The Chinese government on Monday pledged to increase the budget allotted for special education after acknowledging the importance of providing quality education to disabled children.
In his written instruction to attendees of a special education national conference, Premier Li Keqiang said a good system of special education is necessary to give disabled citizens equal rights and opportunities, uplift the state of disabled families and uphold social justice. In the same conference, Vice Premier Liu Yandong told the group that improvement of China's special education system is the responsibility of not just one level of government but of all levels so that disabled children will be assured of good education like other children.
Liu said there should be no discrimination in the system of special education. Liu assured that improvements in the country's special education schools are underway, with the government allocating funds for facilities, teachers' training and enhanced educational programs. On top of these, financial assistance will also be made available to disabled children.
The government will also call upon regular schools to admit disabled children to their schools. The Education Ministry, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Finance Ministry are among seven departments of the government that presented their plan on the improvement of education for special learners on Jan. 20. The plan seeks to have no less than 90 percent of visually, auditorily and intellectually impaired children enrolled in free primary as well as middle school by yearend of 2016.
At the end of 2012, only 71.9 percent of all children with disabilities were enrolled in the country's compulsory education system. This figure is lower than the 99.5 percent of children without any disability enrolled in primary school and the 98 percent enrolled in middle school.
Presiding over the conference, State Councilor Wang Yong urged local governments to declare their specific policies to support the plan and to accelerate actions that will contribute to the achievement of the plan's target.