Vocational School of Justice
EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF THE HANDICAPPED
EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF THE HANDICAPPED
There are all together 8.5 million handicapped people in Turkey, however, 97% of this group are deprived of education opportunities. The experts state that handicapped individuals need continuous education and that parents seeking inclusive education are turned down by the schools.
Ezgi Oral, Lecturer at IUE Vocational School of Health Services, Child Development Program, stated that children experience different levels of growth and development. She said, “Handicapped children, being both handicapped and children, face more difficulties in life compared to the other individuals in society. They cannot benefit from rights in education, healthcare, rehabilitation, treatments, etc. An important majority also has to deal with poverty.”
Oral indicated that basic learning rights of each individual have to be met and their individual learning needs have to be taken into consideration. She said that parents and children go through such a rough time in order to find a suitable school or get accepted by that school. Many parents give up and drop the issue, said Oral. “Right of education for a handicapped individual is not a privilege; on the contrary, it is an equal opportunity. People with special education needs also have to benefit from a continuous, maximum period of education. In other words, no matter what the age is, the handicapped individual has a right to education,” said Oral.
‘They should not be turned down’
Two thirds of children with special learning needs in Turkey received inclusive education in Turkey, however, many parents were turned down by schools, said Oral. She said that educators and school owners ignored the importance of inclusive education. Necessary arrangements needed to be made in schools where inclusive education would take place, and due to lack of physical infrastructure and mental imcompetencies, and safety reasons, parents acted overly protective of their handicapped children and cannot let them on the streets easily, said Oral.