Adjust Regulations, Ministry Of Religion Calls 146 Madrasahs Already Disability Friendly

Illustration. The situation before entering the new curriculum at Madrasah Tsanawiyah Negeri 1 (MTsN) Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, Thursday, July 16, 2020. (Between-Makna Z)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) reports that as many as 146 madrasas have been improved their facilities and services to be more friendly for people with disabilities. "We have made adjustments to regulations and real actions in order to provide the best service for children with special needs," said Director General of Islamic Education of the Ministry of Religion M Ali Ramdhani on the commemoration of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities held in Serpong, Tangerang, Monday. Dhani said, the Ministry of Religion will continue to add a list of madrasas whose facilities and services are improved to be friendly for students with disabilities. Moreover, the Inclusive Islamic Education Working Group (Pokja) has been formed which has always advocated for the issue. "The police group has also been formed which is now spread in 43 regions with 2,274 members, consisting of teachers, school principals, madrasa supervisors, academics, facilitators, and special guidance teachers," he said.

Although the cost of adjusting a disability-friendly education unit is not cheap, he said, it must be a priority because education is the right of all citizens. "Difabel is a development actor, not an object. So let's move together even though it takes a hard struggle," he said.

Currently, the number of disabled students at the Ministry of Religion's educational institutions has reached 43,327 students, spread over 4,046 madrasas, covering the Madrasah Ibtidaiyah to Madrasah Aliyah levels.

Advisor to the Women's Association Dharma (DWP) of the Ministry of Religion, Eny Retno Yaqut, said that the Ministry of Religion's attention to persons with disabilities is not only jargon. She asked the Ministry of Religion apparatus not only to wait for reports, but to pick up the ball to ensure that people with disabilities get access to education. Inclusion Islamic education must also be an active part of the inclusion education ecosystem that synergizes and collaborates with all stakeholders, such as doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, experts, and college academics. "By mobilizing inclusive education, we buy one get five. By realizing an inclusion education will automatically find child-friendly, gender-perspective, antiviolent, and humanist environments," he said.