With the aim to promote equitable and quality education for every child, the Thousand Schools Alliance for Inclusive Education was launched at the East China Normal University in Shanghai on Thursday.

The alliance has attracted 1,545 member schools from 29 cities and provinces across China, ranging from preschools and primary schools to high schools and universities, said Yuan Zhenguo, dean of Faculty of Education of East China Normal University. 

"The alliance aims to focus on and ensure every child, especially those with special needs, has equitable and quality education. In the coming years, we will collaborate closely with experts and practitioners across the nation to expand the depth and breadth of inclusive education and eventually to contribute Chinese wisdom to the whole world," Yuan added.

Inclusive education basically means an integrated system of general education and special education. It allows children with diverse backgrounds learn in the same schools and grow together, which particularly highlights learning opportunities for children with disabilities or special needs. It has been attached increasing importance and was listed among United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

According to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), there are an estimated 240 million children with disabilities worldwide, who are often overlooked in policymaking, have limited access to education and are less able to participate in social, economic and political life. They have traditionally been excluded from general education and usually face persistent barriers such as discrimination, stigma and the routine failure of decision-makers to incorporate disability in school services.

"Inclusive education is the most effective way to give all children a fair chance to go to school, learn and develop the skills they need to thrive," said UNICEF on its website.

China has been ramping up efforts to promote special education in recent years, and has been exploring inclusive education since 1987, when a number of visually impaired children joined ordinary primary schools in Beijing and provinces of Jiangsu, Hebei and Heilongjiang.

"In the recent decade, China has witnessed remarkable development and popularization of inclusive education. The compulsory education enrollment rate for children with disabilities has expanded to over 96 percent," said Huang Wei, director of special education at the Ministry of Education.

Wang Haiping, honorary dean of the Institute of Inclusive Education at East China Normal Univesity, pointed out that the time for promoting inclusive education has come, along with the nation's continuous education development as well as the raising awareness of special education and demands from teachers and schools.

"With joint efforts of the alliance, we are also hoping to explore a successful path of inclusive education, accumulate experience and share them with the world in the future, especially to help those in the least developed nations and regions," said Wang.

Karen Guldberg, head of the School of Education at University of Birmingham, agreed with Wang: "I think it (the alliance) can make a crucial contribution to the whole world, as it can show that through a network of schools and an approach focusing on collaboration, change can be initiated so much quicker than people working in isolation."

Caption: The Thousand Schools Alliance for Inclusive Education is launched at the East China Normal University in Shanghai on Oct 31.

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