Vietnam has around 1,500,000 children with disabilities (CWD). However, inclusive education policies are not effectively implemented by local government agencies, and parents of CWD are not able to supervise the implementation of these policies.

To solve this problem, Microfinance and Community Development Institute (MACDI) will through this project create a strong and practical mechanism for CSOs, mainly parent associations of children with disabilities to participate in promoting transparency and accountability in the implementation of inclusive education policies for children with disabilities in Vietnam. 

MACDI will address key issues such as the lack of a strong mechanism for CSOs to participate in monitoring and supervision of inclusive education policy implementation that leads to low prevalence of CWD. Contributing to this problem are some underlying causes, such as the implementation of inclusive education policy is not prioritised, inclusive education budgets are low and unstable, and independent parties like CSOs are not capable of adequately advocating on behalf of CWD. Meanwhile the practice and value of transparency and accountability among public offices is still just getting started.

The specific strategy of this project can be divided in four components:

• Create a mechanism with the participation of CSOs in monitoring and supervising the implementation of inclusive education policies through research, awareness raising, communication and policy dialogue advocacy workshops.
• Raise awareness and build capacity for CSOs and teachers to better understand inclusive education policies for CWD and equip knowledge and skills for CSOs to monitor and supervise the implementation of inclusive education policies for CWD.
• CSOs in 3 provinces monitor and supervise the implementation of inclusive education policies in 6 pilot communes.
• CSOs monitor and supervise the planning and implementation of inclusive education policies and budgets in 12 communes, sharing knowledge and experience at provincial and national levels.

These strategies will contribute to increasing the prevalence of CWD fully receiving benefits and claiming their rights from the current governmental policies for inclusive education in 3 provinces in Vietnam. 

By the end of the implementation, parents and teachers of CWD are expected to support and prioritise inclusive education, while committing to join support networks and CSOs that promote better education opportunities for CWD. 1000 CWD will be reached through MACDI’s activities and awareness raising, and behaviour change communication campaigns and activities will be designed and conducted to impact inclusive education policies.

Before receiving a full grant, MACDI participated in the Year Zero process of OC2. Year Zero is part of the Education Out Loud learning agenda and functions as a developmental pathway for the candidates. Read more about it here.