Campaign for challenged children’s edn launched
Dhaka University Vice Chancellor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique (second from left) unveils the monogram of a five-year long campaign to establish the challenged children's educational rights launched by Avijatri on the university campus yesterday. Photo: STAR
A five-year campaign, Avijatra, was launched yesterday at Dhaka University with the promise to establish the education rights of the physically challenged children across the country.
Disable Rehabilitation and Research Association (DRRA) and Liliana Foundation Netherlands jointly arranged the programme to recognise the special needs children in the mainstream education.
DU Vice Chancellor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique inaugurated the campaign as the chief guest. He urged the people to come forward to introduce a uniform education system.
Prof Arefin also emphasised proper education for the challenged to boost the country's economy.
Ten percent of the world' people and 15 million people in Bangladesh are physically challenged, said Md Nurun Nabi Talukder, director of the NGO affairs bureau, quoting a survey of World Health Organisation (WHO).
Country Director of ActionAid, Farah Kabir, said Avijatra will inspire the challenged people to involve in the mainstream education system and monitor the progress to help the government.
She also urged the people to call the challenged “differently able people” instead of “disable”. “They are not disable; they are able enough but differently”.
The speakers said HICARE is teaching 600 hearing challenged students in two schools, also mentioning that a sign language course may be initiated at modern language institute of DU.
DRRA Executive Director Farida Yesmin in her keynote paper said 4,000 special needs children are getting education at 29 institutions of the organisation in 19 districts.
The launching programme was attended by a number of challenged people who presented a 20-point recommendation and performed different entertainment items. They urged the government to establish adequate number of educational institutions for them.
Khandaker Jahurul Alam, president of national forum of organisations working with the disabled; Rifat Shahpar Khan, programme director of Sightsaver; Md Tariqul Islam Khan of HICARE; and Emdad Morshed of CRP; also spoke at the programme chaired by DU Prof Dalim Chandra Barman, also vice president of DRRA.
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