate and relevant data drawn from pilot IE programmes and local and international examples of good practice. The DAC will facilitate the participation of senior MoEYS personnel in international conferences on education for children with disabilities, Inclusive Education and Education for All. The DAC will actively participate in education discussion and information sharing forums such as EDUCAM, the new NGO Education Partnership (NEP) and the MoEYS EFA Committee. The Programme will assist MoEYS to develop a National Plan of Action on education for children with disabilities in cooperation with the rehabilitation sector and MoSALVY.

MoEYS Liaison Programme Officers (LPO)

The Programme will work closely with 3 MoEYS staff to build their capacity to ultimately take over the supervision and implementation of programmes providing education services to children with disabilities in the mainstream system and to provide technical advice on teaching methodologies and curriculum design and adaptation to the Ministry.

The Disability Officer at the Special Education Office will receive formal and on-the-job training to build his capacity as a Programme Coordinator. He will work closely with the DAC Programme Coordinator.

The Programme will train another MoEYS staff member, drawn from the Primary and Pre-school Department, as a Special Needs Advisor and Resource Person.

The Programme will continue to provide training and support to a MoEYS staff member from the Pedagogical Research Department on Sign language and development of training and teaching materials for children with special needs and curriculum adaptation. This individual will continue to work closely with Krousar Thmey and the Deaf Development Programme.

Salary and remuneration for the DAC Programme Coordinator and the DAC/VSO Special Needs Advisor will be provided by the DAC.

MoEYS LPOs will work with the Programme for a set number of days per month and will be remunerated according to current UNICEF procedures, following the model of other NGOs such as KAPE and CARE.

Reporting, Monitoring and Evaluation

The DAC Programme Coordinator will submit quarterly action plans and progress reports to UNICEF, DAC and MoEYS.

The DAC Programme Coordinator will prepare and distribute a quarterly newsletter to partners and relevant MoEYS personnel.

The Programme Coordinator in cooperation with MoEYS will produce an annual report of the education situation for children with disabilities.

The success of the Programme will be measured by a yearly MoEYS evaluation and an external evaluation at the end of the Programme cycle.

Sustainability

Capacity building of MoEYS personnel and NGO partners will be a key component of the Programme. The DAC generally does not implement programmes. Its role is as the national advisory and coordinating body on disability and rehabilitation to the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC). The DAC will seek to phase out its implementation role completely by the beginning of 2005 and from then on until the end of the programme will act only in an advisory capacity to MoEYS.

Constraints and Risks

The success of the Programme rests on close cooperation between MoEYS, DAC and partner NGOs.

The Ministry is overstretched and faced with many competing demands. MoEYS have made a bold commitment to addressing educational disparities in the ESP and ESSP. The Programme is framed on the assumption that MoEYS is determined to realize these commitments and that sufficient resourcing will be provided by the RGC and international donors.

The Programme also assumes that partner NGOs will have sufficient funding to implement pilot IE programmes and other educational support services for children with disabilities.

Benefits of the Programme

The Education for Children with Disabilities Support Programme will seek to increase the number of children with disabilities receiving an education. The Programme will improve the quality of education that children with disabilities receive in the mainstream and special school systems. The Programme will support the development of a range of innovative pilot Inclusive Education programmes to provide models of best practice and research data for MoEYS.

The Programme will facilitate coordination and cooperation nationally between MoEYS, NGOs and Special Schools to develop a national plan of action. The Programme will support and advise MoEYS to develop and implement a national policy on education for children with disabilities. The Programme will seek to provide a model of how crosscutting issues can be addressed to other sectors.