24 Aug Inclusive education in Serbia

The Serbian government formally pledged in June that all children with disabilities will be able to go to school.

Thousands of children with disabilities in Serbia are not enrolled in school. As the Serbian government announced they will finally have a chance at an education, to learn side by side with their peers with and without disabilities, as well as to enjoy school trips and after-school activities.

In a June 8 letter to Human Rights Watch, education minister Mladen Sarcevic promised to ensure “access, inclusion and participation of every child, student, and adult in quality and inclusive education.”

It is encouraging that the education ministry is announcing concrete measures to ensure that children and youth with disabilities no longer miss out on education.

Serbia should carry out its law on education from 2013, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in access to education and sets minimum inclusive education standards. The government should also step up its efforts and adopt by September the national Action plan for inclusive education 2016-2020. The Action plan provides concrete measures that the government, schools, and communities need to take to ensure that children with disabilities attend mainstream schools.

Two years have passed since the action plan was announced, and Serbia should move ahead without delay to carry it out to ensure that children with disabilities are included when school opens this September.

References from the official website of the Human Rights Watch news.