Schools and adult centres are both struggling to offer reasonable conditions for people with disabilities in Romania, Quest-France reports.
Georgian, a ten-year-old paraplegic, is one of the thirty-nine so-called ‘special’ students at the Sfântu-Iacob School in Campulung Muscel (centre). The school, which welcomes 2,000 students, does not discriminate.“We are an inclusive school,” explained support teacher Ana Aron, who is delighted to see Georgian’s progress. “We help all children. Each class has at least one child with special needs. Some have autism, hyperactivity, while others are paraplegic or quadriplegic,” she added.
Out of the 100,000 disabled children and children with special needs (the two categories are different), only 8,000 are currently integrated across Romanian schools. Before 2016, it was impossible to send such a child to school, at least in the public sector, which meant those children remained in so-called ‘special schools’. And although this looks like progress, segregation is still rampant. Created by a catholic congregation in 1997, the Sfântu-Iacob school is still the exception. While it is private, the school does not refuse anyone, and with admission costing less than €200 per year per child, it also remains accessible. Besides, the school employs three support teachers for 39 of these students and has also created a day centre.
The issue of disability is a recurring theme in Romania. Last year, four people died in degrading conditions in an adult centre.
