Arunodoy School facilitates special needs children

Arunodoy, a school for children with special needs (disabilities), has been facilitating over 200 children in Cox’s Bazar, providing them with education, healthcare etc to ensure their integration into the society.

The school started its journey in 2020 with a view to increasing the children’s access to a better inclusive education and opportunities.

Established on 0.28 hectares of land, this non-residential school is home to 200 children with special needs with 22 teachers, physicians and staffers. They also get opportunities to do sports, play music, have fun and learn life skills such as teamwork, problem-solving, literacy and numeracy skills.

According to the Department of Social Services office, there are 22,194 children with special needs in Cox’s Bazar. Of them, 364 are with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), 958 children with chronic mental disabilities, 3,189 with visual impairment, 2,012 speech disabilities, 1,013 intellectual disabilities, 756  hearing impairment, 107 visual impairment, 544 children with cerebral palsy, 1,687 people with multiple disabilities and 55 with down syndrome.

The rate of increasing number of children in the overall statistics of the last ten years is very alarming, said Faridul Alam, deputy director of the district office of Department of Social Services.

Children with special needs in Bangladesh are clearly among the most marginalised when it comes to education. Primary school enrolment rate in Bangladesh is 97 per cent while only 11 per cent of children with disabilities received any form of education, said Faridul Alam.

“We have already registered the school under the Directorate of Primary Education. We will ensure each of these children receive the government allowance so that they can lead a healthier life integrated with mainstream society,” he added.

There is a growing realisation that the main constraint faced by these special needs children is not their fault and there is widespread prejudice and discrimination against them, said Cox’s Bazar’s Civil Surgeon Dr Mahbubur Rahman.

As most initiatives for children with disabilities are specialised and separate, so Arunodoy is a praiseworthy initiative of the district administration to ensure education for the children with special needs, added the civil surgeon.

Discrimination in the family, community and the workplace is at the core of most violations of the rights of children with disabilities in Bangladesh. The belief that disability is a curse and a punishment for sinful behaviour permeates all levels of society and affects access to adequate care, health, nutrition, education and participation, said Deputy Commissioner of Cox’s Bazar Md Mamunur Rashid.

“We will provide vehicles to the school so that the children can easily commute between school and home. We are also planning to create a special recreational zone at the Cox’s Bazar beach for the children,” he said.

“These children will be provided with vocational education, trainings so that they can be self-reliant in the long run,” added the DC.