In order to improve education prospects for children with intellectual disabilities, the Myanmar Special Education Association (MSEA) has announced plans to pay for up to 1000 teachers across the country to undergo specialized training in 2017.

The exclusion of, discrimination against and lack of support for people with disabilities in Myanmar are significant. Over 2.3 million people have some form of disability and, according to a 2010 nationwide report from the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, 53 percent of people with disabilities do not have access to education while only 2pc hold bachelor’s degrees.

Currently only around 20 schools in the country are estimated to have teachers specially trained to work with children with disabilities, with the vast majority of those teachers located in Yangon and Mandalay. MSEA’s training program hopes to change this and better cater to the 66pc of the country that resides in rural areas.

“We will pay for teacher training in all districts and regions,” said MSEA national coordinator L Zaw Dim. “We expect we will get 800 to 1000 teachers to attend.”

The training programs, which take around three months to complete, will commence in February 2017.

Any teachers wishing to be involved in the training program should contact the MSEA or the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement.