“Pressuring teachers in this process is wrong.” Discussion of inclusive education in Uzbekistan

“Pressure on teachers in this process is wrong.” Discussion of inclusive education in Uzbekistan

There are more than 132,000 school-aged children with disabilities in Uzbekistan. According to analyses, 6,801 children are involved in inclusive education in 2,610 general education schools, while 17,056 children receive education at home.

According to UNICEF's view, inclusive education means two different concepts in a narrow and broad sense. In a narrow sense, it is the inclusion of students with disabilities or those facing specific difficulties into the educational process. In a broad sense, it means the equal involvement of all children in the educational process, regardless of whether they have a disability or not, with diverse needs and capabilities.

I often try to explain this through a simple example. Perhaps each of you had a classmate in the fifth grade who read by syllables. Or you had a classmate who did not yet know the multiplication table well while you were solving algebra problems. But in most cases, such a child was not approached based on their capabilities. For example, even if their reading skills were not yet sufficiently formed, they were given complex works based on the fifth-grade curriculum; in other words, instead of adapting to the child's needs, they were expected to adapt to the requirements of the curriculum.

Inclusive education, however, implies maximizing a child's effectiveness in the educational process based on the capabilities and needs of each child. In this sense, inclusive education is effective and quality education.

Currently, in our society, inclusion is often understood only as disability. In reality, however, this is a much broader concept. The word “inclusion” entered from the French language and means inclusion into society, unification.

This implies creating equal opportunities and conditions for a person, regardless of their condition. A child with a disability, a child from a low-income family, and boys and girls living in remote areas — all must have equal opportunities in the educational process. In our country, however, when saying “inclusive,” even incorrect phrases like “children with inclusiveness” are used. In fact, inclusion should be in society and in school, not in the child.

Of course, we must first of all fully include children with disabilities into the educational process and adapt the school environment based on their needs. But limiting inclusion only to this is wrong. This is a much broader concept.

We ourselves are forming the stereotype of understanding inclusion as children with disabilities. Because officials or civil servants always emphasize this issue when saying “inclusion” in meetings and discussions, such a concept has emerged in society as well.

In fact, inclusiveness is equality. On the one hand, we say “equality,” and on the other hand, we always highlight children with disabilities separately, isolating them ourselves. Therefore, we must gradually abandon this approach.

We can see inclusiveness in many situations in our daily lives. For example, children studying in different languages in general education schools within a single system is also a form of inclusion. Creating equal opportunities for girls and boys is the same. Or a child in a remote village should have the opportunity to receive the same quality of education as a school student in a city center. This is also inclusiveness.

Currently, we are using the term “inclusive education” conditionally. I believe that in five or ten years, this will become a normal occurrence. If we look at foreign experience, for example, in European countries, “inclusion” is understood more as the adaptation of migrant children, representatives of other nationalities and religions into society. The education of people with disabilities and their participation in society as equal individuals has already become a normal occurrence.

If a child grows up with a peer with a disability starting from kindergarten, they will not see the difference in their sight, hearing, or movement as a reason for discrimination. They will accept them simply as a person, as a peer. In our country, however, we still have such stereotypes. Therefore, along with developing inclusive education, we must also change society's views in this regard.

In my opinion, we are still at the very beginning of the road. Because inclusive education is a process that has been formed over centuries in developed countries. Each country has its own direction of development and traditions in this regard. For example, the history of the development of inclusive education in the US differs from that of European countries.

In our country, this direction was previously carried out mainly within the framework of projects. Even when I was a student in the field of special pedagogy, there were such projects, and we would go to schools as volunteers and participate in helping children. Our teachers also assisted us in this process. But as soon as the project ended, the work also stopped. Usually, such projects lasted three to four years and then concluded.

Now, however, the situation is different. Inclusive education is reflected in legislation, including the Constitution and the Law “On Education.” Therefore, this process can now be seen as a systemic reform. But considering that only about five years have passed, we are in the formation stage. In this sense, we are still at the beginning of the road.

Dilmurod Yusupov:

I also agree with Shahnoza's opinion. Implementing inclusive education is a very long-lasting process. It cannot be completed with quick steps in a short period. For example, when we asked our colleagues in the US how much time was spent on the inclusive education reform, they said at least over 70 years was spent. In European countries, too, this process is not yet finished, it is ongoing, and there is the issue of children with various problems.

In addition, inclusive education constantly brings new issues to the agenda. For example, artificial intelligence is currently rapidly entering our lives. How will it affect inclusive education, what opportunities will it create for children, what technologies can be used — all of these are new issues to be discussed.

In Uzbekistan, this process can be considered to have started in 2020. Because during that period, the concept of inclusive education was adopted. It set large indicators, such as transitioning 51 percent of general education schools to inclusive education by 2025. I think this was very unrealistic. Currently, our aspiration and effort to develop inclusive education are very good. But rushing can also lead to various mistakes. For example, by chasing only numbers, we might harm the most important participant of the reform — the child themselves.

Therefore, during the reform process, we must always ask ourselves one question: “Are we harming the child with these changes?”. In foreign experience, too, one of the main principles is not to cause harm to anyone, and first of all, to the child. The child must be the main beneficiary of inclusive education. For this reason, I believe we need to slow down the pace a bit and focus more on quality. Setting this reform on the right track without harming the interests of children is more important than implementing it faster.

Ro'zibek To'rayev:

There are more than 132,000 children with disabilities of school age across the republic. They receive education in several forms.

The first is 90 specialized schools organized according to category. The second is receiving education at home. The third is receiving inclusive education in general education schools. There are also forms of education for children in very severe and complex conditions, and work in this direction is also carried out in “Muruvvat” children's homes under the system of the National Agency for Social Protection.

Inclusive education classes have been opened in 2,610 general education schools across the republic.

In about 860 of them, a relatively barrier-free environment has been created based on the needs of the children. According to the results of the school year, 6,801 children are studying under inclusive education conditions in these 2,610 schools.