In many countries young people with disabilities are considered to be incapable of learning, no matter what their impairment is. Often a disabled student is considered a distraction to other students and simply sent home. Lack of access to schooling may reflect the belief that such young people cannot learn, that they should not be put through the stress of learning or that they are an embarrassment (evidence of bad blood, incest or divine disfavour) and should not be seen regularly in public. The concept of inclusive education champions the right of every child to access education in nearby schools, where he is entitled to respect and appreciation. The principle also draws attention to the need to further children’s participation and inclusion in school life and educational programs to the broadest extent possible as well as ease barriers so children can optimally benefit from classes, friendships developed in school, and reconsider school rules and regulations so it can serve all the children in its community.

This issue’s debate is a face to face between two education practionners in Egypt that have extensive experience in both special and inclusive education. Their views and arguments lead us to emphasize our standpoint that inclusive education should be the rule instead of the exception.

“ States Parties recognize the right of the child to education and shall, in particular, make primary education compulsory and available free to all…”
Article 28, Convention on the Rights of the Child

“ Regular schools with inclusive orientation are the most effective means of creating welcoming communities… and providing effective education to the majority of children and improve the efficiency and ultimately the cost-effectiveness of the entire education system.”
Salamanca Declaration 1994

Q:Can you please start by briefly explaining the following concepts?
a.Inclusion
b.Integration
c.Special needs education
d.Special education

A:
Inclusion
The concept is based on the basic principle of human rights that perceives all people as equal, enjoying the same rights. As such, all citizens, including marginalized groups and persons with disabilities, shall participate in all social activities on an equal footing. And in this sense, all forms of social and technical support shall be provided for the effective and permanent participation of the aforementioned groups in welcoming educational environments. Current experience at home and abroad demonstrates that children with mild and moderate disabilities make more progress in successful inclusive environment with their able-bodied peers.

Special education
It refers to a pattern of services and educational programs with modifications introduced in curricula and incorporated teaching methods to respond to the special needs of students who are unable to keep pace with the regular curricula as they are currently delivered. Hence, special education services cater to all categories of learning difficulties of students as well as the gifted and talented ones.

Special needs education is an educational approach based on a classification of children according to their capacities and physical and mental characteristics. Each category has its own curriculum, set of specialized teachers and designated places intended to meet specific needs.

Q: Can a child be “classified”? What are the criteria for or basis of classification?

A: Abilities and capacities of a child may be classified; psychologists make use of a number of tests, such as IQ and educational attainment tests, adaptive behavior examinations as well as visual and hearing measures to do this. However, according to the SETI Centre for Advice, Studies and Training in learning disabilities, children must not be labeled or identified in terms of education or participation in society. This is in recognition of the infinite diversity of characteristics that people possess; therefore, people “classified” under the same category do not necessarily share all its attributes.

Moreover, categorization must not be used as a basis to exclude children with disabilities from accessing the same education as their peers, but instead, must be embraced as an indicator that reflects the necessary modifications to promote their participation with their contemporaries.

Q:On what basis can a child be referred to a special school?

A:In Egypt, a child is referred to a special school based on one (1) or all of the following criteria:

• Results of IQ tests carried out in health insurance clinics for children with learning difficulties
• Recommendations of diagnosticians and physicians
• Refusal of schools to accommodate students
• Family's concern or anxiety or their inability to teach the child

In the early 20th century, Egypt has embarked on setting-up special education schools for children with intellectual, hearing and visual impairments. Years later, these schools still have limited capacities to accommodate around 38,000 children (or less than 2 percent of children with disabilities in the country) as reported by the Special Education Department.

Thus, we, in line with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommendation, believe that the best way to attain the Education for All (EFA) objective lies in making regular schools into inclusive ones.

Q: Can all children attend inclusive schools?

A: To achieve inclusion, it is not enough that marginalized children are enrolled in regular schools; they have to be provided with a welcoming environment. There are currently very few children with special needs who have joined mainstream schools as the concept of inclusion and support services have not been disseminated in all of the schools, in Egypt and across the Arab world. Hence, at present, inclusive schools have only accommodated a limited number of children with mild or moderate disabilities (who represent around 70 percent of children with disabilities in Egypt) due to the:

• Limited number of teachers qualified to teach in inclusive classrooms;
• Limited number of assistants trained by the Special Education Department at the Ministry of Education;
• Relative newness of the inclusion concept and the tendency of schools to accept only the easiest cases; and
• Physical inaccessibility of schools to accommodate children with mobility disabilities. Schools still do not accept children with complete hearing or visual impairments given the shortage of trained teachers.

However, the Ministry of Education has embraced inclusive education as part of its mainstream policy to develop and promote education in Egypt by advocating for all the necessary measures.

Q: In your opinion, are day care centers useful? To what extent and why?

A: In the aim to serve the largest number of children with disabilities who do not yet benefit from inclusive education, special education schools are crucial. Day care centers offer children with disabilities individualized education more suitable or adapted to their needs. However, one issue is that some of the acquired skills are either useless in the child’s natural environment or cannot be generalized and optimized.

More importantly, the child does not learn to cope with others in society and vice versa, which leads to isolation with limited skills. Based on our experience in the field, we believe that inclusion should be the rule and isolation the exception; the child and his family must be offered a wide array of services for them to choose what is most suitable to meet their needs.

Q: In your opinion, can special needs education contribute to inclusion? How?

A:In many countries across the world and within the framework of the 5-year inclusion program implemented by SETI Center, special education has stood out as a crucial component in technically supporting inclusive schools, assisting teachers and recommending adequate teaching tools.
These modified teaching methods are expected to benefit all children, with or without disabilities, attending the same classes. Inclusive classrooms have become models to be emulated as an effective learning process or management of the children’s behavior.

And Mrs Sahar Khaled Al-Agha, Technical Director and Program Planner, The Friends of a Bright Tomorrow Association for People with Special Needs, Cairo, Egypt.

Q:Can you please start by briefly explaining the following concepts?
a. Inclusion
b. Integration
c. Special needs education
d. Special education

A: Inclusion is defined as allowing students with disabilities to receive education in regular schools as their able-bodied peers, thereby, fostering mutual harmony among them.

All necessary measures must be taken to ensure that students with disabilities actually benefit from the educational programs provided; moreover, inclusion prepares students for work in the future.

Integration, on the other hand, encompasses a series of measures to deliver special services in unrestrictive conditions. Hence, a student with disability is placed in the same setting as his/her able-bodied peers while offered special services in regular classrooms in a manner that promotes his/her continuous interaction with his/her classmates.

Special needs education is the process of teaching, training, and caring for students with disabilities in special classrooms in regular schools. All available materials will be used to engage all students in extracurricular activities, such as plays, trips and artistic education. Thus, preparing mentally-retardate students for life in larger society as soon as they graduate or leave rehabilitation centers, consequently, respecting their right to work and autonomy.

Meanwhile, special education involves a series of specialized educational programs addressed to help children with disabilities develop their capacities to the largest extent possible in order to build their self-confidence, autonomy and ability to adapt in society.

Q: Can a child be “classified”? What are the criteria for or basis of classification?

A: Yes, a child may be classified under a specific category as long as the following steps are undertaken:

• Determine whether inclusion is possible despite the child's disability;
• Determine the child's IQ;
• Determine the child's age group; and
• Ascertain the child's real needs in terms of education, training and care.

Q: On what basis can a child be referred to a special school?

A child can be referred to a special school if he is given the chance to cope with his able-bodied schoolmates for the longest possible time during the day in such a way that he could participate, interact and communicate with his peers in regular classes at the academic, social and psychological levels.

A: Can all children attend inclusive schools?
In my opinion, not all students can attend inclusive schools; a child is considered eligible if he/she meets the following criteria:

• He/she is of the same age group as other able-bodied students;
• He/she must be autonomous enough to
  meet his/her basic needs (i.e., going to the
  bathroom) on his/her own;
• He/she must be chosen by a competent,
  specialized committee apt to determine his/
  her capacity to cope with and adapt to the
  curricula;
• His/her disability must be neither severe nor
  multiple; and
• He/she must prove his/her ability to learn
  when the educational material is explained to
  a large group of students.

Q: In your opinion, are day care centers useful? To what extent and why?

Yes, day care centers are both beneficial and necessary; they are designed for children with multiple and complex disabilities and accommodate all students irrespective of the type or gravity of their disability. Day care centers also provide students with the proper education, training, care and rehabilitation they need, depending on the type and gravity of their disability.

Q: In your opinion, can special needs education contribute to inclusion? How?

A: Indeed, special needs education promotes inclusion, especially if the students are trained, taught and taken care of through the early stimulations program to incite their aptitudes at an early age.

In many countries young people with disabilities are considered to be incapable of learning, no matter what their impairment is. Often a disabled student is considered a distraction to other students and simply sent home. Lack of access to schooling may reflect the belief that such young people cannot learn, that they should not be put through the stress of learning or that they are an embarrassment (evidence of bad blood, incest or divine disfavour) and should not be seen regularly in public. The concept of inclusive education champions the right of every child to access education in nearby schools, where he is entitled to respect and appreciation. The principle also draws attention to the need to further children’s participation and inclusion in school life and educational programs to the broadest extent possible as well as ease barriers so children can optimally benefit from classes, friendships developed in school, and reconsider school rules and regulations so it can serve all the children in its community.

This issue’s debate is a face to face between two education practionners in Egypt that have extensive experience in both special and inclusive education. Their views and arguments lead us to emphasize our standpoint that inclusive education should be the rule instead of the exception.

“ States Parties recognize the right of the child to education and shall, in particular, make primary education compulsory and available free to all…”
Article 28, Convention on the Rights of the Child

“ Regular schools with inclusive orientation are the most effective means of creating welcoming communities… and providing effective education to the majority of children and improve the efficiency and ultimately the cost-effectiveness of the entire education system.”
Salamanca Declaration 1994

Q:Can you please start by briefly explaining the following concepts?
a.Inclusion
b.Integration
c.Special needs education
d.Special education

A:
Inclusion
The concept is based on the basic principle of human rights that perceives all people as equal, enjoying the same rights. As such, all citizens, including marginalized groups and persons with disabilities, shall participate in all social activities on an equal footing. And in this sense, all forms of social and technical support shall be provided for the effective and permanent participation of the aforementioned groups in welcoming educational environments. Current experience at home and abroad demonstrates that children with mild and moderate disabilities make more progress in successful inclusive environment with their able-bodied peers.

Special education
It refers to a pattern of services and educational programs with modifications introduced in curricula and incorporated teaching methods to respond to the special needs of students who are unable to keep pace with the regular curricula as they are currently delivered. Hence, special education services cater to all categories of learning difficulties of students as well as the gifted and talented ones.

Special needs education is an educational approach based on a classification of children according to their capacities and physical and mental characteristics. Each category has its own curriculum, set of specialized teachers and designated places intended to meet specific needs.

Q: Can a child be “classified”? What are the criteria for or basis of classification?

A: Abilities and capacities of a child may be classified; psychologists make use of a number of tests, such as IQ and educational attainment tests, adaptive behavior examinations as well as visual and hearing measures to do this. However, according to the SETI Centre for Advice, Studies and Training in learning disabilities, children must not be labeled or identified in terms of education or participation in society. This is in recognition of the infinite diversity of characteristics that people possess; therefore, people “classified” under the same category do not necessarily share all its attributes.

Moreover, categorization must not be used as a basis to exclude children with disabilities from accessing the same education as their peers, but instead, must be embraced as an indicator that reflects the necessary modifications to promote their participation with their contemporaries.

Q:On what basis can a child be referred to a special school?

A:In Egypt, a child is referred to a special school based on one (1) or all of the following criteria:

• Results of IQ tests carried out in health insurance clinics for children with learning difficulties
• Recommendations of diagnosticians and physicians
• Refusal of schools to accommodate students
• Family's concern or anxiety or their inability to teach the child

In the early 20th century, Egypt has embarked on setting-up special education schools for children with intellectual, hearing and visual impairments. Years later, these schools still have limited capacities to accommodate around 38,000 children (or less than 2 percent of children with disabilities in the country) as reported by the Special Education Department.

Thus, we, in line with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommendation, believe that the best way to attain the Education for All (EFA) objective lies in making regular schools into inclusive ones.

Q: Can all children attend inclusive schools?

A: To achieve inclusion, it is not enough that marginalized children are enrolled in regular schools; they have to be provided with a welcoming environment. There are currently very few children with special needs who have joined mainstream schools as the concept of inclusion and support services have not been disseminated in all of the schools, in Egypt and across the Arab world. Hence, at present, inclusive schools have only accommodated a limited number of children with mild or moderate disabilities (who represent around 70 percent of children with disabilities in Egypt) due to the:

• Limited number of teachers qualified to teach in inclusive classrooms;
• Limited number of assistants trained by the Special Education Department at the Ministry of Education;
• Relative newness of the inclusion concept and the tendency of schools to accept only the easiest cases; and
• Physical inaccessibility of schools to accommodate children with mobility disabilities. Schools still do not accept children with complete hearing or visual impairments given the shortage of trained teachers.

However, the Ministry of Education has embraced inclusive education as part of its mainstream policy to develop and promote education in Egypt by advocating for all the necessary measures.

Q: In your opinion, are day care centers useful? To what extent and why?

A: In the aim to serve the largest number of children with disabilities who do not yet benefit from inclusive education, special education schools are crucial. Day care centers offer children with disabilities individualized education more suitable or adapted to their needs. However, one issue is that some of the acquired skills are either useless in the child’s natural environment or cannot be generalized and optimized.

More importantly, the child does not learn to cope with others in society and vice versa, which leads to isolation with limited skills. Based on our experience in the field, we believe that inclusion should be the rule and isolation the exception; the child and his family must be offered a wide array of services for them to choose what is most suitable to meet their needs.

Q: In your opinion, can special needs education contribute to inclusion? How?

A:In many countries across the world and within the framework of the 5-year inclusion program implemented by SETI Center, special education has stood out as a crucial component in technically supporting inclusive schools, assisting teachers and recommending adequate teaching tools.
These modified teaching methods are expected to benefit all children, with or without disabilities, attending the same classes. Inclusive classrooms have become models to be emulated as an effective learning process or management of the children’s behavior.

And Mrs Sahar Khaled Al-Agha, Technical Director and Program Planner, The Friends of a Bright Tomorrow Association for People with Special Needs, Cairo, Egypt.

Q:Can you please start by briefly explaining the following concepts?
a. Inclusion
b. Integration
c. Special needs education
d. Special education

A: Inclusion is defined as allowing students with disabilities to receive education in regular schools as their able-bodied peers, thereby, fostering mutual harmony among them.

All necessary measures must be taken to ensure that students with disabilities actually benefit from the educational programs provided; moreover, inclusion prepares students for work in the future.

Integration, on the other hand, encompasses a series of measures to deliver special services in unrestrictive conditions. Hence, a student with disability is placed in the same setting as his/her able-bodied peers while offered special services in regular classrooms in a manner that promotes his/her continuous interaction with his/her classmates.

Special needs education is the process of teaching, training, and caring for students with disabilities in special classrooms in regular schools. All available materials will be used to engage all students in extracurricular activities, such as plays, trips and artistic education. Thus, preparing mentally-retardate students for life in larger society as soon as they graduate or leave rehabilitation centers, consequently, respecting their right to work and autonomy.

Meanwhile, special education involves a series of specialized educational programs addressed to help children with disabilities develop their capacities to the largest extent possible in order to build their self-confidence, autonomy and ability to adapt in society.

Q: Can a child be “classified”? What are the criteria for or basis of classification?

A: Yes, a child may be classified under a specific category as long as the following steps are undertaken:

• Determine whether inclusion is possible despite the child's disability;
• Determine the child's IQ;
• Determine the child's age group; and
• Ascertain the child's real needs in terms of education, training and care.

Q: On what basis can a child be referred to a special school?

A child can be referred to a special school if he is given the chance to cope with his able-bodied schoolmates for the longest possible time during the day in such a way that he could participate, interact and communicate with his peers in regular classes at the academic, social and psychological levels.

A: Can all children attend inclusive schools?
In my opinion, not all students can attend inclusive schools; a child is considered eligible if he/she meets the following criteria:

• He/she is of the same age group as other able-bodied students;
• He/she must be autonomous enough to
  meet his/her basic needs (i.e., going to the
  bathroom) on his/her own;
• He/she must be chosen by a competent,
  specialized committee apt to determine his/
  her capacity to cope with and adapt to the
  curricula;
• His/her disability must be neither severe nor
  multiple; and
• He/she must prove his/her ability to learn
  when the educational material is explained to
  a large group of students.

Q: In your opinion, are day care centers useful? To what extent and why?

Yes, day care centers are both beneficial and necessary; they are designed for children with multiple and complex disabilities and accommodate all students irrespective of the type or gravity of their disability. Day care centers also provide students with the proper education, training, care and rehabilitation they need, depending on the type and gravity of their disability.

Q: In your opinion, can special needs education contribute to inclusion? How?

A: Indeed, special needs education promotes inclusion, especially if the students are trained, taught and taken care of through the early stimulations program to incite their aptitudes at an early age.