Paraguay’s Ministry of Education receives materials produced by Bridging the Gap to advance inclusive education

The General Coordinator of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) in Paraguay, Fernando Rey, presented to the authorities of the Ministry of Education and Science (MEC) the materials developed within the framework of Bridging the Gap to mainstream inclusive education in the country at an event held on 9 February at the Centre for Production and Support for Inclusion (CEPAI) in Asunción (Paraguay) and organised by the Ministry’s General Directorate of Inclusive Education.

The materials presented comprised a Compendium of guidelines and texts for reasonable accommodation at the levels of Basic and Initial, Secondary, University and Technical School Education, for the application of the Law on Inclusive Education; an Inclusive Education Pedagogical Support Guide, Compensatory Educational Care Service – Hospital Classrooms; and the Design of a proposal for a review of the curriculum of the Teacher Training Institute in terms of mainstreaming Inclusive Education.

According to the Deputy Minister of Basic Education of the Ministry of Education and Science, Robert Cano Paredes, “the materials produced reaffirm the relevance of mainstreaming inclusive education throughout the education system and teacher training”. They are the result of research and experiences of teachers and technicians, aiming to generate a baseline to guide the educational activity of managers and teachers to contribute to the improvement of the students’ quality of life, and to strengthen the application of Law No 5136/13 to the national education system at different levels or modalities.

The event was also attended by the General Director of Inclusive Education, Nathalia Ojeda; the Representative of the Organisation of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI) in Paraguay, Mirian Flecker; Bridging the Gap team, MEC departmental authorities and Inclusive Education teachers from different levels.

These products are a result of Bridging the Gap’s intervention in Paraguay, which aims to support the efforts of the Paraguayan State and Civil Society organisations (CSOs) to implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities through capacity building of government institutions and organisations of persons with disabilities, taking as a reference the guidelines of the National Action Plan for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2015- 2030).