TAM Party presents support plan for children with special needs in the TRNC

TAM Party Deputy Chair Çağla Dinçer presented a “Comprehensive Child-Centred Support Plan” — a framework under which assistance for children with special educational needs in the TRNC would be coordinated by the relevant institutions themselves, rather than by families.

According to Dinçer, the plan envisages a unified coordination system involving the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Social Services Department, educational needs assessment services, public hospitals and special education institutions. Parents would not have to visit each institution separately: the institutions themselves would take responsibility for referring children and planning services.

The second element of the plan is accessibility. Special education centres currently operate mainly in large cities, forcing families to take children from villages to district centres. The party promises to provide such services locally, in the villages themselves.

Dinçer noted that the number of children requiring special education is rising significantly across the country: according to data obtained by the party, there are around 300 such children in Dikmen alone. There is no accurate nationwide picture, she said, and a population census is needed first and foremost to establish one.

In addition to special education, the party said it was working on updating school curricula, transitioning to bilingual education and renovating schools. Dinçer does not consider the Minister of National Education’s statement that there will be no container classrooms left in schools in two years to be an achievement, and described the current condition of schools as deplorable.