A further search for mechanisms of interaction between the ministries of education, health, labor and social protection was considered today by the participants of the republican interdepartmental workshop-meeting on topical issues of vocational training of persons with special needs of psychophysical development and their further employment.

Target audience: management and specialists of the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection; heads of enterprises in Minsk, who employ graduates of secondary specialized education institutions from among persons with special needs of psychophysical development; heads and specialists of the main education departments (on education) of regional executive committees, chairman of the education committee of the Minsk City Executive Committee; heads of special schools, special boarding schools, regional (Minsk city) centers for correctional and developmental education and rehabilitation; heads of secondary specialized education institutions.

Also among the participants are representatives of the Republican Institute of Vocational Education, public associations “Belarusian Society of the Deaf”, “Belarusian Association of the Visually Impaired”, and representatives of the “Down. Syndrome. Inclusion" association.

Speaking at the plenary session, Minister of Education Andrei Ivanets outlined the relevance of holding a republican interdepartmental workshop-meeting: “Currently in our country we implement the principle of a social state aimed to support and create the necessary conditions for both obtaining an education and subsequent professional development and employment of those children, who have special needs. That is why we invited a fairly wide range of participants, who work with children with disabilities and special educational needs.”

It is noted that, unfortunately, the database of children with special needs of psychophysical development is updated every year. In fact, one in ten children under the age of 18 are classified as having special educational needs. And in this vein, the principle of inclusive education laid down in the Education Code, which ensures equal access to education for all children, is not an exception, but the daily work of all caring specialists.

A Coordination Council has been created under the Council of the Republic. It deals with issues of adaptation and integration of children with special needs of psychophysical development.

The Minister of Education focused on key tasks that require priority attention and daily hard work.

Thus, despite the fact that an interdepartmental cooperation map between the Ministries of Health, Labor and Social Protection and Ministry of Education has been implemented in Belarus for a year and a half, there are a number of serious issues that require prompt solutions in terms of early identification of children with special needs of psychophysical development. The stages of transferring children from preschool educational institutions to school and educational strategies are important.

According to the head of the department, the effectiveness of this work is assessed primarily by the satisfaction of parents and the further socialization of those children who receive education.

Particular attention is given to special schools where children with hearing impairments, vision impairments, and intellectual disabilities study.

“We know these kids. What is stopping us from building a system of targeted transfer of them to colleges? I understand that this is a rhetorical question. Yes, you can find many reasons for this. Sometimes, parents are not ready. There is also a lack of educational environment and relevant specialists. We need painstaking work to solve the tasks,” Andrey Ivanets emphasized.

The next issue considered is the distance form of education, enshrined for the first time in the Education Code. This form fully implies the organization of the entire educational process using information and communication technologies on a daily basis. There are programs specifically aimed at children who need this special educational environment.

The Minister of Education also emphasized on an important aspect - those who order personnel and the heads of domestic enterprises must turn their faces to those children who can and will come to them.

“This is not an easy job. The human factor makes a big contribution. We must develop common approaches so that every employer understands what kind of environment, from a labor point of view, he must create for children to come to his enterprise. Without making efforts, investing financial resources, updating the material and technical base, without a certain adoption of an inclusive culture at this enterprise, it is impossible to hire a graduate with special needs of psychophysical development. We must work to deal with this issue,” stated Andrei Ivanets.

During the seminar, its participants also learned about the positive experience of enterprises that have built an effective process of interaction with educational institutions and listened to the problems that managers face in the process of collaboration.

Taking into account the results of today's discussion, the proposals developed were recorded in the protocol of instructions following the seminar and included in the cooperation map for improving interdepartmental interaction.

The program of the thematic event included a visit to enterprises in Minsk, which employ graduates of secondary specialized education institutions from among people with special needs of psychophysical development, as well as educational institutions that organize the educational process for people with special needs of psychophysical development.

A presentation of the experience of secondary specialized education institutions in Minsk and familiarization with the educational conditions of students with special needs in the center for professional and social rehabilitation for persons with such a diagnosis took place at the Minsk State College of Digital Technologies.