Children with disabilities still left out of French schools, activists warn
As a new school year approaches in France, a disability rights movement is warning that thousands of children yet again face exclusion because of a lack of teaching and facilities adapted to their needs.
According to Unapei, an association that represents people with intellectual disabilities and their families, the shortage of support means many children spend six hours a week or less in school.
The week before French schools reopen on 2 September, the organisation warned in a statement of serious disparities in access to education across France.
In the Eure department of Normandy, for instance, some 27 percent of children supported by Unapei's local branch receive six hours or less of schooling, while the figure is as high as 40 percent in Hérault in southern France, and 50 percent in the centre-west department of Sarthe.
"The new school year is about to start and there are many children, thousands of children, who have problems going to school or who aren't in school at all," Sonia Ahehehinnou, Unapei's vice president, told RFI.
The consequences can last a lifetime, she warned: "Going to school a little bit is not the same as going to school. If you don't fully enter into learning, if you're not in the right place, you can't develop and you can't build your future."
Inclusive ideals meet reality
The French system operates on the principle that pupils with disabilities should be integrated where possible into regular classes rather than educated separately – though, as Ahehehinnou explains, that's a challenge.
Read more on RFI English
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