Every child deserves the right to an education

DR RADICA MAHASE

“EVERY child deserves the right to an education.”

These were the words of Independent Senator Paul Richards on May 18 at the launch of my book, Autism in Trinidad and Tobago – A Collection of Articles.

A couple of months ago, Richards raised a private motion in the Senate which called on the government to ensure that all children with special needs are provided with equal educational opportunities. Richards, who is very passionate about special needs, very graciously accepted my invitation to be the feature speaker at the book launch. He noted that, “Every child has the right to an education. It’s about providing the type of education in our country so that all children reach their full potential. This also includes gifted children who need extra support.”

According to Richards, “… The kinds of trials and tribulations that children with special needs and their families go through just trying to get services….No parents should have to go back to the ministry every year to give evidence that their child still has Down syndrome or autism.” Parents go through this to get $2,500 and this sum cannot even begin to help ease parents’ financial burdens. He stated, “This sum is insulting.” And indeed it is, especially given the fact that is cannot even cover a basic evaluation or diagnosis, much less therapy or assisted-devices.

What is even worse is that our system is so archaic that parents need to provide evidence to the Ministry of Education to confirm that the child still has special needs. It’s almost as if we believe that autism or Down syndrome or whatever other special needs will suddenly go away within the year. The other sad thing is that in most cases it’s not something that can be done in one visit; often parents have to run back and forth to government offices, whether it is education, social services, health, etc just to get one thing done.

Richards also questioned, “Our national anthem states clearly every creed and race finds an equal place, but is that really happening?” Simply put, it is not. What is even more worrisome is that the entire state system acts like it’s doing a favour by providing opportunities for those with special needs. He referred to various legislations in the USA such as the No Child Left Behind Act (2001), the Education for All Act (2016), amongst others, which “provide a legal framework for parents of children of autism or any of the 13 categories of special needs, to take the schools to court to demand the kind of education for their children, which is the right of every child. It is not a favour that the state is doing you, is it the right of every single child to have an education.”

So how do we get the government to understand that the provision of equal opportunities to every citizen is the duty of the government? As Richards noted, “A confrontational approach is not the way to go. We need to develop an approach that will find solutions.” As stated above, there are 13 different categories of special needs and there are groups advocating for each individually. While each of these groups might be doing a good job within its own space much more is needed. They all need to come together and advocate as a collective body. Richards noted that, “No government will negotiate with 20 or 30 groups; special needs groups need to come together and advocate on behalf of all special needs categories, as a unified front, for the law to change.” As he said, politicians understand embarrassment. I believe that it is very sad that as a society we are incapable of making legislative changes unless the politicians are embarrassed but sadly that is the reality in TT.

Why is it so difficult for any TT government to understand that when it is voted into power it is the government’s responsibility to provide for the needs of the citizens? Why can’t the government understand that citizens with special needs are citizens too? That they are not secondary citizens and they are certainly not lesser citizens, they are simply citizens who are entitled to equal rights as everyone else? As Richards noted, “What every parent wants for their child is more support and the state should pay for that support”. What do we need to get the government to do this?

Dr Radica Mahase is founder/director, Support Autism T&T