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“Let them register slow progress but let it be real so that the inclusive educational institutions become genuine,” Unison NGO Director Armen Alaverdyan told during the meeting with the reporters turning to the quality of inclusive education in Armenia.

Armen Alaverdyan told that during one of the recently held conferences a speaker had noted that Armenia was considered to be one of the leading countries regarding the inclusive education. This assumption was based on some statistics or available data. But if we consider its quality and make studies we can state that there is no inclusive education in Armenian. “I agree with that opinion. The provided figures are exciting but there are schools in Armenia that do not support facilities for children with mobility problems. As for the educational program we do not have adapted academic programs for such children not only to go to school but also to acquire a complete education.”

“For example in Armenian schools a child suffering from Down syndrome sits with his mother in one corner of a classroom and interacts only with his mother which could also be done at home. He does not interact with his classmates and does not receive proper education. There is even another issue regarding the negative attitude of children towards the ones with disabilities. In such cases the skills of disabled children are not revealed,” Armen Alaverdyan said.

He mentioned that except the American University the other universities in Armenia do not support conditions for moving in wheelchair. There is no adapted academic program and the students with disabilities only make up one percent.

“In Armenia which has been hit by a quake and war only 6.7 percent of population have disabilities while the world figure of people with disabilities make up 15 percent,” he added mentioning that the figures provided by the statistics in Armenia are not reliable.