SCHS has integrated 646 students with disabilities since 2006
The Inclusive Education Unit at Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS) planned the Inclusive Education Month events in February 2024. The month's goals include introducing the idea of inclusive education to the community, educational and administrative bodies, and students; creating comprehensive school practices in this area; offering a top-notch education to a diverse student body that includes individuals with disabilities; and giving parents, teachers, and students a forum to exchange ideas about how to support inclusive education and positive school experiences.
In collaboration with its partners, SCHS has integrated 646 students with impairments into general education institutions since 2006. In order to address the issues faced by the 3,600 male and female students who attend private schools affiliated with the Authority and have special educational needs or integrated disabilities, it is collaborating with the Sharjah Special Education Authority on the inclusive education project in the Emirate of Sharjah.
Ms. Doaa Al-Daridi, Supervisor of the Inclusive Education Unit, indicated that a group of events were organized during the month of inclusive education, the most important of which was a symposium entitled “A Call to Action to Ensure Comprehensive and Equitable Quality Education”. His Excellency Sheikh Haitham bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Deputy Head of the Office of His Highness the Ruler of Kallba, several heads of government institutions and departments in Kallba, and an elite group of specialists from Kallba University, the Emirates Foundation for Institutional Education and the Sharjah Center for Learning Difficulties were present. It seeks to increase community awareness, expand the range of high-quality programs, make them easier for beneficiaries to access, provide equitable opportunities for all pupils, and support lifelong learning.
The unit also hosted a symposium titled "Inclusive Education in Al Khaleej Newspaper," wherein the need to collaborate with the Sharjah Education Academy and the Sharjah Special Education Authority was discussed in relation to the Emirate of Sharjah's inclusive education project, as well as the key services and support that will be offered to students with disabilities in private schools under the Sharjah Authority's special education supervision. The symposium also looked at the difficulties that families of students with various disabilities face and attempted to resolve these difficulties.
Al-Daridi added, “The unit also organized a session on progress towards comprehensive education in the Emirate of Sharjah, in cooperation with the Sharjah Private Education Authority and the Inclusive Education Catalyst program within the Inclusive Inclusion Organization. Representatives of the Sharjah Education Academy, and inclusive education experts from the organization’s member states attended the session. This session explained what the comprehensive education journey looks like in the Emirate of Sharjah, starting from proposing policies and strategies to providing services within the school environment, preparing students for the inclusive education process, preparing families and educational and administrative staff for the best practices that support the quality of inclusive education, and exchanging experiences internationally.
Additionally, the unit set up a series of support sessions for the families of students with disabilities. During these sessions, the families were given psychological and social preparation as well as guidance on the essential needs of their children to meet the high standards of inclusive education. The difficulties that families encounter in the educational setting were examined, and suggestions for resolving these issues in collaboration with the relevant authorities were put up.
Throughout the Inclusive Education Month, the SCHS-affiliated unit also hosted a few training sessions. In addition to organizing partial integration activities within the schedule of the school day for students with disabilities to be with their non-disabled peers in general education classes, and audio-visual examination activities for students without disabilities in the school environment, it aims to train educational staff on the best practices in inclusive education and provide them with the necessary strategies to facilitate the access of students with disabilities to general education curricula, emphasizing strategies to empower students with autism spectrum disorder in the school environment. Given the importance of this in the development of educational requirements and the academic and social achievements of all students depending on their skills and abilities.