The Austrian Council for the Disabled is committed to an inclusive educational landscape
Students with disabilities must not continue to be disadvantaged. Because all children and young people with disabilities have the right to education. All students with disabilities should have the same educational and future opportunities.
Klaus Widl, President of the Austrian Council for the Disabled
Vienna (OTS) – The Austrian Council for the Disabled also took part in the Austria-wide Education Day this year. In his speech at the rally on June 6th in Vienna’s Sigmund Freud Park, Disabled People’s Council President Klaus Widl highlighted failings in the area of inclusive education and postulated demands for a new government.
The United Nations Technical Committee on the Rights of People with Disabilities gave Austria a catastrophic report in the field of inclusive education. The committee criticized, among other things, the prioritization of exclusionary schools for students with disabilities over inclusive schools, the lack of staff and resources as well as the lack of assistance and support offers and data on this. These problems extend from kindergarten to all types of schools and school levels.
The Austrian Council for the Disabled has been dealing with the issue of education in a variety of ways for many years: for example, civil society reports have been written and the issue of education has been lobbied nationally, internationally and particularly at the United Nations in Geneva. Furthermore, the Austrian Council for the Disabled held its annual conference on the topic of inclusive education in September 2023 and developed approaches to solutions with national experts. In addition, regular expert rounds are organized in the Education competence team of the Austrian Council for the Disabled.
With this know-how, experience and factual knowledge, the Austrian Council for the Disabled regularly exchanges ideas with politicians and decision-makers in order to convince them of a truly inclusive educational world, and issues statements on draft laws, such as the School Tuition Act and the reduction of study time for teachers Internal training or training plans for educators, the use of Austrian Sign Language in secondary school and child protection in schools.
As part of Austria-wide demonstrations and protest marches, the Austrian Council for the Disabled loudly called for inclusive education to be guaranteed. Many children and young people are structurally discriminated against when it comes to access to good, efficient and forward-looking education.
Demands for a new government
The Austrian Council for the Disabled calls for the rapid implementation of inclusive education at all levels of training and education. The responsible politicians must finally take the United Nations’ recommendations for action seriously and act accordingly. We demand a structured transformation process from a segregated school system to an inclusive school system for ALL. This requires central process control as well as coordinated federal and state action plans.
“Students with disabilities must not continue to be disadvantaged. Because all children and young people with disabilities have the right to education. All students with disabilities should have the same educational and future opportunities.
“, explained Disabled Persons Council President Klaus Widl.
Questions & Contact:
Mag. Kerstin Huber-Eibl, Tel. 0660 92 47 236, Email: k.huber-eibl@behindertenrat.at