Huambo — The deputy governor for the Political, Social and Economic sector of the province of Huambo, Angelino Elavoco, reaffirmed,on Monday, the local Government's commitment to working so that children with special educational needs have greater access to education.
The person in charge was speaking during a workshop on the main challenges of inclusive education, under the motto "Include to transform - together for special education with equality, equity and respect for differences".
Angelino Elavoco stated that the vision is not just to place the special student with the others, but rather to include them in the class without measuring limits and disabilities, as valuing individual differences opens up space for each child to grow and dream without barriers.
He reiterated the commitment of the Government of the province of Huambo to continue designing policies and actions in favor of inclusive education, so that the school becomes a place where children have the possibility of being themselves and where differences are increasingly highlighted and valued.
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The person in charge said that the aim of holding the workshop is to outline a sustainable process of transforming special education from an inclusive perspective in all municipalities in the province of Huambo.
It predicted that across the entire territory of this region of the country there are rooms that serve as centers of pedagogical support for inclusive education, and it is therefore imperative to work towards the expansion of this teaching subsystem, with a focus on the benefits it can bring.
To this end, he appealed to the actors in the process, from the Education office, municipal administrations, teachers and the community in general, for greater involvement in favor of the much-desired inclusion, as well as its expansion.
In turn, the director of the Education office in the province of Huambo, Mário Rodrigues, said that several actions are being planned from the perspective of inclusive education, so that all children, regardless of their disability, live in the same teaching and learning space.
He recalled that the province of Huambo has 101 inclusive schools, distributed across 17 municipalities, where more than two thousand students from primary education, I and II cycle, from general education to polytechnics, study, with classes taught by more than 200 teachers duly trained in this area of education.
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He indicated that inclusive education involves raising awareness among families, commercial banks and other companies, which, within the scope of their social responsibilities, assist in training programs for teachers and school managers, with the creation of basic conditions and networks of rooms to support the area's resources.
In her intervention, the national director of the Institute of Special Education, Janice Neves, when addressing the topic "Inclusive education in Angola, from legislation to daily practice", pointed out prejudice and architectural barriers as the main problems, warning that inclusive education is not a favor to those in need.
The objectives were to build more schools, open more inclusion support centers, more multifunctional resource rooms, prepare teachers and create partnerships, so that the inclusion process works regularly.
She recalled that Angola has 44 thousand 918 students with special needs, enrolled in one thousand 644 inclusive schools, 22 of which will be resized into inclusion support centers.
During the workshop, held in the auditorium of the "CEFOJOR-Huambo" Journalist Training Center, topics such as "Development of a culture of inclusion in communities", "Experience of special education from an inclusive perspective in Brazil" and "The role of resource centers in the inclusion process" were covered. ZZN/JSV/ALH/DOJ
