Abu Dhabi: Schools across the UAE are being urged to accept children with Down’s Syndrome, and experts have recommended that this decision not be left up to school heads, the eighth Annual Forum on Down Syndrome heard today (Sunday).

Organised by the UAE Down’s Syndrome Association (UAEDSA), delegates at the forum also advised that the Ministry of Education make the enrolment of children with Down’s Syndrome mandatory, and not leave this responsibility solely in the hands of school leaders.

“One of the major challenges that parents face is schools must grant permission for the enrolment of children with Down’s Syndrome, and in many cases, they simply provide the excuse that there are no seats available. But if a child has a verified report stating that he or she is physically and mentally ready for mainstreaming, schools should not be able to reject them,” Sonya Al Hashemi, chairperson at the UAE Down’s Syndrom Association, told Gulf News after the meeting.

Other difficulties include the comparatively higher fees that children with special needs are sometimes subjected to when enrolling in private schools.

“If schools make special provisions for children, or employ classroom assistants, these fees can be justified. But, in many cases, no additional arrangements are made but the fees are hiked,” Sonya said.

The expert called upon all schools to reserve at least 10 per cent of their seats for children with special needs. This kind of inclusive education or mainstreaming helps special needs pupils by offering them a chance to interact with their peers. Those without special needs also learn to accept differences and cooperate, she said.

At the forum, Ministry of Education officials were also urged to design a curriculum for pupils with special needs, and to help in the process of removing obstacles to mainstreaming.

“My nephew does not suffer from a severe type of Down’s Syndrome. With a little bit of assistance, he could enter a mainstream school and do just as well as the other children. However, every school that my brother has tried to enrol him in said that they are full. I believe this is a tactic adopted by administration officials to dodge the responsibility of having a child with special needs in their school,” said A.R., an Emirati in the capital.

The World Health Organisation estimates the worldwide prevalence of Down’s Syndrome to be about 1 in 1,000 births worldwide. The UAEDSA, however, believes that the incidence is higher in the UAE.

Nevertheless, there is still a limited number of special education centres across the country, and the existing facilities are known to have long waiting lists. Placing special needs pupils in mainstream schools is one solution to enable education for these individuals.

To encourage acceptance rates, private schools in the emirate of Abu Dhabi that integrate pupils with special needs are recorded as having met one of the criteria set by the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) to apply for fee increases. More than 4,000 special needs pupils are also integrated within Abu Dhabi public schools.