9.3 Limited opportunities for education Provision of special education has begun, but access is severely limited. It is estimated that nine out of ten children with disabilities are not attending school. Special education classes are now available in Male’ and in six out of the twenty atolls. According to the “Situation of People with Disabilities in Haa Alifu and Haa Dhaalu” report, 48% of school age children surveyed were not in school (Campion 2008). Furthermore, there are serious concerns on the accessibility of schools, the curricula and the levels of support and resources available to children with disabilities. Even in those schools where special education classes are conducted, physical access to library, laboratory, school office and toilets are severely limited to children with disabilities. No standard curriculum is being followed for special education with the exception of Jamaluddin School. Most children with disabilities who are enrolled in school attend special classes and do not attend mainstream schooling. In Jamaluddin School access is provided to hearing impaired children only and follows the standard National Curriculum. In other schools, most classes have multi handicapped children with a limited number of teachers and education is based on children’s individual ability. Children with disabilities benefit more from participating in mainstream educational settings and Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities calls on state parties to ensure an inclusive education system at all levels and lifelong learning. It must also be recognised that educational opportunities in childhood will in Getting teachers to respect and protect the rights of children with disabilities is a major challenge. Training of special education teachers was not given high priority by the Government. As a result, most of the teachers are not well trained to teach special needs classes. Teachers who teach special education classes in Male’ schools have completed special training programmes apart from the primary education certificates. However, special education teachers in the atolls have completed only a one month special training conducted by the EDC. There are only two teachers in the country who know how to use Braille and both of them work at Ghiyaasuddin School. A more disturbing issue is the reluctance of teachers to accept children with physical or intellectual disabilities to attend their classes. At the same time, it is recognised that the behaviour of teachers is to a large extent driven by the attitudes of parents as well as the community at large. ACTIVITIES ADDRESSING RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES turn affect employment opportunities and outcomes in adulthood. ... 63