The typical image associated with children with disabilities in Vietnam is one of
abnormality and helplessness. This stigma is just one of the many ways by which these children
continue to be marginalized. Because the general public believes them to be incapable of doing
anything, children with disabilities are excluded from every aspect of life. They do not have
adequate healthcare; they do not have friends; they do not have educational opportunities.
Without access to schools, these children are robbed of crucial life skills and knowledge, which
leads to lack of job opportunities and the inability to fully participate in the society when they are
grown. This of course only reinforces the stigma against people with disabilities as a whole and
especially the unfortunate children.
In order to stop the vicious cycle of marginalization, the society must intervene as early
as possible through an effective inclusive education system. Inclusive education allows children
with and without disabilities to be educated in the same setting where adjustments are made to
fully accommodate the needs of the students with disabilities. Such a system will empower
children with disabilities to maximize their potential and prove to all that they are just as capable
as any other children. Inclusive education is recommended globally for children with disabilities,
and it already receives policy support in Vietnam. Although much progress has been made in
developing and implementing inclusive education, challenges remain across the country.
The first challenge in implementing inclusive education is the lack of accurate data on
disability that is up to date and consistent with the requirements of the 2010 Law on Disability.
Without supporting figures, many claims about the pressing situation of not just children but all
people with disabilities have been ignored. Many people continue to underestimate the needs of
children with disabilities for education.
This underestimation means that not enough attention is being paid to educating teachers
about inclusive education practices. Inclusive education is rarely covered in teacher training
programs, and most information about inclusive education spreads through small scale
workshops and short-term courses. Lack of knowledge about inclusion also means that schools
are reluctant to admit students with disabilities. There is an urgent need to develop the human
capacity to implement inclusive education at local levels.
Furthermore, officials in charge of programs for children with disabilities are often
confused because the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and
Social Affairs take different and inconsistent approaches. Whereas the Ministry of Education and
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Training has been fully committed to inclusive education since 2005, the Ministry of Labor,
Invalids and Social Affairs institutionalizes children with disabilities and provides them with
segregated education. In order to fully integrate these children into society, the two ministries
must collaborate more effectively, not with just each other but also with other stakeholders, such
as teachers and parents, to address the needs of children with disabilities.
Above all, unless the general public changes its perception of people with disabilities,
meaningful progress to building an inclusive society without barriers for all will be limited.
Vietnamese people must reconsider certain practices that they have always taken for granted,
even the ‘gift culture’ where benefactors make a one-time visit to an institution in celebration of
Tet (the Lunar New Year) or Children’s Day and present books and toys to children with
disabilities. These common actions, though well-meaning, only further marginalize people with
disabilities. It is the same with education for children with disabilities: most of these children are
fully capable of participating in a normal classroom with their peers; they neither need nor
deserve to be reduced to mere objects of charity at the time of Tet.