The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : British MP favours integrated education

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Thursday, Sep 11, 2008
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

British MP favours integrated education

Sangeeth Kurian

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ian Stewart, Member of Parliament of the British Labour Party, has identified lack of adequate resources to facilitate integrated education for special children in schools as a common issue confronting Kerala and the United Kingdom.

Mr. Stewart was speaking to The Hindu on the sidelines of the State Children’s Educational Film Festival that concluded here on Wednesday. He is on a personal visit to the State and will leave for Haridwar on Friday to attend the funeral ceremony of his family friend.

“I am in favour of an integrated system of education. But for that you need adequate resources,” he said. “We [the U.K.] do not have enough qualified teachers to take care of the needs of special children. I think we can learn from each other,” he said referring to the approaches towards integrated education followed by both the U.K. and Kerala.

However, Mr. Stewart was all praise for the “dual system of education” followed in India with adequate autonomy for individual States to decide on educational matters.

“The Indian system allows more flexibility providing scope for innovation,” he said.

Mr. Stewart highlighted the workshops conducted by Sarva Siksha Abhiyan for children with special needs as a case in point. “In the U.K., the education system is centralised with little scope for innovation or conducting such workshops.”

Mr. Stewart said he would argue for a more flexible system of education on the models of the Indian system. “Though brief, the snapshot I gained from my maiden visit to the State has been very impressive,” he added.

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