Month: February 2024

In an exchange of views on improving transportation infrastructure and mobility within and outside cities for people with disabilities, Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Alexis Vafeadis, and Deputy Minister of Social Welfare and Social Insurance, Marilena Evangelou, met on Monday with representatives of the Cyprus Confederation of Organizations of the Disabled (KYSOA) at the Ministry of Transport.

Following the meeting, Mr. Vafeadis stated that the problems faced by people with disabilities in their daily travels within cities, towns, and villages, as well as in their mobility both within and outside urban areas, were carefully listened to. “We consider today’s action as significant; it will greatly assist us in improving our infrastructure, both passive (roads and sidewalks) and active (public transportation), so that society becomes more inclusive,” he said.

He indicated that members of KYSOA should be able to actively participate in daily life and contribute as much as they can and worthy to contribute. Therefore, he added, it is an action that has started and will continue, with a two-way exchange of views and information both with KYSOA and the Ministries “so that we can take more and better measures.”

Mr. Vafeadis explained that improvements needed in infrastructure were discussed to facilitate the movement of people with disabilities with greater ease and comfort, citing the improvement of sidewalk usage as an example, noting that there should be no obstacles on sidewalks hindering people with disabilities from moving. He noted that the most important thing is access to the workplace, saying that ways to improve public transportation were also discussed.

When asked if there are timetables for implementing actions, the Minister pointed out that actions have been taken but they need to be faster. “We are here because as a Ministry of Social Welfare, there are issues that need to be addressed in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport and other Ministries,” said the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare. She explained that issues concerning people with disabilities are addressed comprehensively by the Government, and therefore, there is close cooperation to ensure the best practices and actions “and to be as close as possible to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.”

Ms. Evangelou noted that there is political will expressed at the highest level, from the President of the Republic, that issues concerning the rights of people with disabilities are a priority, indicating that “we are moving in that direction.” She further stated that cooperation with KYSOA is continuous, uninterrupted, and a dialogue has begun “so that we can modernize, improve, and proceed with new legislation regarding people with disabilities.”

On his part, the President of KYSOA, Christakis Nicolaides, said that the meeting results in a positive atmosphere and opens up prospects for resolving many long-standing distortions in Cyprus. “We believe that people with disabilities should be integrated into society in every way. They should be able to use public transportation smoothly, move on sidewalks, on the streets, enter buildings, and much more, without obstacles. These things certainly need to be implemented as soon as possible in our country,” said Mr. Nicolaides.

He added that “we expect, and it seems that there is understanding from both the Minister and the Deputy Minister for our issues, and we hope they will find their solutions in cooperation with us.” This is the most important, he continued, that any projects carried out should be done in cooperation with KYSOA and the disability movement. “We expect institutional dialogue regarding issues that concern us,” he concluded.

Source: Cyprus

One of the most significant issues in the field of education, characterized as the most difficult and complex, is Special Education, for which the competent Ministry is in the process of implementation, in order to fulfill its promises, following the public announcements of the President of the Republic. The dialogue that took place with the involved stakeholders has provided all the necessary input to the Ministry of Education, which has concluded the changes it promotes and seeks to complete by May, in order to implement them with the new school year.

Last October, the President of the Republic came forward and announced the dialogue between the Ministry of Education and the involved stakeholders in the field of special education, with the aim of transitioning to inclusive education. The fact that this issue is a priority of the Government was also evident from the announcements of Nikos Christodoulides, last Monday, during which he emphasized that “as a result of the structured dialogue underway, the implementation of the reorganized Special Education begins in September 2024, pushing forward the long-term planning for transition to inclusive schooling.”

The Ministry of Education aims to complete all processes before September, and even before the summer, in order to take the long-awaited first step towards the major reform in the field of special education. However, it is emphasized that the dialogue has already been completed, since last December, and the opinions of the involved parties have been submitted to Athena Michailidou.

After studying the positions of all the involved parties, the Ministry of Education proceeded to the next step, which was decoding the issues raised by the stakeholders, in order to finalize the actions to be taken.

Changes in the issue of escorts

The first chapter that the Ministry of Education intends to address and achieve changes before the end of the current school year is the significant issue of escorts. An issue that has become a persistent headache and a hot potato for the Ministry, as it constantly causes problems, despite the intentions for resolution. To this end, in order to find a permanent solution, the Ministry of Education wants to proceed with a timely recording of needs, in order to plan and allocate resources before the start of the school year.

This is the big challenge, as every year the same report is made, yet every year the same problem is observed, and in the end, children stay at home for several weeks because they do not have the necessary support to attend their classes. In this case, the Ministry of Education also seeks the support of parents, in the immediate submission of applications and supporting documents, to take all necessary steps before the start of classes.

With the changes being promoted, the Ministry aims to create a registry, where supporting documents for children applying for an escort will be available, in order to avoid the constant need for submission every time parents apply. This way, the District Committees, responsible for providing escorts to children, will make decisions more quickly.

Differentiated material is coming

The second issue that the Ministry of Education wants to address immediately concerns the provision of differentiated material to children in special education who are in mainstream classes. It’s a request from parents of children with disabilities, for which the Commissioner for the Protection of the Rights of the Child has also made remarks, and despite the guidelines given by the Ministry, there have been cases where they were not followed, resulting in the exclusion of children.

The Ministry of Education has reached an agreement with Greece to evaluate its material, while material from Cyprus is also being developed, so that teachers in primary and secondary education can assist children who need this material. It is clarified that differentiated material also includes special software used by some children, and it has been decided to give special emphasis to modernization.

These two chapters are the short-term goals of the Ministry of Education, which aims to complete the processes by May and immediately after, to open the dialogue on the major issue of amending legislation.

Source: reporter.com.cy