A festival on inclusive education was held in the city of Osh. Wife of the British Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Veronique Garrett told 24.kg news agency.
The first inclusive festival was held in September 2021.
There are more than 32,000 registered children with disabilities under 18 in Kyrgyzstan. Only a fifth of them go to school. A total of 305 children with disabilities attend regular school.
Research shows that inclusive education benefits all children by promoting tolerance, understanding and diversity, and helps them to live equally in society.
«In Kyrgyzstan, children with disabilities still face significant social barriers to education. They are permanent residents of many special schools and are permanently separated from their families. Most teachers are afraid to teach children with disabilities and do not understand how important social inclusion is. Disability is presented as a kind of defect, inferiority, or equated to illness and disease,» Veronique Garrett said.
She noted that the purpose of the second inclusive festival is to continue raising awareness on the topic and drawing attention to the need for changes in the education system.
The festival was organized by Public Foundation for Human Values Kerege, Elim, Barsynby? Charitable Foundation, Sapat International Educational Institution and Veronique Garrett with the support of local authorities, UNICEF, UN Women and the UN World Food Programme.
