South Asia Sub-Regional Report
National policy regarding disabilities
Download 349.56 Kb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- Disability Situation
National policy regarding disabilitiesTo achieve the target of getting from current position to the desired position, The government ‘s overall policy intention is to ensure that: -
(a) All disabled children with special educational needs can have access and benefit from education system. (b) Disabled children and children with special educational needs will be able to attend a local school where they will receive quality education alongside their able bodied peers. (c) Teacher training institutes will play a crucial role as a means of achieving the above priorities. (d) College of further and higher education will be equally accessible to young people with disabilities.
Considering the above points, the royal government in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) adheres the following guidelines:- (a) Equal opportunity for disabled children must be integral to the planning of educational provision. (b) Disabled children and children with special educational needs should be fully included in schools with full access to curriculum. (c) Disabled pupils should be able to take part in extra curricular activities and should have equal access to cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activities. (d) Provision of education should not take children away from their parents and local communities, and disabled children who have to spend the academic year in educational boarding facility, should have their rights to inclusion, safety protection and promotion. (e) Children with special educational needs should be identified as early as possible and assessment of their specific needs conducted promptly and should be ensured to a broad, balanced, relevant and differentiated education. (f) Independence, self-advocacy, respect for others and development of self -esteem should be integral aim of education. (g) Disabled pupils should receive practical assistance and emotional support in order to make a successful transition to adulthood. (h) Disabled pupils and their parents should be invited to participate generally in development, planning and reviewing educational services as a whole.
With these guidelines in view, the royal government has laid down the following targets: - (a) All schools will enroll children with mild hearing difficulties or physical and sensory disabilities who can be entered in the mainstream schools. (b) By the end of 2002, the National Institute for the Disabled was to be developed as a satellite resource center for children with visual impairments and will support their integration into two local main stream schools from class two (information regarding this included in point number (1) Under Organizations run for/by PWDs. (c) By the end of the year 2003, a small resource unit was to be developed to teach total communication methods, to children with hearing impairments, a national disability unit was to be established and a Braille production unit was to be founded either in Thimphu or at Paro to provide information, communication and technical customer services for teachers, the education division, the college of further and higher education employers, disabled people and their parents.
Many methods were developed to achieve this targets and to ensure that disabled children receive good quality education. Among them, the most important actions to be taken are:- (a) Develop a process for identifying disabled children at pre school age, for assessing their educational and health needs for referring them to the pilot schools. (b) Build partnership with parents of disabled children and support them to send their children to schools. (c) Develop positive attitude towards people with disabilities among head teachers and schoolteachers in order to gain commitment to over all policy. (d) Upgrade teacher expertise, skills to experience inclusive education. (e) Build up the physical infrastructure, equipments and transport to schools. (f) Establish a national system for managing special education within Bhutan. (g) Establish a joint plan with the Ministry of Health regarding health services for disabled children in the schools.
Each of the pilot schools should be closely monitored and evaluated against various indicators of success such as:- (a) Change in attitude towards children with disabilities among teachers. (b) Increase enrolment of disabled children. (c) Increasing number of schools accessible to disabled children. (d) Increasing number of disabled children seeking employment. (e) Increasing total resource allocated to the disabled, to ensure the strategy mentioned is implemented effectively.
Conclusion Despite a number of development activities taking place for the people with the disabilities in our country, it is really depressing for most of our senior friends who have tried their best to let you know that, so far we have been unable to establish a functional and national association for the people with the disabilities. The following can be considered as the points of constraints and complications obstructing the formation of disabled people’s association of Bhutan (DPAB): -
(a) It’s members mainly consists of the visually impaired graduates from the National Institute for the Disabled and communication seems to be very difficult as we are scattered in different parts of the kingdom. (b) Lack of an active committee or an organization, which commits total dedication in raising funds to keep such an association in full swing. (c) The last and third point is of a leadership. So far, we do not have an expert leader who activates in raising funds and seeking guidance and support and, who works full time towards this goal with sincere dedication. However, a proposal to establish the disabled people’s association of Bhutan was drafted and a concept paper was published. The objectives of the DPAB are: -
(a) To enhance awareness among the Bhutanese society about the situation of the people with disabilities in the country. (b) It will try to educate the general public and make them more aware of the problems and difficulties faced by the disabled. (c) The association will support the community based rehabilitation program to help rehabilitate the disabled population into general society with the minimum inconveniences. (d) Try to assist the special education unit in stabilizing career and study opportunity for the disabled.
Our dreams and hopes are: - (a) For Disabled people will be established a fully functional DPAB that will be run by the disabled people for their own benefits. (b) The National Institute for the Disabled will produce competent and professional people in spite of their different kinds of disabilities, with various employable skills. (c) The Community Based Rehabilitation Program will be able to provide practical and financial support to people with all types of disabilities in community who are not reached by the NID and the DPAB.
Bangladesh Geographical Data & Population Bangladesh is a small beautiful country in the northeastern part of Southeast Asia. It is fenced by the Bay of Bengal on the south and by India on the north, east and the west. There is a small strip of frontier with Myanmar (Burma) on the southeastern edge. Located in one of the wettest regions of the world, Bangladesh has a tropical monsoon climate characterized by rain bearing winds, warm temperatures and high humidity. The country has mainly four seasons: Winter (Dec-Feb), summer (Mar-May), Monsoon (June-Sept) and Autumn (Oct-Nov). Bangladesh has been subject to climatic extremities. Especially during summer and monsoon I tropical cyclones, storms and tidal bores cause widespread damage and destruction. This is a land of 126.8 million (as per official record 1998) people comprising Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and others. Over 98% of the people speak in Bangia, although English is widely used. Its landmass is 147,570 square kilometers. Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries of the world with population density 854 per sq km. Total population is126.8 million and sex ratio is 106 males per 100 females. The country is divided into six administrative divisions namely Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal and Sylhet. A division is composed of a number of districts. Altogether there are 64 districts in Bangladesh. The districts are further divided into 490 thanas. Several Union Councils constitute a thana and there are 15-20 villages in each thana. Elected bodies like City Co-operation and Municipalities in the urban areas and Union Councils in the rural areas constitute the local government structure. Dhaka is the capital and the largest metropolitan city of the country. Population Growth Rate is 1.7%. Per capita income: (1997-98) US $ 280 by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employment has been unable to keep up with increase in the labor force. Poverty continuous to be widespread, with more than 50% of the population estimated to be living below the poverty line. Its people have a life expectancy of 58 years-. Mortality rate of the children under 5 in Bangladesh is one of the highest in the world. About 60 percent of the children experience moderate to severe malnutrition and the people in general suffer from endemic health problems. Literacy rate at above 7 years of age is 48.7 percent. Disability SituationThough disability is a major social and economic phenomenon in Bangladesh, but there is hardly any reliable data in this regard to reveal the actual number. But it is assumed that the prevalence of disability in Bangladesh is not less than the WHO estimation for the developing countries. Discretely done by different agencies, available studies are either localized or issue-specific. Lack of precise definition/conception of disability and variation of professional mechanism for identification of their severity, the available surveys portray widely different picture. The GOB survey:) in 1982, 1986 and 1998 estimated national prevalence rate of disability at 0.64%, 0.5% and 1.6% respectively. Action Aid-Bangladesh and SARPV (Social Assistance and Rehabilitation for the Physically Vulnerable) put the disabled persons at 8.8% of the total Population. Bangladesh Protibandhi Kallyan Somity (BPKS) and Voluntary Health Services Society (VHSS) found it 7.8%. In a report for the Aid Management Office (AMOD) of the Ovlerseas Development Administration (ODA) for the British Government cited the figure as 9 million of which no less than 7 million live in the rural areas. The most estimates generally appear to be underrated, sometimes grossly, when the World Health Organization (WHO) has a global estimate about 10%. Knowledgeable sources believe that the prevalence is above 10% and it is more extensive in the rural areas. It could be mentioned here that information field on disability has been included for the first time in the countries National Census format that have been conducted in 2001. Final report of that Census is yet to be published. Still there are lots of confusion about how that report would focus the disability situation? Because the data collectors had no orientation on disability and they didn't get sufficient time to collect complete information in this regard. It is said that, the census workers haven't interviewed about 50% or more persons with disabilities of the country. However from the available data and information of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS 1998), based on health and medical perspective, proportional prevalence of disability/impairment of different categories at all ages are as follows. Type of Disability/impairment:- Visual Prevalence:- 31.3% Type of Disability/impairment:- Physical Prevalence:- 27.5% Type of Disability/impairment:- Hearing and Speech Prevalence:- 28% Type of Disability/impairment:- Mental Prevalence:- 4.9% Type of Disability/impairment:- Leprosy and Goiter Prevalence:- 8.3% Total:- 100% Major causes of disabilities in Bangladesh It is very difficult to elaborate the majority causes of disability in Bangladesh. Most of those causes are congenital and unknown. Commonly the incidences of disability occur before birth, during birth and after birth. The major known causes of disabilities could be categorized as follows: --Lack of Awareness --Wrong/mal-treatment --Poverty a Attack of wild animals --Mal-Nutrition --Marriage between blood --Infectious and other diseases relatives. --Environmental Pollution --Accidents and violence --Forced Delivery -- a Birth Complications --Natural Disasters etc. Situation of PWDs In the Country Persons with disabilities in Bangladesh have been facing a strong difficult situation everywhere in their day-to-day activities. The major difficulties faced by the PWDs are as follows:
PWDs of Bangladesh do not have proper access to health and medical services. Inadequate facilities for treatment and rehabilitation of the disabled patients are making their lives miserable and vulnerable. lack of professionals, specialist physicians and often properly trained staff members at the hospitals creates lots of problems for FWDs. Access to education: Access to education for persons with disabilities is very poor due to lack 0 f facilities, resource teachers and unaffordable tuition fees. Most of the educational institutes are not accessible for wheelchair users. Discrimination and ridicules by other are common phenomenon for students with disabilities in Bangladesh. There is no provision for governmental support to the disabled students where there are many programs like food for education, total literacy movement etc. run by the government to promote education for mass community. Many parents create barriers for disabled students, as they do not want their children to study along with any disabled students. Access to job and employment: Currently access to job and employment both in public and private sector organizations are not available for PWDs., Potential employers don't have confidence on the capabilities of people with disabilities to carry out the required task of the job and at time. Strong lack of awareness in this regard among the employers is a big hurdle for PWDs. On the other hand, Without having a single opportunity the disabled persons cannot improve their professional skills and competence required for a specific job.
Transportation for persons with disabilities is another big difficulty in Bangladesh. So far there were no accessible vehicle for PWDs in the public or private sector. But in 2003 a private transportation company declared to have introduced three accessible buses in the capital city. But it takes time to increase accessible transports for PWDs. However, we expect the number of vehicles will be increased in future. Transportation system in Bangladesh is fully inaccessible for persons with disabilities. There is no safety and security for them. Transportation staffs are not properly oriented with the difficulties and need for disabled persons. As a result they cannot be supportive to PWDs during traveling. Platforms and ticket counters for buses and trains are not accessible for them. The situation for Air and river transportation is worst. Air traveling through international routs is little bit friendly as there are boarding bridges. But for domestic traveling there are no minimum facilities. River transportation is full of risks for PWDs. At many places there are no gangways. In the city public and private buildings, offices, shopping centers and even footpaths aren't accessible for wheelchair users and visually impaired. The illegal traders and vendors occupy most of the footpaths. Footpaths' edges aren't sloped with the main path so that wheelchairs can have access to the footpaths. As such PWDs in Bangladesh have to always depend on others for their transportation. Children with Disabilities: Children With Disabilities (CWDs) are one among the most vulnerable groups in Bangladesh. A large number of children under five die every year due to tetanus, acute respiratory infections pneumonia, diarrhea and malnutrition in the country. Among them the number of children with disabilities is significant. Children with disabilities (CWDs) become the first victim of discrimination by others. In the family they are not usually provided with same food, clothing, shelter and care as their peers. The family usually ignores their needs, especially health and educational needs. As a result they are deprived of their basic rights to education, health, participation and recreation. Many a times, the others also abuse CWDs. Women With disabilities: Women in Bangladesh are generally the victims of discrimination in the male dominated society underpinned by conservative traditions. Social and cultural restrictions confine them to the "protection" of men in their family. Woman With disabilities (WWDs) are considered as victims of double disability in the society. Firstly their disability for being women and secondly they are disabled physically, visually or mentally. Because of their restriction being women parameter of their disability increase a lot. On the other hand they are frequently abused as vulnerable women. Incidences of sexual abuse of women with disabilities are not also uncommon in the community. Community does not pay any attention to the opinion of the women with disabilities. Facilities for their education and healthy development are badly restricted in the country. Even the people cannot imagine of a happy familial and conjugal life for Women with Disabilities in Bangladesh. Even from last decade Premier of Bangladesh are women but recently the government approved a proposal of the 14th amendment of the Constitution containing six changes, including reintroduction of women's reserved seats for ten years. Sports, cultural and recreational facilities: We are still keeping far behind optimum facilities to sports, culture or recreational activities for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh. Nowadays the organizations working in the field of disability and development are feeling this need as an inevitable component of healthy development of PWDs. In response to this need some emerging disabled peoples' organizations under the leader the leadership of BPKS have been coming forward to build a sports and cultural infrastructure for persons with disabilities in the country. SERVICES and facilities available FOR PWDs The services and facilities for PWDs in Bi3ngladesh could be divided into two, Governmental Services and Non Governmental Services. Governmental Services: In Bangladesh services facilities for PWDs by the government is very limited and are basically concentrated on treatment, education and training. The education and training are again isolated, segregated and special in nature. In 1972 country's' first rehabilitation program initiated by government through establishing the Rehabilitation Institute and Hospital for the Disabled (RIHD) for orthopedic and medical rehabilitation of the war injured Freedom Fighters (Which is now National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedic Rehabilitation, NITOR). Gradually the other services and facilities have been developed during the years by the government and NGOs. The Department of Social Welfare, Ministry of Social Welfare, provides the major rehabilitation services of the government for disabled persons. Though very limited, the Social Welfare Department has initiated Educational, vocational and rehabilitative programs of for disabled persons in different areas of the country. Following are the facilities provided by government - Training and Rehabilitation Center for the Blind (TRCB) Established in 1977 at Tongh to provide mobility training and IGA training of Bamboo and cane works to the visually impaired persons with a capacity of 50 participants. Employment Rehabilitation Center Employment Rehabilitation Center for the Physically Handicapped (ERCPH) was established in 1983 to develop technical and vocational Skills among hearing impaired, visually impaired and orthopaedically handicapped persons. Braille Press & Artificial limbs Production Center The government established countries, only Braille Press for Printing and Supplying the Braille Books to the Blind students up to Secondary School level of blind schools run by the Department of Social Services. Hearing Aid and Artificial limbs Production Center The government has established a Hearing Aid Assembling and Artificial Limbs Production Center to assist fulfillment of the needs of the people with disabilities. Industrial Production Unit A Plastic Industry named 'Maitree Shilpa' was established in 1983 under ERCPH. Different types of household plastic materials have been manufactured in this factory. Persons with physical and hearing impairment run this unit. At present about 30 disable persons are working in this factory as employees. Rural Rehabilitation Center (RRC) for Physically Handicapped In addition to ERCPH, a Rural Rehabilitation Center for the Physically Handicapped has been established in 1987 at Fakirhat thana of Bagerhat district to train and rehabilitate the Physically Handicapped of the rural areas with a capacity of 40 students per year. In this Center training facilities are provided in mechanical workshop, tailoring and animal husbandry. Schools for Special Education of Blind, Deaf and mentally retarded children The government in different place of the country has been operating schools for special education of the blind, deaf and mentally retarded children to provide general education up to class ten. There are 7 schools for hearing impaired (Deaf and dumb), 5 schools for visually impaired and 1 school for mentally retarded children. The total capacity of the aforesaid 13 schools is (13x50) = 650 at a time. The students are also provided with training of vocational skills in carpentry, house wiring, painting & graphic arts, tailoring, automobile etc. Integrated Education for the Blind With a view to providing educational facilities to the blind children in rural areas, there are 64 integrated education programs are running in 64 regular schools in 64 districts with a capacity of 10 student each school with the provision of a trained resource teachers to train and assist blind students at regular classes. National Centre for Special Education (NCSE) The national Centre for Special Education (NCSE) was established in 1992 with the objectives of providing training of the trainers/instructor in disability, higher education on special education (Bachelor of Special Education), development of aids and materials, counseling etc. It is a composite institute Consisting of Teachers Training College for Special Education, Residential/Day primary school for the di:3abled, Special Training for disabled persons and Resource Unit. Special Teachers' Training Program Department of Special Education in the Institute of Education and Research, University of Dhaka offers of the teachers on Special Education in visual impairment, intellectual disability and hearing impairment at graduation and master's level. Child Development Center Child Development Centers have been established under Dhaka Shishu (children) Hospital and Chittagong Medical College Hospital, involved in providing medical and relevant support services to disabled children of the country. Orthopedic Units All Government Medical College Hospital~3 of the country have been equipped with orthopedic units for providing orthopedic and medical rehabilitation services to the patients and other disabled persons Leprosy Hospitals and Rehabilitation Centers There are three leprosy hospitals run by the Government together with two vocational rehabilitation centers for those with orthopedic disabilities. OTHER EFFORTS BY THE GOVERNMENT – In 1993, the government of Bangladesh has set up a National Co-ordination Committee on Disability under the Ministry of Social Welfare. --The Government of Bangladesh has formulated the National Policy on Disabilities and approved by the Cabinet Ministry in 1995, outlining the guidelines for the prevention, identification, education, rehabilitation, research and management of national programs for the welfare of PWDs. --An Action Plan on Disability was approved by the Government in 1996 for implementation of programs and activities, strategies and duties of concern for PWDs but yet to implement most of the activities defined in that Action Plan. --The government has approved a legislation concerning the welfare of the disabled persons named "Disability Welfare Act-2001" in April 2001. --The National Foundation for the Development of Disabled Person (NFDDP) has been established and started working since 2000 under the Ministry of Social Welfare --Government has already taken an initiative and declared loan facilities and 10% quota for disabled people for the government employment the 8th National Parliament Assembly at the First Session 2004. Task force on Disability in Bangladesh has approved the National Action Plan for the Development of Disabled persons. Government of Bangladesh formed a 19 members Task force on Disability issues on 13th May 02 headed by the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Social welfare, Government of Bangladesh. Members of the committee are from Ministry of Establishment, Fnance, Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Primary and Mass Education, Housing and Works, Communication, Health and Family Welfare, Local Government and Rural Development, Women and Children Affairs, Youth and ports, Director General Dept. of Social Services, Managing Director, National Foundation for the Development of Disabled Persons, 7 representatives of National Forum of Organizations Working with the Disabled (NFOWD) including DPO's representative. Government of Bangladesh assigned the task force to formulate an Action Plan based on the Disability Welfare Act 2001, National Policy on Disability -1995; Prime Minister's Short term and long term development plan for the people with Disabilities- March 07, 2002 and the BMF. Main objective of the Action Plan is to formulate a process to share responsibility for the development of the people with disabilities by Different ministries. The Task force in its meeting held on 18th August 04 approved the draft Action Plan unanimously. The Action Plan will be placed to the National Coordination Committee for the People with Disabilities in Bangladesh And than to the Cabinet for final Approval. National Forum of Organizations Working with the Disabled (NFOWD), its member organizations and the people with disabilities express their happiness and urges the government to approve the Action plan as soon as possible. It is to be mentioned here that on 13th May 2004, Prime Minister of Bangladesh announced in a gathering of disabled persons to approve the Action Plan soon.
In Bangladesh, there are several thousands of NGOs have been working in different sectors of development. But the number of NGOs working in disability and development is very trifle. The total number of NGOs is about only 200 that have been formed and managed by the disabled persons or have been working for the disabled persons or disability is only one component among many others. Among those, the number of organizations working exclusively for disabled persons and the organizations comprised of and managed by the disabled persons is not more than 10. There are very few among those NGO's formed and managed by a very limited number of PWDs, Many a times it doesn't exceed singular number. Most of those organizations are urban based and the number of PWDs at management level is the same as above. In the other organizations there is no PWDs in the management level and even the PWD beneficiaries don't have access to participate in their need assessment, policy development, decision- making and implementation of their programs. Basically the NGOs providing their services on awareness raising, training, education and providing health care services. Some NGOs are operating credit programs among their beneficiaries. "Action Aid Bangladesh recently conducted a survey on NGO's working in the field of disability. 68% are working at grass-roots level and 24% at national level. 47% are working with the Community Based Rehabilitation approach, 12% with an Institution Based Rehabilitation approach and 41 % follow both approaches. The NGOs five most common areas of specialization are training, education, awareness raising, disability prevention arid medical rehabilitation. There are very few NGOs have clinical facilities for treatment and rehabilitation of the disabled persons. Among those, The Leprosy Mission, Damien Foundation, Santi Handicapped Center, Pangu Shishu Niketon, Society for Assistance to Hearing Impaired Children (SAHIC), Bangladesh National Society for the Blind (BNSB), Impact foundation Bangladesh, Center for Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed (CRP) could be mentioned. CRP provides treatment and rehabilitation training to the paraplegic patients, which confines its services only towards the spinal cord injured patients. Download 349.56 Kb. Share with your friends:
|