NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF KOREA Submission to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – July 2022 Article 24 Education 25-1 Enhancing effectiveness of inclusive education policy □ Current status and problem ㅇ The government has established 17 special schools during the period of the 4th Five-year Plan on Development of Special Education(2013-2017). However, even in the 5th Plan(2018-2022) which aims for successful social inclusion of targets of special education, the basic direction is the continued expansion of special school(class)28, and additional special schools are being established. ㅇ The expansion of special school violates Article 24 of the Convention and runs counter to the policy of pursuing inclusive education. The reason behind the continued expansion of special schools is that there is no education environment that considers disability type and characteristics of students with disabilities. The government’s argument of the inevitability schools proves the fact that individualized education plans and support for the educational activity of students with disabilities are not smoothly carried out. Currently, most students with disabilities assigned to general schools are receiving separaed education in special classes. ㅇ Therefore, for the implementation of Article 24 of the Convention and realization of inclusive education pursuant to General Comment N.4, the disability-inclusive monitoring system has to be introduced that tracks implementation status at all levels and monitors whether policies and programs are properly implemented. Only then can such retrogressive measures be understood as temporary measures even if special schools are expanded for the time being in consideration of reality. ㅇ Recently, the Ministry of Education implemented the ‘Project to develop integrated educational cooperation model between special teachers and general teachers’ as part of the 5th Five Year Plan for the Development of Special Education(20182022). This is an attempt to provide inclusive learning opportunities for both 41