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To celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Ministry of Education and Sports of the Lao PDR (MoES) and Australia through the BEQUAL programme hosted an event on 18th December highlighting successful partnerships for inclusive education.
Mr. Samlane Phankhavong, Vice Minister of Education and Sports (R) and Ms. Benita Sommerville, Deputy Head of Mission, Australian Embassy in Vientiane on Dec 18
(KPL) To celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Ministry of Education and Sports of the Lao PDR (MoES) and Australia through the BEQUAL programme hosted an event on 18th December highlighting successful partnerships for inclusive education.
Mr. Samlane Phankhavong, Vice Minister of Education and Sports (MoES) and Ms. Benita Sommerville, Deputy Head of Mission, Australian Embassy hosted the event for around 75 representatives from various departments of MoES, Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), development partners and NGOs.
The event will be followed by a two-day training on “Understanding Disability”.
Mr. Samlane said “I would like to stress the importance of collaboration and partnerships for achieving MoES’ Inclusive Education Strategy 2030 goals and objectives.
The event today aims to strengthen this collaboration among MoES departments, the Inclusive Education Promotion Centre (IEPC) and key stakeholders to advance inclusive education in the Lao PDR. I expect by the end of the day we will have concrete commitments from all participants to eliminate barriers and promote equitable access to quality education for all learners.”
Ms Benita Sommerville added “Supporting the rights of people with disability reflects Australian values. Australia’s new International Disability Equity and Rights Strategy was launched on the 28 November 2024, marking a shift in our focus from disability inclusion to disability equity and rights, placing partnerships with people with disability at the heart of our international engagement.”
Through a variety of activities, the event brought to life the theme of International Day of People with Disabilities IDPWD 2024: “Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future”. It began with a lively performance from students from Hands of Hope signing a song in Lao sign language while students from the School for the Blind played music and sang.
Mr. Samlane said “The Ministry of Education and Sports and Australia are committed to fostering an education system that is accessible and inclusive for all learners. This includes ensuring that central-level MoES staff, policymakers, and educators fully understand the needs and rights of persons with disabilities and work to implement policies that translate into tangible improvements at the school level.”
Participants were inspired by the different examples of leadership by persons with disabilities shared by MoES Departments and OPDs. Guest speaker panels amplified the voices and leadership of persons with disabilities through discussions on strategies for helping teachers to develop more inclusive teaching skills and how to ensure schools are safe spaces for persons with disabilities.
Ms. Benita Sommerville said “Teachers are key to creating inclusive classrooms. To ensure all students thrive, Australia supports MoES and its partners to prioritise equipping teachers with the tools, resources, and training needed to effectively support students with disabilities. This includes integrating inclusive teaching practices into pre-service and in-service teacher education programmes.”
Following the event, thirty-five members of the gender training team and the Core Teams from three target Teacher Technical Colleges (Luang Namtha, Khang Khay, and Savannakhet) will participate in two days of training on “Basic Understanding Disability”. The training will be provided by a mixed team from IEPC, the Division for the Advancement of Women and OPDs. The trainers will explain how to identify different types of disability and how to support students. The final objective is to create guidelines for teachers to help them provide a tailor-made response to their students with special needs.
Ms. Benita Sommerville concluded “Australia is committed to supporting the Ministry of Education to remove barriers to education. Raising awareness about the barriers faced by students with disability and providing concrete strategies to address these challenges is critical. Thanks to the guidelines, teachers, school administrators, and community members will be empowered to identify and eliminate physical, attitudinal, and communication barriers that hinder learning for students with diverse needs.”
BEQUAL is a programme led by the Lao Government with support from the Australian Government and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The programme focuses on enhancing educational outcomes for the nation's youth, especially the vulnerable and disadvantaged. BEQUAL is focused on ensuring gender equality and promoting inclusive education across all activities.
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