ArmenPress
Nov 18 2004

UNICEF SAYS HEALTH CONDITION OF CHILDREN AT SPECIAL SCHOOLS IS
ALARMING

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS: Children with special needs
placed at special/boarding schools in Yerevan face myriad health and
development problems, according to the Assessment of Health Condition
of Children with Special Education Needs conducted upon the request
from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Armenia
by the Children’s Health Care Association with UNICEF’s support.
The study which provides an in-depth analysis of health and
development problems of children was carried out at Nubarashen No. 1
and 11 schools for children with mental retardation, school No. 9 for
children with hearing impairments and Nubarashen No. 18 special
school for children with behavioral problems. The objective of the
study was to assess health condition of children, identify whether
children are placed in a proper special school and meet new admission
criteria recently adopted by the Ministry of Education and Science.
Out of 514 children registered in the surveyed schools, only 391
(76%) were available for screening. Over 60% of children were from
Yerevan, while the rest were from neighboring regions. The screening
revealed that along with children with special educational needs,
schools also accepted their siblings without such needs solely on the
basis that they belonged to the same socially vulnerable families. On
the average for 16% (62 children) of the surveyed children the
schools that they were placed in were not appropriate. However, the
reintegration of those children into mainstream education is already
impossible.
According to the study findings, poverty (50% of children) and
family problems (62 % in Nubarashen No. 18 special school) are major
causes for placement of children in a special school.
Many of the children suffer from chronic diseases, including cases
which require immediate medical intervention. In particular, up to
17% of the surveyed children have hearing problems caused by chronic
tonsillitis and otitis. In many cases, however, school
administrations were not able to provide relevant medical assistance
to the children due to the lack of qualified medical personnel and
absence of legal power to authorize specialized medical intervention.

In addition, the study indicates that out of 391 children 28 (7%)
were subjected to physical violence within their families, whereas 9
children (2%) were subjected to violence at the schools.
The assessment once again brings up the importance of regular
medical checkups of all children in special schools as well as the
need to revise curriculum in those institutions. Moreover, the
development of the state policy on early identification of childhood
disability and early intervention will lead to timely integration of
children with disabilities into the society, thus preventing many
children from being placed in special schools.