Panukalang libreng edukasyon sa mga kabataang may kapansanan

KAILANGANG magpatupad ang pamahalaan ng komprehensibong programang pang-edukasyon para sa mga handicapped o differently-abled na mga kabataan upang matulungan silang makasabay sa daloy ng lipunan at maging produktibong bahagi nito.

Ito ang iginiit ni Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada sa kanyang Senate Bill 1670 (Free and Suitable Public Edu­cation for Handicapped Children).

Aniya, “This bill aims to provide free education for the differently-abled during their formative years. It is vital that the government takes the lead in providing this service for free because the impoverished certainly do not have the means to pay for the specialized education of these children. By orienting these children at an early age, they shall learn to overcome their ‘handicap’ and thus consider themselves as no different and certainly no less capable than any other member of the society.”

Itinatakda ng panukala ang sumusunod:

a) A differently-abled child is one who has not yet reached the age of 18 years old.

b) This measure seeks to establish a special education program that shall cater to the needs of the differently-abled and the mentally and physically handicapped children, provide full financial and educational assistance to them, and help in their development and rehabilitation.

c) This education refers to a course, profession, skill or program prescribed by the Department of Education to a differently-abled child taking into consideration the child’s aptitude handicap and talents.

d.) The benefits to a qualified differently-abled child shall include tuition fees, textbook allowance, and ambulatory equipment or devices as may be necessary. Special services such as note-takers and readers for the blind, sign interpreters for the deaf and tutorial instruction shall also be offered.

e.) A special education center shall, whenever possible, be established in the provincial, city and municipal levels, which shall, as much as possible, provide for elementary levels of education with maximum opportunities for integration with non-handicapped peers.

f.) The DepEd, in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, shall promulgate the rules and regulations for this Act.