The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Yangchengatshel Higher Secondary School under Thimphu started operating as an inclusive school from 2018 onwards, according to the Principal, Shambay Dawa.
The school has classes from Pre-Primary (PP) to class 12 with 698 students in total, of which 33 are students with special needs.
Of the 33 with special needs, there are 16 with Learning Disabilities (LD) which were caught by the school using the Rapid Function Assessment Test and then getting confirmation from the JDWNRH.
6 have the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), 6 have physical disability, 2 have hearing difficulty, 1 has speech issues, and 2 have a mixture of disabilities.
Of the 33, around 16 are in the moderate cases with 2 ASD cases in PP and 14 LD from classes 4 to 11. These 14 students divided into three groups received pull out classes in English, Dzongkha, Math and ICT which come to 9 such classes a week. These are functional curriculum classes tailored to the capacity of the students.
For the rest mild cases with LD, there an Accommodation Plan as in there are individual plans for these students where adjustments are made within the mainstream curriculum, like a hard of hearing student sitting in the front row class seating.
The Inclusive Education Coordinator, Sonam Wangdi, who has a Masters in the field said there are five other Special Education Needs (SEN) teachers who have been trained between three to five days.
Sonam said that as per the latest literature, no matter how severe the case, it is always good to keep the students with disability with the mainstream class from PP to class 3 because if they are kept separately, they do not improve due to lack of socialization. He said from class 4 onwards they have a mix of keeping in the mainstream class and pull-out classes.
Sonam said that the main thing required for a school to be inclusive is an inclusive mindset, where instead of just leaving it to the SEN trained teachers, even the general teachers take part in teaching and taking pull out classes.
This is what is unique at Yangchengatshel where main stream teachers do not stay away citing lack of training or that it is the job of SEN teachers, but actively take part in educating the children with special needs.
Another important feature for any inclusive school is strong support and understanding from the principal, and here, Sonam said the Principal Shambay Dawa is very supportive.
Sonam said that children with ASD tend to get better with age, and in fact, usually ASD and LD come together.
The school has two rooms which are used as sensory rooms and also as pull-out classes with provisions even for vocational classes, like cooking and arts courses.
The special needs CSO Selwa donated carpets and furniture for this, according to the school.
Sonam said that when it comes to curriculum for SEN students, what many schools do not realize is that the Ministry of Education and Skills Development has provided outlines, and it is up to the schools to design individualized curriculum based on the needs of the students.
Yangchengatshel school has a boarding facility filled by 128 girls and 89 boys, of which there are 4 girls with LD and 3 boys with LD.
Another unique aspect about the Yangchengatshel school is that it carries out different teaching techniques.
One is where one teacher teaches in a class and another observes, and the second technique is where a teacher is assisted by an assistant teacher. There is then parallel teaching where two teachers teach in a classroom with focus on different parts of the classroom. There is station teaching where students are taken to different stations or locations for teaching. There is alternative teaching where teachers alternate, and finally team teaching where a team of teachers are involved.
Sonam said that in terms of advice for private schools trying to be inclusive, he said he noticed that some private schools don’t even have the concept of well-being, and the teaching methods are quite outdated and traditional.
He said private schools, to become inclusive, should have the right teacher-student ratio and the right inclusive education strategies.
In terms of what support the school needs, he said more SEN trained teachers, more trainings for teachers and more infrastructure can elevate the school.
A drawback for the school is that it gets students from different dzongkhags. The school also said there needs to be more acceptance by parents, as there are certain suspected cases of students with disablities, but the parents are not willing to accept it.
The school is slated to be a Central School in the 13th Five-Year-Plan, but ironically, the school lost out Nu 1.9 million in retrofitting budget for SEN students since it is to become a Central School.
The Thimphu Thromde Education Office and MoESD identified 5 additional inclusive schools in 2024 who have started admitting in children with disabilities mainly from Pre Primary onwards.
The inclusive schools identified in Thimphu Thromde are Sherabgatshel Primary School, Dechencholing Higher Secondary School, Taba Lower Secondary School, Changzamtog Middle Secondary School and Loselling Middle Secondary School.
This is in addition to Changangkha MSS which been inclusive since 2003.
