Special education council pushed in Baguio

BAGUIO CITY (August 25, 2021)— A Special Education (SPED) Council to be composed of all designated focal persons in the public school system in the city is being pushed.

Baguio City Councilor Vladimir Cayabas, in a resolution, is encouraging the Department of Education (DepEd)-Cordillera to organize the said council, citing that the creation of a SPED council will strengthen the institutionalization of SPED programs for Basic Education in the city.

He added the SPED council may assist DepEd division officials and focal offices in monitoring the SPED-related programs in the city, provide help in the regular conduct of evaluation or assessment to determine the effectiveness of these programs, and propose measures for more 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 the 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.”

Artemio A. Dumlao