Special Education

Special education is under the authority of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Department of Social Welfare (DSW), and is also offered by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Institutions supported by the DSW include:

• School for the Blind, Yangon. This primary school mainly caters to children from a poor socio-economic background. The official curriculum is used. Pupils who successfully sat the Standard IV examination enrol in ordinary schools in the township. There are nine teachers, four of whom have been given opportunities for study travel abroad for periods varying from one to three months. This has provided them some exposure to developments in inclusive and special education in Thailand, Indonesia, India and Japan. Three teachers, including the deputy principal, have been past pupils of the school and have no sight. Another teacher is a wheelchair user. Resource teachers (teacher from the school who have been given a little additional training) visit the pupils in the mainstream schools to work with their teachers in order to better identify children’s needs and provide assistance and guidance to meet them. No fees are levied and all costs are met by the DSW.
• School for the Deaf, Mandalay. This school has a close relationship with World Vision Myanmar (WVM) since 1999, and also offers a pre-primary class. Teachers in this class have been trained in early childhood care and development with the assistance of WVM. All pupils have regular medical check-ups and about 40% of the children can benefit from hearing aids. All other children are taught using the sign language. Meals are largely provided by parents. No fees are levied and all other costs are met by the DSW.
• School for Disabled Children, Yangon. This is a non-residential school serving children coming from the Yangon area. Parents have to transport children to school and back home. Children appear to come from a more affluent background than those at the other two schools listed above. It is the only school in the country which admits children with intellectual disability (mental retardation).
• Vocational Training Centre for Adult Disabled, Yangon. While there is enough space at this centre for 100 persons or more, financial constraints permit the DSW to limit the number of trainees. The present enrolment is 54 persons and about 35% of them are from the army. The Centre offers six-month training courses in photography, screen-printing or dressmaking, and one-year training courses in radio repairs. DSW had previously set up co-operatives for qualified trainees, but had stopped the practice since it showed little success.

Schools and centres operated by NGOs include:

• “Mary Chapman” School for the Deaf. This is a primary school largely supported by international donors. There are at present 268 pupils enrolled (from kindergarten to Standard IV) and fifteen pupils in the vocational training classes. Vocational training includes conventional handicrafts such as sewing, knitting, crochet, dressmaking, machine knitting and embroidery. Poultry keeping has been added recently. There are twenty-five teachers, who have received some in-service training (one month and a half). The sign language used here varies somewhat from that used at the DSW school in Mandalay. Students have to pay tuition fees. Those who are very poor (about one-third), do not pay fees. The DSW provides some support to the school.
• Yangon Education Centre for the Blind (School for the Blind) operated by the Myanmar Christian Fellowship for the Blind (MCFB). In addition to this school in Yangon, two other schools operate in other states/divisions. In all, they accommodate 255 pupils. All activities are conducted under the auspices of the Self-Supporting Kayin Baptist Mission Society. The average cost of running the Yangon Education Centre is about 10 million kyats annually. The government covers 10–15% of expenses, while the rest must be found by the MCFB. Students pay tuition fees, an average of 740 kyats for residential pupils and 300 kyats for non-residential ones. The centre has been gifted computers and printers, and software for Braille interpretation, printing and duplication. Some textbooks are prepared and supplied to the DSW school. The Centre is situated in a large compound donated by the Government. There are twenty-five teachers, seven of whom visually impaired. Teachers have no special training. Six teachers were however trained to be resource teachers in a two-week course in 1996 and 1998.
• Educational Centre for the Blind, Meikhtila. This school was established in 1998 in temporary huts. A building was gifted by the Grass-Roots Organization of Japan, and this now houses the classrooms and administration. This donation also included musical instruments. Another building is being constructed to house staff with a donation from the Hilde Blinden Mission. They also meet running costs. No fees are levied. There are two instructors for music and six teachers including the founder/principal—a former student of the DSW school in Yangon.
• Vocational Training Centre for the Physically Handicapped operated by the Association for Aid and Relief (AAR). This centre was recently set up by the AAR and offers two training courses—a six-month course in tailoring and a three-month course in hairdressing. At present, the two courses are followed by fifteen and eight students, respectively. Currently, residential facilities are present only for females, but a dormitory for males is being constructed. Applications are obtained from distant states and divisions through the Myanmar Council of Churches. Centre staff includes four instructors and two programme officers, all Myanmar. In addition, there are two Japanese, the director and the resident co-ordinator. A revolving fund has been established to assist needy trainees to set up in self-employment. Up to 15,000 kyats is granted to an individual to be repaid in 2 years.

The overall capacity of the above-mentioned institutions is about 1,040 places, of which 972 are filled.