Poor policy for special-needs pupils means everyone suffers

The Legislative Council subcommittee on Integrated Education has been holding a series of meetings on the difficulties in integrating pupils with special educational needs (SEN) into mainstream education. Public views have been invited.

SEN pupils are those who have needs and disabilities that affect their ability to learn.

Inclusive education is a rising global trend. Article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child requires that education be directed to the development of the child's personality and abilities to their fullest potential. Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities guarantees the substantive right to inclusive education and requires signatories to implement inclusive education system at all levels.

During the past 15 years or so, the government has taken steps to mainstream SEN pupils under the banner of integrated education. However, the policy has often been criticised as ill-conceived, half-hearted and inefficacious.

There are always sceptics who hold that integrating SEN pupils would lower the overall academic standard of regular schools. Others worry that resources of special schools may be drained in the guise of integrated education, jeopardising pupils with genuine needs.

And there is a long list of problems concerning the operation of integrated education: insufficient training and support for teachers, ineffective resources allocation and co-ordination, lack of curricular and pedagogical differentiation, absence of diversified progression pathways and unfavourable school ethos, just to name a few. Needs and expectations are diverse and mixed, but the policy fails to address them properly. As a result, everyone suffers.

The crux of the problem is the government's misconception about inclusion and failure to recognise access to quality inclusive education as a substantive right.