Press Release
April 22, 2007

Govt must fund more SPED schools - Recto

Sen. Ralph Recto has asked government to establish more schools for special education, noting that the 156,270 children enrolled in various SPED classes in 2005 were just a fraction of the number of children with special needs in the country.

Recto said emphasis should be given to special education at this time since the country celebrates the centennial of special education this year.

"Special education is important since nearly half of children with special needs are considered to be mentally gifted or fast learners who may turn out to be geniuses and outstanding intellectuals and scientists in the future," Recto noted.

These children, he added, demand a different style of learning and teaching since they all operate at a different level, with many of them actually superior in intelligence than ordinary pupils and students.

"They require patience or advanced teaching styles and their interest changes in the event that their comprehension exceeds the level offered by their learning materials," Recto said.

On the other hand, enrollment level of children who are differently abled, or those with sensory, physical or intellectual impairment numbered 79,118 in school year 2004-2005.

Again, only a small segment of this sector goes to class, Recto noted.

These children demand a different pedagogy since some of them have learning, hearing, physical or behavioral impairments, all of which demand better trained teachers who understand the psychology of these children, Recto said.

In some instances, some of these children require a 1:1 student-teacher ratio, and this is one problem that the Department of Education (DepEd) must address, the senator added.

"A bill has already been filed to increase allocations for special education and the production of more teaching and learning materials that cater to the specific needs of students," Recto added.

The latest statistics showed that out of the 79,118 children with disabilities enrolled in various schools, 40,260 are learning disabled, 11,597 are hearing impaired, 2,670 are visually impaired, 12,456 are mentally retarded, 5,112 have behavioral problems, 700 are orthopedically handicapped, 5,172 are autistic children, 912 are speech defectives, 142 are chronically ill and 32 are afflicted with cerebral palsy.

Recto said 2,149 schools offer SPED programs, with four national special schools, 450 private special schools, 152 recognized Special Education Centers, 1,544 regular schools with SPED programs and 4,034 special classes.

He said part of the tax dividends should go to the care and development of special kids.

News Latest News Feed