Disabled people want better education<\/p>\n
Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Mojokerto<\/p>\n
Being born with a disability has not stopped Ismail from getting
\non with his life.<\/p>\n
The resident of Ketidur village in Kutohardjo, Mojokerto, in
\nEast Java earns a living teaching children in his neighborhood to
\nread the Koran.<\/p>\n
\"I don't set a flat fee for teaching the children, but their
\nparents voluntarily give me money or things, such as clothes and
\nfood,\" the 16-year-old told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Since he was born, Ismail, whose parents are farm laborers,
\nhas been unable to walk and he uses his hand hands to get around.<\/p>\n
While he is not mentally disabled, Ismail was never sent to
\nschool and learned to read the Koran and write on his own.<\/p>\n
Ismail said he did wish to attend a special school for the
\ndisabled but his family's lack of money put paid to that idea.
\nInstead, he focused on helping his parents by earning his way
\nwith teaching.<\/p>\n
\"I can only do this, and as long as I can teach (children) how
\nto read the Koran, I will continue to try to earn a living by
\nusing the skills I have,\" said Ismail, who is grateful his family
\nand neighbors accept him the way he is. Some neighbors
\nvoluntarily donated sets of the Koran that he used to teach the
\nchildren, he said.<\/p>\n
In Surabaya, Wuri Handayani, a handicapped woman in her 30s,
\nbelieves she is luckier than most disabled people, although she
\nremains unemployed.<\/p>\n
Unlike Ismail, Wuri, who was recently turned down when she
\napplied for a civil service job, attended formal schooling up to
\nuniversity level.<\/p>\n
However, her disability meant she had to abandon her dream to
\nbecome a pharmacist because there was no special equipment for
\nhandicapped students to learn the science.<\/p>\n
Before getting a bachelor's degree in economics, Wuri once
\nattended Airlangga University School of Pharmacy for three
\nsemesters. When an accident left her paralyzed, she left the
\nschool and studied economics instead.<\/p>\n
Wuri said that in Indonesia, disabled students were still
\nfrequently discriminated against by educational institutions.<\/p>\n
Both Wuri and Ismail are among many disabled people who have
\nmissed the chance of the education they wanted because of limited
\nfacilities.<\/p>\n
Ministry of National Education special education director
\nMudjito said a lack of state funds meant there was an unequal
\ndistribution of education access for disabled people around the
\ncountry. There was also a lack of focus on the need for education
\nfor the disabled, he said.<\/p>\n
\"We've done many things, including providing scholarships to
\nthe poor. But because of our limited budget, we can't provide
\nequal education (to everyone),\" he said on the sidelines of
\ncoordination meeting on special education in Surabaya on Monday.<\/p>\n
Many disabled people in the country, mostly those coming from
\npoor families, did not get any form of special education, Mudjito
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
According to the ministry's data, some 46,085 disabled
\nstudents are currently studying at special schools both at
\nelementary and high school level, throughout the country.<\/p>\n
From the 46,085 students, East Java ranks first with 8,574
\nstudents, West Java in the second with 7,618 students and Jakarta
\nin the third with 4,876 students.<\/p>\n
Mudjito said that to deal with the problem of providing
\nspecial education, the government was planning to build new
\nschools, prepare a new competence-based curriculum, and provide
\nmore training for teachers at special schools.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/disabled-people-want-better-education-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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