Agency: The country’s first inclusive school is the Changangkha Middle Secondary School (MSS) in Thimphu which started its journey as a general school in 1961, but it became an inclusive School after Her Majesty The Queen Mother Ashi Tshering Pem Wangchuck inaugurated the Special Education Unit in 11 June 2003.
The school currently has a total of 991 students with 143 students with disabilities. It also has an inclusive ECCD with 6 students with disabilities.
Of the 143 students 42 are severe cases, 44 are moderate cases and 57 are mild cases.
In terms of disabilities there are 33 students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), 18 students with Down Syndrome, 18 students with Cerebral Palsy, 15 students with Learning Disabilities, 14 students with Intellectual Disability, 12 students with multiple disorders, 8 students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), 8 students with Speech and Language, 4 students with Global Developmental Delay and the individual cases are Seizure Disorder, Spina Bifida, Sturge Weber, Schizencephaly, Albinism, Dandy Walker, Achondroplasia, Cognitive and 5 students with other cases.
Facilities
In terms of facilities, the students with mild disabilities either do the general curriculum with some modification or adaptations where they are kept with general students’ full time or with occasional push ins. Teachers said that pull out classes where the students are given separate lessons are not currently happening.
The ones with moderate disability are given skills development program with pre-vocational, functional literacy and numeracy. The students here take art classes, cooking classes which include the school café, a tailoring class and laundry classes. They are also given individualized curriculum, life skill education and comprehensive sexuality education.
The ones with severe disability are given a self-contained program of life skill education, daily living skills, individualized curriculum and comprehensive sexuality education. They are kept in self-contained units with five sections of A, B, C, D, E and F with each section having 7 to 9 students and a dedicated Special Education Needs teacher each who spends time with them from morning 8.30 am to lunch time.
The school principal Nyendo Tshering said that they have 26 SEN teachers and apart from the above the other facilities are ramps.
Of the 26 SEN teachers around 7 have Masters’ Degree in Inclusive Education and these and SEN teachers are used by the school as National Trainers to conduct trainings of 3 to 5 days for teachers of inclusive schools around the country.
The principal said that the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD) is doing much better and particularly the SEN Division of the Ministry is trying its best. He said the school is set to get more facilities from the Ministry and Thimphu Thromde with more ramps and even a lift to make the school and its facilities more accessible.
The school has 11 children on wheel chairs and 21 with physical difficulties and so the school has also taken its own initiatives to make things accessible but he said that all buildings should have a Universal design to make it accessible.
Adapting to students with disabilities
In terms of how the school is adapting to students with disabilities the Nyendo said they have a one school approach where everyone is involved in helping each other. He said students are sensitized. He gave examples saying how children on wheel chairs are helped, how students move out of the way for those having mobility issues, putting students with albinism in the shade etc.