Education

According to data from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (MECD) and the Ministry of Health, 12% of children aged 0-16 have some kind of disability. However, only 3.5% of children aged 6-16 are enrolled in Special Education programs.¹⁶ Within the elementary education system, 98% of all students with disabilities are enrolled in inclusive education programs or special classes in regular schools. The remaining 2% are enrolled in government-subsidized programs that may consist of special or home education programs. At local schools, willingness to provide education to students with some kind of disability generally exists, although only 27 schools nationwide offer Special Education programs.¹⁷ These programs are located primarily in the major cities. Many children with disabilities in Nicaragua do not have access to education because they live in rural or isolated areas.

Access to high school education is more restricted and depends on the type of disability. Of those youth with disabilities who are enrolled in inclusive high school programs, about 95% have visual and/or physical-mobility disabilities. A pilot project including students who are deaf is scheduled to begin in 2004.

The two-story building of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, headquartered in Managua, is not accessible to wheelchair users. No national regulations require schools to be accessible, but some schools accessible for persons with mobility disabilities have been designed based on individual initiatives.

Training on teaching children with disabilities is available. The general curriculum includes courses in special education for teachers who wish to focus in this area.¹⁸ The National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, UNAN, offers specific courses in Pedagogy with an emphasis on special education. These courses are available both to teachers and other graduate students who wish to specialize in special education. Also found at the college level are courses on disability-related subjects including public policy, the rights of persons with disabilities, and physiotherapy with an emphasis on special education.

16. Hector Collado; Domingo Primante Furlan; Noel Ortega (Assistant to the Exective Secretary of FECONORI), interviewed by author, Managua, February 2003.

17. Elizabeth Baltodano (Director of Special Education-MECD), interviewed by author, Managua, February 2003.

18. Governance & Legislation: U.S. Agency for International Development Issues Progress Report on Disability Policy Disabilityworld, vol 2, April/May 2000, http://www.disabilityworld.org/AprilMay2000/Governance/USAID.htm.

Center of Early Education in Managua

Nicaragua - Los Pipitos