Learning-impaired youths to get vocational courses in college setting

The courses – including computer foundation, arts and crafts, cooking, and automobile body and paint technology – would be available at Nakornluang, Phra Nakhon, Si Phraya, Thon Buri, Samut Prakan and Chiang Mai colleges.

The Vocational Education Commission last week inked an agreement with the Quality Learning Foundation, Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Education, the Family Network Foundation and the six colleges |for vocational education management.

The project covers children aged over 14 with special needs such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, behavioural and emotional disorders, mental retardation and other physical challenges.

Education Minister Narong Pipatanasai told a press conference that the goal was to reduce the inequity in educational opportunities. 

Children with special needs, who studied along with normal |students, tended to drop out after Mathayom 3 and might not yet |have attained the vocational skills needed to fend for themselves, he said.

Some people might say that they were a burden on society and their family. 

“This project will rise to that challenge and change the ‘burden’ to power,” he said. 

Besides being able to take care of themselves, they would also be able to take care of their family and become a power for the country’s development, he said. 

The project involves the collaboration of many sectors, he said. 

The Quality Learning Foundation would act as a coordinator between the Parents of Children with Special Needs Network and Chulalongkorn, which has conducted research on children with special needs. 

They would design an effective system for the teaching schedules, including environmental adjustment and instruction methods, he said. 

Chaiyapruek Sereerak, secretary-general of the Vocational Education Commission, said the polytechnic colleges’ educational system had the flexibility to provide lessons for youths with learning disabilities. 

The youths could select short courses they were interested in and then compile and transfer study credits to obtain a vocational |certificate according to their individual potential. In the future, the project would expand to other colleges.

Amornwit Nakhornthap, spokesman of the Education Reform and Human Resource Development Committee, said about 75 per cent of children with special needs discontinued their studies after finishing Mathayom 3 without getting prepared for |their future careers, so this project would come in handy to promote educational opportunities for |them. 

Many parents agreed with the project. Piyanut Chotikasathien, leader of the network of parents of children with special needs, said it would be a good sign for the |children who wish to gain abilities and skills for a career, so they could tend for themselves and their |families.

Somneuk Phumkhun, director of Thon Buri Polytechnic College, said this was a good idea, as it would give more chances to the children who would have faced various limitations before. 

A marketing student with learning and physical disabilities at Nakornluang Polytechnic College said he was happy to get to learn new things, gain experience, see how others live their lives and make new friends.