Status: 03.12.2022 3:10 p.m
On today’s Day of People with Disabilities, Federal Commissioner Dusel spoke out in favor of the abolition of special schools. According to Dusel, children with and without disabilities should go to the same school together.
The Federal Government Commissioner for People with Disabilities, Jürgen Dusel, has spoken out in favor of the abolition of so-called special schools in the long term. It is right “that children with and without disabilities go to the same school together,” said Dusel of the “taz” on today’s International Day of People with Disabilities.
In order for children with disabilities to get their additional need for support, the special needs teachers would have to go to mainstream schools, says Dusel, “in reality this is always lacking, and then the topic of inclusion is pushed against the wall. Then they feel right, who already did before said that learning together wouldn’t work anyway.”
Criticism of employers
Dusel also criticized “that a quarter of all companies that are obliged to employ people do not employ people with severe disabilities”. Therefore, the so-called compensatory levy for companies that do not hire people with severe disabilities despite the obligation to work must be doubled. “It’s also in the coalition agreement and there should be a corresponding draft bill by the end of the year,” said Dusel, referring to the federal government’s plans.
Dusel also opposed the immediate abolition of workshops for people with disabilities: “We have to take the position of the people who would be affected by the closure of the workshops seriously.” For many, this is also a place of social interaction. In any case, however, reforms must be discussed, such as remuneration and the question of co-determination.
Summit planned for 2025 in Berlin
Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze also called for more attention to be paid to people with disabilities. “Inclusion is a human right and an obligation for all of us,” said the SPD politician. “Nevertheless, the concerns of around one billion people with disabilities worldwide are far too rarely the focus – in Germany and worldwide.” Around 80 percent of people with disabilities live in developing and emerging countries, where they are often excluded from social and professional life.
In the spring of 2025, Germany wants to host a global summit for the rights of people with disabilities together with Jordan. The Global Disability Summit is to be held in Berlin and is being prepared together with the International Disability Alliance, Schulze announced. The summit is taking place for the third time after 2018 in London and 2022 in Oslo.