AMID the observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said that the number of learners with disabilities enrolled in basic education remains far from pre-pandemic levels.

Gatchalian, who heads the Senate basic education committee, said Covid-19 recovery efforts should uphold the welfare of children and learners with disabilities.

Citing data from the Department of Education (DepEd), the senator said that out of the estimated 444,294 children with disabilities (CWDs), only 112,810 are enrolled in 2021.

“Although this is slightly higher than the 111,521 enrolled in 2020 with an estimated CWD population of 437,598, it’s lower than the 360,879 enrolled in 2019 with an estimated CWD population of 431,004,” he added.

Gatchalian stressed that following the bicameral conference committee’s resolution of the conflicting provisions of Senate Bill 1907 and House Bill 8080, challenges hounding learners with disabilities such as accessibility to basic facilities, infrastructure, and transportation could soon be a thing of the past.

“Simultaneous with our recovery from Covid-19 is our push for the welfare of our youth and learners with disabilities. Through our bill on inclusive education, we will be assured that our learners with disabilities will not be left behind

when it comes to education,” Gatchalian, co-author and sponsor of the measure, said in Filipino.

The reconciled version of the measure, titled “Instituting a Policy of Inclusion and Services for Learners with Disabilities in Support of Inclusive Education Act,” mandates that no learner shall be denied admission in any public or private school on the basis of disability, ensuring access to quality education to every learner with disability.

Under the proposed measure, DepEd, in collaboration with local government units (LGUs), will initially establish and maintain at least one Inclusive Learning Resource Center of Learners with Disabilities (ILRC) in every city and municipality. ILRCs may also be established in every school district based on the measure’s multi-year roadmap or as resources may allow.

ILRCs will serve as a one-stop shop for the delivery of free support services to learners with disabilities and the local implementation of various inclusive education programs. These services include linguistic solutions for deaf learners’ concerns, psychological services, and physical and occupational therapy, among others.

These ILRCs will also be tasked to implement the Child Find System to identify, locate and evaluate all learners with disabilities who are not receiving basic education services.