 Before
the founding of New China in 1949, there were in
China 42 schools for the blind and deaf-mutes. Most
of them, run by churches and individuals, were charities
in nature. In 1951, the Chinese government stipulated
that people's governments at all levels should set
up special schools for handicapped children, youth
and adults. Since then, special education has been
part of the country's educational system and the
handicapped have had the right to education. Since
1953, schools for the blind and the deaf have added
vocational training to their curricula. In 1979,
12 classes for mentally retarded children were run
on a trial basis in Changning, Jing'an and Hongkou
districts in Shanghai, with each class enrolling
12 children. This was the beginning of education
for mentally retarded children in China.
In the
1980s, the Ministry of Education included education
for the blind and deaf-mutes in its education popularization
plans. It called for developing schools for the
blind and deaf-mutes actively and in a planned way,
establishing teachers schools for special education
as well
|
|
as institutions offering on-the-job
training for special education teachers, and gradually
providing secondary vocational education for the
blind and deaf-mutes. The government has established
research institutes on special education.
The
Chinese Constitution, Law of Guarantee for the
Handicapped of the People's Republic of China,
Compulsory Education Law of the People's Republic
of China and Education Law of the People's Republic
of China contain special provisions on education
for handicapped people. Regulations on Education
for the Handicapped contain special provisions
on pre-school education, compulsory education
and vocational education for the handicapped.
In the field of special education at present,
the official policy is to give priority to primary
education and diversified forms of vocational-technical
education, actively develop pre-school education,
and gradually develop secondary and higher education.
Owing to a big number of handicapped children
in China, a weak foundation for special education,
and economic and other constraints, localities
have varying difficulties in the provision of
special education.
In the
1990s, education administrations did research
on the education and training of children
|
