On the occasion of International Day of Education on January 24, 2024, the Austrian Council for the Disabled once again draws attention to the right to inclusive education.
Vienna (OTS) – By signing and ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities in 2008, Austria committed itself to creating an inclusive education and science system across the entire education chain. Inclusive education is a human right and has been guaranteed since the signing of the UN Convention.
The 2022 decided by the Council of Ministers Recommendations for action clearly show that children with disabilities do not have equal access to education in Austria. The UN technical committee calls for the expansion of the segregated school system to be stopped immediately and phased out, to ensure that resources, including financial resources, are available for the transition from segregated to inclusive education, to develop a nationwide strategy for inclusive education all education systems at all levels of education, including those of the states and municipalities, to establish educational policies and guidelines for inclusive education, including at the state and municipal level, and to harmonize inclusive curricula in close consultation with organizations of people with disabilities and with their active participation to develop and implement the strategy quickly.
Education that includes EVERYONE
Expanding resources for inclusive teaching and education at all levels is essential. However, children and young people with disabilities continue to be taught separately from their peers in special schools. The Austrian Council for the Disabled is calling for an inclusive education system and the transfer of special schools to regular schools with a step-by-step plan.
„Kindergartens and schools that include ALL children are an important step towards a society that excludes no one. If children learn, play and grow up together, they will continue to find it normal to live together in all areas of life.
“, explains Klaus Widl, President of the Austrian Council for the Disabled.
„After years of standstill in the area of inclusive education, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities must finally be fully implemented. Because without equal education, people with disabilities do not have an equal future.
“, warns Disabled People’s Council President Klaus Widl.
Questions & Contact:
Mag. Kerstin Huber-Eibl, Tel. 0660 92 47 236, Email: k.huber-eibl@behindertenrat.at