Students with disabilities tread tough terrain in academic journey

AMMAN — The absence of a culture of acceptance among students, combined with a lack of shadow teachers and resource rooms, remain obstacles that students with disabilities face in their academic journey, parents say. 

Infrastructure meant for students with disabilities in over 12 schools in the Kingdom has been renovated, including ramps, handrails and washrooms, according to an official from the Higher Council of Persons with Disabilities (HCD). 

Classrooms for students with special needs have been placed on the ground floor to ease their movement in response to parents reporting a “lack of understanding of their children’s true needs”.

Yasser, a 15-year-old student who was diagnosed with muscular atrophy at two years old, is an orphan and has four siblings. 

Although he is 15, he is currently in the fifth grade, and had to drop out of school for two years due to a lack of accessible infrastructure at school. 

“The Ministry of Social Development provided him with an electric wheelchair,” Yasser’s mother told The Jordan Times. 

Yasser’s mother used to carry him to and from school every day. When Yasser grew up, she became unable to carry him and had to request an electric wheelchair from the Ministry of Social Development. 

“Roads are bumpy, potholes are everywhere, and there are no sidewalks,” she noted. 

Yasser’s mother lives with her five children in the Jerash refugee camp, and she walks her son to school every day “against his will”.

“Yasser doesn’t want to go to school; his classmates bully him all the time. They broke his wheelchair so many times and I can’t afford to repair it,” Yasser’s mother said.

Although Yasser’s school has ramps and handrails, and his classroom is on the ground floor, the teachers are incapable of catering to the needs of students like Yasser, his mother said. 

Yasser’s classroom has 40 students and only one teacher, and there are no shadow teachers or resource rooms at the school, Yasser’s mother said.

Yasser’s mother can't afford to hire tutors, nor can she send him to an educational centre for after-school hours. 

The Jordan Times also spoke with the mother of 10-year-old Mohammad, a young boy with a disability. 

Mohammad’s mother lives with her four children and disabled husband in Zarqa, and she pushes her son Mohammad to school in his wheelchair on a bumpy, unpaved street with no sidewalk. 

“We live off of a JD50 monthly allowance from the Ministry of Social Development,” she told The Jordan Times. 

Mohammad, was diagnosed with pelvic paralysis at birth. He is currently in the third grade. 

“Mohammad is not happy. He knows he’s different and he feels that the rest of his classmates are better than him,” she told The Jordan Times. 

Ongoing bullying and teachers’ ignorance of his case is “frustrating”, she said.

“Mohammad is treated just like the rest of his classmates; his educational level is not taken into consideration,” she added. 

Mohammad does not have access to a shadow teacher who can explain the subject in a way in which he can fully comprehend. “I don’t blame the teacher, she can barely keep up with the rest of the students and manage her classroom; she doesn't have extra time to explain everything to Mohammad,” she said. However, she encouraged all teachers to educate students about accepting differences and valuing friendship. 

Esar Zawahreh, the inclusive education director at the HCD, said that there is continuous coordination between the council and the Ministry of Education on improving educational conditions for students with disabilities, especially regarding the financing of renovations to make schools accessible.

“By the end of this year, 30 public schools will be fully equipped to meet the needs of inclusive education programmes,” she said, noting that the project is implemented in cooperation with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

In addition to HCD’s school renovation projects, several NGOs are working tirelessly to renovate public schools and equip them to host students with disabilities. 

Despite multiple attempts by The Jordan Times, the Ministry of Education was not available for comment.