Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has highlighted that stigma is still posing a challenge to realizing inclusive early childhood education.
Director of early childhood education teachers at the ministry, Suparto, said that more than 36 thousand educational institutions have committed to providing inclusive education despite the challenges they face, including negative stigma.
"One of the keys to implementing inclusive education is the application of a curriculum that is based on the principles of flexibility and adaptability, based on the characteristics and needs of students," he informed at a webinar here on Tuesday.
He said that in addition to negative stigma, another challenge is the limited knowledge and experience of early childhood education teachers regarding inclusive education.
Suparto added that upon learning about their child's special needs status, many parents tend to respond with rejection and indifference.
This rejection, he said, is exacerbated by the lack of awareness among the surrounding community about the importance of implementing inclusive education at educational institutions.
Therefore, his ministry is seeking to improve the competency of teachers in providing inclusive education so that they not only educate students with special needs but also become agents of information dissemination on inclusive education.
"Improving the competency of early childhood education teachers is one of the pillars for creating quality education for children," he said.
One of the efforts to improve teacher competency is carrying out a non-degree competency development program for early childhood education teachers, such as a micro-credential program on inclusive class management.
He expressed the hope that the increase in teacher competency will be in line with the rise in the implementation of inclusive class management at each early childhood education school, in keeping with local needs and conditions.
