Moalims

The LUMS Accessibility Committee, in conjunction with the LUMS Student Council and LUMS Community Service Society (LCSS), and partners Sightsavers, CBM International and STEP (Special Talent Exchange Program) conducted the Policy Dialogue on Inclusive Higher Education on January 29, 2016. The aim of this one-day conference was to foster a discussion on the current policy framework for implementation of inclusive education in schools and universities across Pakistan for persons with disabilities, and to inculcate a better understanding of the legal, societal and policy issues surrounding this topic. There was an in-depth discussion on the current state of accessibility in educational institutions, and challenges in aligning current policies with international best practices.

The conference included representatives of various stakeholders and civil society, including academics, lawyers, representatives of various schools and universities, NGOs, students, policy-makers, foreign expert, and government representatives. At the end of the conference, recommendations (listed below) were compiled.

Recommendations for the Higher Education Commission and other government bodies:

HEC should develop policies, plans and practical strategies for promoting inclusive education in higher education institutions.
Effective monitoring mechanisms should be implemented by the HEC to ensure access to higher education for persons with disabilities in higher education institutions.
There ought to be an introduction of access audits.
Article 25-A of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 should be implemented in letter and spirit, with particular focus on children with disabilities.
All federal and provincial legislation for the purposes of the enforcement of Article 25-A must include special provisions for ensuring free and compulsory inclusive education for children with disabilities.
Necessary legislation should be enacted to incorporate the right to inclusive education provided under Article 24 of UNCRPD, and ensuring quality education under SDG-4 into the domestic legal framework.
All relevant governmental bodies should include persons with disabilities in all policy making (following the "nothing about us, without us" theme).
Government should create awareness in the society, and work on policy making on the inclusion pf persons with disabilities in the main-stream society.
Recommendations for Universities:

Higher education institutions should take necessary steps to facilitate inclusive education and ensure that disabled persons receive the necessary support for pursuing their education. These necessary steps must include, but should not be limited to, appropriation of proper budgetary allocations, development of flexible and adaptable curriculum, availability of accessible teaching materials, devices, buildings and transport and comprehensive training for teachers.
Educational institutes should make use of modern technologies to remove barriers.
Educational institutes should introduce career counseling for students with disabilities.
Dedicated accessibility office, special labs, alternative curricula, and testing methods should be made available in all educational institutes to foster inclusive education.

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