On Friday February 2, the Grant Agreement was signed between H.E. Toshihiro Aiki, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Tajikistan and Shunsuke Nagano Program Coordinator, Association for Aid and Relief, Japan (AAR Japan) for “Developing Curricula of Teacher Training Course at Higher Education for Promotion of Inclusive Education”, says press release issued by AAR Japan.
The total amount of grant to implement this project at Pedagogical College in Tursunzoda City is 344,835 US dollars and is provided by the Government of Japan as part of international humanitarian assistance.
AAR Japan had reportedly implemented the first phase of the project, “Developing Curricula of Teacher Training Course at Higher Education for Promotion of Inclusive Education” from December 2, 2020 till January 31, 2022 at Tajik State Pedagogical University named after Sadriddin Aini in Dushanbe City, its second phase from February 4, 2022 till February 3, 2023 at Tajik Pedagogical Institute in Rasht District, its third phase from February 10, 2023 till December 20, 2023 in Pedagogical College of Hisor City.
The project, which signed on Friday 2, 2024, is the concluding phase of the previous projects to promote inclusive education throughout the country of Tajikistan by developing teacher training course at higher education with perspectives on inclusive education, and to increase the access to education for all students in different learning needs including students with disabilities.
Within the conclusive phase of the project, AAR Japan will implement the following activities in close cooperation with Pedagogical College in Tursunzoda City, to: 1) make the College barrier-free, which includes installation of slopes at the entrances and inside of College buildings, as well as construction of an accessible toilet block in order to make the College premises accessible for all students including students with disabilities; 2) develop and distribute barrier-free construction guideline in order to summarize the main points of barrier-free arrangements and use it for future maintenance of barrier-free arrangements; 3) develop and distribute IE teaching guide booklet for teachers so that they can be used in lectures by future trainers and trained specialists in the field of inclusive education; 4) provide 2 kinds of trainings on training of trainers (ToT) among college lecturers in order to develop human resource capacities in the field of inclusive education in Tursunzoda Pedagogical College and furthermore spread it all over around Tajikistan; 5) provide training by Japanese experts on universal design and reasonable accommodation related issues in the classrooms in order to assure quality of education for all students; 6) hold awareness raising activities on access to colleges among people with disabilities, their parents and community in Tursunzoda City and Shahrinav district in order to increase PWDs’ motivation in enrolment into higher education and promote awareness of this project as well; and 7) expand IE network and symposium on Tajikistan IE policies in order to contribute to the establishment of a foundation for IE dissemination throughout the country.
AAR Japan would like to express its sincere gratitude for deep understanding and warm support from the Government of Japan through Embassy of Japan as well as close cooperation with Ministry of Education and Science of Tajikistan and other Governmental Institutions in Tajikistan. AAR Japan hopes that above mentioned project will bring more opportunities for students with disabilities.
