Minsk, Renaissance Hotel, November 20. The International Scientific and Practical Forum "Inclusive Education: A Favorable Environment for Realizing the Potential of Every Child" is coming to the end. More than 1,300 specialists from Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan joined the two-day forum.

The participants discussed the national strategy for developing inclusive education in Belarus, as well as the training of teaching staff in the context of the principle of inclusion.

During a press conference, Deputy Minister of Education Alexander Kadlubay spoke about how inclusive education is developing in Belarus and what experience we can share with our neighbors.

There are about 180 thousand children with special psychophysical development needs in Belarus. "But we need to understand that this category mainly includes children with speech disorders. If we help them in time they will be able to study according to the general program," the deputy minister noted.

According to Alexander Kadlubai, joint education and integration of children with special needs into classes has been practiced in Belarus for almost 30 years. "There are quite a lot of these means. There are about 4 thousand correctional assistance centers based in kindergartens and schools, where qualified speech therapists and pathologists work with children. A child, despite his or her special needs, has the opportunity to receive an education with peers in the classroom, unless otherwise indicated".

In addition, over the past 20 years, the number of special boarding schools has been halved. "We adhere to the principle of not separating a child from his family so that he can receive an education in a regular institution. This is the key message today. We also note the growth in the number of children with autism spectrum disorders and, accordingly, the demand of parents for professional education and more in-depth socialization of their children. When children grow up and receive preschool and school education, parents think about how they will exist separately, including within their family and we discuss these issues as well," the deputy minister shared.

Many people from different countries took part in the forum: some offline, some connected online. "People come to us to study. The Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank is the basic organization of the CIS on these issues. Our institution of inclusive education is very famous abroad. We have accumulated resources and experience that our colleagues are ready to use," Alexander Kadlubay emphasized.

The Deputy Minister also announced that the Ministry of Education, jointly with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection is developing a concept for involving people with special psychophysical development needs in work activities and socialization. An action plan will be prepared aimed at solving current problems in the field of inclusion.