Dad pushes special education council

By Jordan G. Habbiling

BAGUIO CITY -- Councilor Vladimir Cayabas, in a resolution, urged the Dept. of Education-Cordillera Administrative Region to organize its Special Education (SPED) Council to be composed of focal persons in public schools in the city.
    Cayabas said the creation of a SPED council will strengthen SPED programs for basic education in the city.
    He added the SPED council may assist DepEd division officials and focal offices in monitoring SPED-related programs in the city, provide help in regular evaluation or assessment to determine effectiveness of these programs and propose measures for efficient implementation.
    DepEd’s Department Order No. 26, Series of 1997 mandates the institutionalization of SPED programs in all schools in the country to be able to “provide access to basic education among children with special needs, namely, the gifted/talented, the mentally retarded, the visually impaired, the hearing impaired, the orthopedically handicapped, the learning disabled, the speech defectives, the children with behavior problems, the autistic children and those with health problems through the formal system and other alternative delivery services in education.”
    Cayabas stated SPED involves preparation of teaching procedures, materials, and other interventions designed to address the needs of learners with learning differences, disabilities, and giftedness.\

    He added the objectives of SPED include the development, empowerment, and maximization of learning competencies as well as the inculcation of right values to learners with special needs while equipping them and nurturing their potentials to prepare them in becoming productive members of the society.

    Citing Art.23, Paragraph I of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC), the councilor underscored it is the policy of the state to “provide priority for the needs of the underprivileged sick, elderly, disabled, women and children” and that the state “recognizes the disabled children’s right to special care, education and training to help them enjoy full and decent lives in dignity and achieve the greatest degree of self-reliance and social integration.”

    The Philippines signed the UN CRC on January 26, 1990. It was ratified by the Philippine Senate on August 21, 1990.