Disability in the Afghan School
By M. Miles (m99miles@hotmail.com)
Here is another story from a series of short radio broadcasts translated into Pushto and beamed to Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan's North West Frontier some years ago. The aim was to alert families to the idea that their disabled members could find ways of playing a fuller and more interesting part in the life of the community. In the story below, a headmaster from a small town tells about some disabled boys who attend his school. It has been slightly revised and updated. Scripts by M. Miles.
Interviewer: Over the past few weeks we have talked about children with various disabilities and how their families can help them to overcome their difficulties and to lead a normal life. For many children it is normal to go to school. Disabled children should also have this opportunity. Today we talk with Haji Abdul Qayyum, Headmaster of a boys' school in a small town. There are several disabled children in this school.
Headmaster: You are welcome! We have had some disabled children attending school for many years. Most of them do well in their studies.
Int: What sort of disabilities do they have?
HM: All sorts! Let's see the list. Now, we have 280 boys enrolled and there are 20 listed with disability. Here you are: "Physically Disabled". Ahmad Gul, crippled leg; Amirzada, both feet blown off by a landmine, he uses crutches; Anwar ul Haq, hunchback; and so on, there are a dozen of these boys. Then "Partly Blind": Fakhir Muhammad and Mahmud Abbas; the one has an eye missing, the other has both his eyes but sees very little. Then we have Umran who is deaf. The remaining disabled boys either have a severe stammer or they are mentally weak.
In fact, when we started looking into it, we found that there were quite a few other children in school with some small disability such as a slight stammer or weak eyesight, which nobody had paid any attention to. For some, we arranged with their families for them to have a pair of glasses, or their class teacher kept an eye on them to see that they were not having any problems.
Int: Do you have some problems with the boys on this list?
HM: It varies from child to child. Let me tell you how it started. Twelve years ago there was an important man of this town who had a disabled son named Arif. The boy had a physical problem, he walked in a strange way and he looked a bit odd. The father wanted Arif to attend school, but the rest of the family made objections.
They said, "The other children will tease the boy. He will be left out of their activities and will feel inferior. Suppose he falls down and gets hurt...", and a lot of other objections. But the father came to see me and insisted that his son should enrol, in spite of any problems. I decided to take Arif for a month's trial. I called the class teacher and told him to keep an eye on the situation but not to make any special fuss over the boy. He must do his work just like any other boy, and must behave properly and pay attention. I told the class teacher to report to me if the other pupils were mocking or teasing. At the end of the month the father came here again. I called the class teacher and we discussed the case.
The teacher reported that Arif was doing well, he had made some friends and was getting on with his work. In the first week the teacher had heard two children making silly remarks to Arif. He spoke to those two boys and rebuked them. One boy accepted the rebuke, the other boy carried on making remarks. That boy was told that if he continued, he would be beaten. So then he understood that the matter was serious and he stopped his remarks.
From that day onward, I have always been willing to see what we can do to give any disabled child a chance to study. It is hard enough for them to be disabled; why should they also be kept out of school? We give them the chance. If they take it, well and good. If they don't take the chance, if they are idle or mischievous or if their family does not allow them to attend, that is their own affair.
Int: Do they fall behind in their work through their disabilities?
HM: Some do, and then we give a little more help. For example, one of the boys who is partly blind finds great difficulty reading his textbook. So I called an older boy, who is physically disabled, and said to him, "While your classmates are outside playing, you can make yourself useful by reading aloud to this young boy whose eyes are weak." I told him that it was honourable to help in this way. So the older boy agreed. He has made good use of his time, taking some responsibility and also earning the respect of his fellow pupils. You know, it is natural for boys to play and to get into mischief; but most of them also have a sense of what is honourable. Seeing the example of this older boy, some other pupils also made themselves useful to help those who were falling behind.
To be frank, there have also been a few disabled pupils who were lazy. They believed that they could gain sympathy because of their disability, so they thought they didn't need to do any work. The answer to them is the same that I give to any boy who is lazy. If they will not work, they shall not occupy a seat in this school.
Sometimes I am a little softer with disabled children if their families have failed to give them proper discipline at home; but we try to treat all the pupils equally. I won't stand any nonsense from them. Several disabled boys have left school after completing their studies and now they work in shops or in other jobs where they do as much work as the other employees. Sometimes they do more than the others. While they were here they learnt to work hard and to earn respect by their efforts. They did not seek any special concessions. Because of this they are now able to succeed in doing a normal job of work like anyone else.
Int: Excellent! Now, Headmaster, you said earlier that a few pupils are deaf or mentally weak. How do those pupils manage to learn their lessons?
HM: In the case of deaf boys, they sit near the front of the class in order to make the best of whatever hearing power they may still have. Their teachers give them a little extra help. The teacher will also write or draw on the blackboard more often so that the deaf child can understand. We used to put such children right up at the front of the class, but one day an older deaf boy signalled to us that it was better for him to sit one or two rows back. That way, not only could he watch the teacher's face and pick up some sounds or movements there, but he could also see what the other boys were doing in the row in front, and pick up more clues. This deaf boy was intelligent. He understood his own situation and he managed to convince us of it. So we agreed to his request. Sometimes they are very sensible about their own needs.
I have talked with the teachers about all of these disabled children. A teacher came to me once and complained. He said, "I have 45 other children in my class and I don't have any special training to teach this one who is different. If he fails the exam, I do not wish to be blamed." The man was very agitated and unhappy. So I talked to him calmly and assured him that if he did his normal work, he could not be blamed for anything. I could see his point of view. I was a teacher for 18 years before becoming Headmaster. Then I asked him, "What shall we do with that boy who is different? Is he making trouble in the classroom? Must we throw him out of the school?" Of course, the teacher did not wish to deprive the boy of his education. So he calmed down and agreed that the boy should continue in his class.
Int: Haji Sahib, what about the exams? Do these disabled children take their class tests? How are they promoted to the next class?
HM: Well, most of them take exams and class tests, but a few are not able. In the case of one boy who is mentally weak, I promoted him with his class fellows because he is a big boy and good at sports though he learns very little. In another case of mental weakness with very slow growth, the boy has stayed down a class for a couple of years. He is the same size as boys much younger than himself. It's easier for him to be with them rather than with the big boys.
You see, when I was a young teacher I thought that success in the exams was the only thing that mattered. Now I'm an older man, I shall soon retire from my work, and I have come to understand that it is a good thing for as many children as possible to come to school and to learn whatever they can. They should sit together and help one another, they should gain a sense of order and discipline, and be instructed in our religion and learn about our country and study the lives of great heroes of old. It is true that the exam is important, but there are also other things that are important.
Most of our pupils have no disability. As they go about this town they are bound to see the blind beggar at the crossroads and the crippled beggar by the bank and the madman who shouts in the bazaar. Usually their attitude towards those people has not been good. But here in this school they are sitting next to some children with disabilities. They make friends with them. They learn that those disabled children can study and can laugh and sing and tell jokes. They learn to accept one another. I tell you, that is not a matter for which there is any examination; but it is one of the most important lessons the children can ever learn.
Int: Indeed, it is a most valuable lesson. Many thanks, Haji Sahib, for sparing the time to tell us about your work.
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