The Ministry of National Education has prepared a “national education plan” for barrier-free education.

Minister of National Education Özer, in his written statement on 3 December International Day of Persons with Disabilities, said that every child has the right to equal access to education and that they are working to increase equal opportunities in this context.

Stating that they carry out activities to support the education processes of children in need of special education, Özer stated that the number of students who continue their education through mainstreaming/integration across the country is 334 thousand 366.

Özer also noted that 79,832 students benefited from special education services in special education classes, 60 thousand students in special education schools, 10 thousand 578 students at home and 993 students in hospital.

The action plan will be implemented in 2022-2026.

Pointing out that there are 34 special education schools with hostels for special students, Özer said, “We broke new ground as the Ministry in order to contribute to the education of our special children, and we have prepared the ‘National Action Plan for Educational Practices through Inclusion/Integration’ to be implemented in 2022-2026.” gave the information.

Özer stated that by cooperating with stakeholders on the subject, field research was carried out to determine the situation, surveys were conducted with students, families, teachers and school administrators, and within this scope, they established a commission within the Ministry. Ozer said:

“Within the scope of inclusion/integration education practices, 6 thousand 871 special education students studying at high school, 79 thousand 227 parents, 44 thousand 176 teachers working at all levels and 10 thousand 220 school administrators participated in the field research implemented throughout Turkey. We analyzed the data we collected. We re-evaluated the draft of our National Action Plan for Education through Inclusion/Integration, which we created as a result of our studies, with our internal and external stakeholders.”

Good practice examples will be developed and disseminated through the action plan

Emphasizing that the National Action Plan for Educational Practices through Inclusion/Integration, which was prepared after all the studies, is a first in this field, Özer continued as follows:

“In order to support the education processes of children with special education needs, strengthen their adaptation to life, and alleviate the financial and moral burden on parents, we have prepared an action plan that provides a comprehensive roadmap for the implementation of education through inclusion/integration. “

The action plan consists of four policy areas.

The national action plan prepared as a result of the studies carried out; Noting that it consists of 4 policy areas, 19 action items and 51 indicators, namely “Access to Education”, “Increasing the Quality in Education and Training”, “Raising Awareness and Attitude” and “Legal Regulations”, Özer said, “With the action plan, students with special education needs We aim to increase the quality of education services offered throughout the country and to create a system that can be monitored and audited.” made its assessment.

Minister Özer announced that the action plan was made available on the “meb.gov.tr” address.