In the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, Dr Koumbou Boly Barry, is focusing her next report on COVID-19 and the realization of the Right to Education. The report will be presented on the 44th session of the Human Rights Council, scheduled between June 15th and July 3rd 2020.
The International Disability Alliance (IDA) together with the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC) have prepared a submission highlighting the issues faced by learners with disabilities, including children, in accessing education during the COVID-19 crisis, including within the measures and alternative educational methods adopted by governments around the world to prevent the spreading of COVID-19. IDA and IDDC recommend calling for States to identify learners with disabilities and their requirements to provide them with reasonable accommodation and with learning opportunities on an equal basis with others. We also draw attention to the necessity of reach parents, caregivers and teachers with training on inclusive education, especially on learning methods oriented to children with intellectual disabilities and accessibility for learners who are deaf, blind or deaf-blind; at the same time, emphasis has been placed on issues faced by learners with disabilities living in remote areas, girls with disabilities and those most vulnerable to violence, as well as on working closely with local and national organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs), parents, caregivers and communities to raise awareness on the right to and benefits of inclusive education, that should not stop during a pandemic as it would have a long-term impact on the inclusive education scenario at local and national level.
