SEN. SHERWIN Gatchalian on Friday reiterated the need to institutionalize accessible and disability-responsive education services nationwide as the country marked International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture said that even before Covid19 hit the country, access to education was already a challenge for children with disabilities.

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation estimates that there are as many as 5 million children with disabilities but only 439,700 enrolled in public schools last year.

A study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies in 2017 showed that financial problems and the lack of educational facilities are among the reasons why disabled children cannot go to school.

The coronavirus pandemic exacerbated these challenges.

Save the Children’s Rapid Survey on the Situation of Children with Disabilities in the Context of Covid19 conducted last May showed that 48 percent of the 4,066 participants said they could not access education services because of quarantine measures.

Senate Bill 1907 or the Instituting Services and Programs for Learners with Disabilities in Support of Inclusive Education Act, which Gatchalian co-authored and sponsored, aims to address these challenges.

The senator said the measure will help rebuild the education sector from the effects of the Covid19 pandemic.

Under the measure, no learner with disability shall be denied admission and inclusion in any public or private basic education school in the country.

“Sa ating pagbangon mula sa pinsalang dulot ng pandemya ng Covid19, kailangang siguruhin nating tinutugunan ng ating sistema ng edukasyon ang pangangailangan ng ating mga mag-aaral at kabataang may kapansanan. Sa pamamagitan ng mga reporma at panukalang batas na ating isinusulong, mas matitiyak natin na walang batang may kapansanan ang maiiwan sa ilalim ng new o better normal,” Gatchalian said.

The bill mandates the Education department to collaborate with local government units to establish and maintain Inclusive Learning Resource Centers in every city and municipality.

ILRCs will deliver free support services and inclusive education programs for learners with disabilities and will be staffed by a multidisciplinary team composed of professionals including special education teachers, psychologists, guidance counselors, social workers, interpreters, and other allied medical professionals.

The measure also institutionalizes the Child Find System to identify, locate, and evaluate learners with disabilities who are not receiving basic education services.