THE INTRODUCTION of an Education Unit for children with special needs to Cypriot public schools has been met with an overall positive response. But people are also sceptical.
A related meeting was to be held yesterday by the House Education Committee but was postponed. Head of the Committee Nicos Tornarites told Cyprus Mail yesterday he believes these children need support though they need to be separated into categories.
“We can’t have children with dyslexia and mild learning difficulties treated in the same way as those with heavier disabilities.”
The matter will be discussed and resolved, assured Tornarites. “Child psychologists will be consulted in order to create a more pleasant environment in schools for these children.”
Head of the Pancyprian Parents Union Yiannakis Gavriel also said that parents have no problem with the inclusion of special units in schools, it just depends on the seriousness of the child’s disability.
On September 30, the union issued an announcement saying that the creation of Special Education Units in schools was a necessity due to today’s living standards. “We (Parents Union) never wished to marginalise some of our children, and for that reason only have saluted the introduction of pupils with special needs into our schools.
“For the Special Education Units to work on a correct basis, however, the material and technical sub-structure as well as the employment of qualified teachers who are knowledgeable on the subject must be offered. Only then will we be able to offer these children the help that they need.”
The Gymnasium of Archbishop Makarios III carried out an independent study to get the general opinions of both teachers and pupils. The majority of pupils admitted that they’d prefer it if children with special needs attended a different special school. Teachers expressed fears over whether they were capable of dealing with the needs of the children.
What the study saud
The pupils
* 68 per cent of pupils say that they rarely or never associate with children with special needs. The majority of them say, however, that they have no trouble communicating with the special unit.
* 85.3 per cent don’t feel that the special unit doesn’t fit in with the school environment.
* 89.2 per cent don’t believe that the special unit will have a negative influence on them.
* Asked whether they believe that the inclusion of the special unit will be beneficial for them, 54.7 per cent said “yes” and 45.3 said “no”. Asked to explain why they said “no”, some pupils said that they believed that the special unit would create problems for other children, during class and break times.
They would not be able to catch up on homework and there are no trained teachers to deal with them. Others said that it was hard for disabled children to blend in with other children and they often found themselves isolated.
* Asked if they believed that these children should attend a special school, 16.3 per cent said “yes”, 16.3 per cent said “no” and 67.4 per cent said “maybe”.
* 36 per cent of children gave no answer when asked how they felt about having children with special needs at their school. 27.9 per cent admitted that it bothered them, 9.3 per cent said that they tolerated it and just 18.6 per cent said that they understood it.
The teachers
* 75 per cent of teachers agree with the introduction of the special unit in schools.
* But 77.9 per cent later said that they believe that it would be better for children with special needs to attend a special school with properly trained teachers, who may be of more help to them.
* 54.3 per cent believe that the special unit will not have a negative effect on the psychology of other children.
* 61.8 per cent fear, however, that it may cause disruption in the school.
* 50 per cent said that they had witnessed discrimination against the special unit.
* The majority of teachers believe that special needs children should have a separate classroom from other children.
