The journey to scale a mountain starts with a single step. That step is just about to be taken towards practical implementation of inclusive education in the Punjab.
There have been a few initiatives in this direction by the provincial government such as the Punjab Inclusive Education Project, initiated in 2015 in two districts of south Punjab, and the Punjab Education Foundation Inclusive voucher scheme, launched in 2016 in six districts of the Punjab. Significance of these projects cannot be understated. Through the PIEP, more than 15,000 public school teachers were given orientation training in inclusive education. Under the PEF-IVS, 3,600 teachers from partner private schools were sensitised and trained in inclusive education. Despite the challenges faced in implementation of these projects, many lessons were learned.
A major hurdle in implementation, as explored by many researchers and experts, was ownership of the project. Efforts for making schools inclusive were initiated by the Department of Special Education, whereas it was to be implemented in general education schools. Regardless of good intentions, elaborate plans and field teams, due to lack of in-built collaborative and coordination mechanisms, the PIEP had to be rolled back after the pilot phase. It is evident from experience in other countries as well that inclusive education cannot be successfully implemented unless the general education department takes its ownership.
It is heartening that the School Education Department is in the process of developing its inclusive education strategy. Approximately, 54,000 public schools, all over the Punjab, are about to open their doors for diverse students, including ones with special needs. Being a part of different thematic groups practically, I know that a participatory approach is being implemented to develop the strategy. All those who have been advocating the need and importance of diversity-friendly schools are optimistically looking forward to witness the constructive changes in the public schools system.
Nearly 54,000 public schools all over Punjab are about to open their doors to diverse students, including ones with special needs
Being associated with teacher training in special needs and inclusive education for about a decade, I realise that a few segments of teacher and educational management community have certain apprehensions towards inclusive education. It is high time that these apprehensions are addressed through in-service teacher training, consultations, seminars, and media.
We need to know that inclusive education is not a concept imposed by the West. In fact, it is a legacy of the Muslim world. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) practically modelled inclusive teaching practices as a great teacher by spreading the light of knowledge around him without any discrimination. Mosques have always been an inclusive centre of knowledge. Even now students with visual and physical impairment are included in the hifz section of a mosque.
Urban life has taken its toll of modernisation in terms of isolation and a gradual disintegration of the joint family system. But the majority of Pakistan’s population still lives in villages, and rural life is known for its strong family ties and a close-knit society. Residents of a village not only know each other very well, but they also try to help and support each other. Having a flexible and welcoming social network, rural systems accommodate diversity more easily. Persons with intellectual challenges are adjusted into manual skills, local resources are used to facilitate mobility of elderly with physical challenges, and even without any formal training, they develop indigenous modes of communication with individuals having a hearing impairment. Rural community is also more caring towards economic needs of neighbours.
It is not that rural life doesn’t have any challenges; it is just that acceptance and openness for diversity that allows it to be more accommodating. If we look carefully, even today public schools in slums and rural areas of the Punjab have considerably diverse students already enrolled there.
We need to understand that inclusive education is not something unknown, unheard of or unpractised in our part of the world. Our parents and grandparents who studied in public schools can vouch for the fact that children from varied socio-economic, ethnic and religious segments of society used to study in the same pubic schools. Gradually, school systems serving various socio-economic strata grew apart. More focus on an industrial model, and efforts to develop human robots and rudderless adults to serve a modernised job market has taken us away from humanity.
Inclusive education is our lost legacy. It is the natural way of education. If we live in a diverse world, the same diversity should be represented in schools. Historically, school as an institution, was developed by society to transfer knowledge, skills and values to the next generation. There was no discrimination of ability, resources, religion, language, and caste.
There is a famous slogan for an inclusive education campaign: “Those who learn together, learn to live together.” Inclusive education is a philosophy that advocates for a more harmonised and synchronised society. It is an agenda for a more peaceful and sociable Pakistan.
The writer is director of programmes and projects at the Rising Sun Education and Welfare Society