Nurturing young minds

When participating in the training session on legal policies that are related to inclusive education for persons with disabilities, Ms. Nong Thi Quyet (Bac Kan) came to understand the important role of schools and teachers in assisting education for persons with disabilities. With her kind heart, dedication and compassion, Ms. Quyen has made continuous efforts to help the students with disabilities to be able to learn and participate in the community. 

During a business trip in Bac Kan, we, the officials of the Action to the Community Development Institute (ACDC), had the opportunity to meet Ms. Nong Thi Quyet, one of the teachers participating in training courses at Dong Xa Kindergarten, Na Ri District. Here, we discussed with each other the legal policies related to inclusive education for persons with disabilities, and listened to the sharings and concerns of Ms. Nong Thi Quyet in her journey of nurturing young minds, taking care of and educating children with disabilities. 

In the 2020 - 2021 school year, Ms. Quyet was assigned to teach preschoolers of four and five years old. Her class had 24 students, but two in particular were students with disabilities: Tra My had a congenital heart disease and Cam Nhung had no anus. The initial period of class admission was the toughest days during Ms. Quyet's time teaching. Tra My's congenital heart disease made her health very weak. During class, most of the time, she could only stay close to the teacher and was barely strong enough to play with her friends. Every time she cried or was in pain, she had difficulties in breathing, her fingers turned purple and she laid down on the floor. As for Cam Nhung, although she was good and obedient to the teacher, she had problems with personal hygiene due to defecation incontinence. Although she sympathized with and understood the children's conditions, at times, Ms. Quyet couldn't know how to handle the situation in class because there were also other children who she needed to tend to. Bathing Cam Nhung or looking after Tra My until late in the day when the children's families could come to pick them up has become familiar, but she still genuinely wishes that she could do something more to make their lives better. 

At the beginning of the school year, Tra My and Cam Nhung both didn't have their disability certificates and Ms. Quyet also wasn't aware of the State's preferential policies for children with disabilities. Because she didn't understand the types and levels of disabilities or social benefits, she wondered “Why do we encourage putting students into the disability category?”. When participating in the training session at school on legal policies related to inclusive education for persons with disabilities, Ms. Quyet finally understood that the project activities in progress were to support teachers and support students with disabilities. She felt that “These activities are very interesting and practical for myself as well as for the students”. During the course, she learned about the types and levels of disability, the rights of persons with disability, benefit policies, scholarships to support the education for children with disabilities… 

With the knowledge gained from the training session, she actively reached out to Tra My's and Cam Nhung's families to discuss the matter of applying for confirmation of the level of disability, as well as to share information about monthly support policies and scholarships to support education for the children. Through this exchange, she learned that Cam Nhung's family had already filed an application to send for confirmation about the level of disability from the District Council, which then the District sent to the Commune, but there was still no response. As for Tra My's family, they didn't want to send an application because they were worried that their child would face discrimination after being confirmed with disability. Understanding the situation, Ms. Quyet gave specific advice on the rights of children with disabilities from the benefit policies and encouraged the families to actively complete their applications and reach out to get the applications reviewed. The two families agreed then contacted, completed the applications to send to relevant parties under her guidance. In January 2021, Tra My and Cam Nhung received their disability certificates, thanks to the enthusiastic consultation of Ms. Quyet. 

From the initial successes, Ms. Quyet continued to guide the families to apply for scholarship policies for children with disabilities, as instructed in the Joint Circular no. 42/2013/TTLT-BGDDT-BLDTBXH-BTC on scholarships for persons with disabilities in poor households attending education institutions[1]. As a result, in April 2021, both children received preferential benefits and scholarships in accordance with the State's policies. The efforts of the teacher and students’ families have paid off! In the joy and hope from the achieved results, Ms. Quyet shared that she wished the project would have even more activities to assist children with disabilities, while at the same time, giving teachers the chance to broaden their knowledge and skills to help their students in learning and getting along with other children better. 

Congratulations to Ms. Nong Thi Quyet and Tra My and Cam Nhung. We are happy to be a part of the journey to assist children and persons with disabilities across the country. Ms. Quyet’s belief has motivated us to make more efforts on that journey – the journey that raises the status and offers support to persons with disabilities in their integration into society. 

– 
[1] Joint Circular no. 42/2013/TTLT-BGDDT-BLDTBXH-BTC, dated 31 December, 2013, of the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, and the Ministry of Finance, regulating policies on education for persons with disabilities.