Education Minister Stijepović presents national policy on inclusive education in Istanbul

Istanbul, Turkey (11 December 2013) – Montenegro’s Education Minister Slavoljub Stijepović presented the national policy on inclusive education at the Regional Ministerial Education Conference in Istanbul.

In his address, Minister Stijepović pointed out that Montenegro’s national education policy is based on respecting the right of every child to a quality education. Therefore, inclusive education is one of the defined priorities of the country’s education reforms. In that context, he emphasised the key achievements of this type of education, primarily referring to the right of a child to grow up in a nuclear family and to be educated in the regular system, adding that a large number of children with special educational needs are being educated in regular schools, under the conditions harmonised with their needs and abilities.

He presented Montenegro Inclusive Education Strategy as well, aimed at providing access to education and achieving developmental and educational achievements through individualised, additional support.

In addition to undertaking systematic efforts in promoting the rights and inclusion of children with disabilities, the Education Minister presented the results of the campaign "It's about ability", which is being implemented by the Government of Montenegro and the UNICEF Montenegro, with a view to raising public awareness and influence to change attitudes and practices regarding children with special needs' inclusion. The presentation highlighted that significantly increased percentage of people believe that children with disabilities are better off staying in their family than to be sent to a special institution. Also, increased percentage of parents think that these children should attend the same classes as their children and that they should be equally respected members of the community and have equal opportunities to take part in social life.

The conference, which was supported by the UNICEF and the Government of Turkey, and attended by representatives of 20 countries of Central and East Europe, and Central Asia, adopted a joint document titled "Call for Action", focusing on equal access to education and inclusion of all children into a quality education system.