Amna recently graduated from the University of Karachi with a degree in Special Education. On the day of her graduation, the Head of Department, in her speech advised the students not to pursue a career in special education but to find alternative career paths.

The disability sector is one, like many others, that is not on anyone’s ruling agenda at the moment. With the on going violence in various cities, the dearth of justice in our courts and the blatant corruption of our leaders, one simply forgets about social issues that are pressing for serious attention.

Recently, I interned at an NGO that worked for people with disabilities. My work required me to carry out research on the employment situation of disability specialists. Most of us are seemingly unaware of the existence of the disability sector itself, let alone about the conditions of disability professionals such as special educators, speech therapists, occupational therapists etc. My experience was a rather unpleasant awakening.

In this day and age of competition, where graduates are in a race to find jobs that offer the best (read highest) pay structures possible, special educators work on a starting pay of a dismal 5,000 rupees. Even though ‘special education’ itself is a degree offered on both an undergraduate and graduate level, those who pursue careers as teachers are not given the same status as a mainstream school teacher may have.

Special education schools are mostly not for profit organisations and therefore they suffer from the dilemmas that such organisations go through. They have a really small budget that is unable to cater effectively to the salaries of teachers. Since they offer low salaries, they hire almost anyone irrespective of a relevant degree or prior work experience. In addition to this, the rate of turn over of teachers in most of these schools is high, as they frequently leave their jobs for higher pay packages. These factors hamper the learning process of a ‘special’ child.

On the flip side however, special education schools are not satisfied with the quality of the human resource. They have reservations about their work ethics. Furthermore, they complain that these special educators are unable to communicate effectively in the English language. They maintain that the degrees that most of the professionals hold are out dated as they are not equipped with basic skills like teaching methodologies, curriculum development and rehabilitation that hold paramount importance in this field.

The motive of most organisations working for people with disabilities is to create a more inclusive society, emulating those that exist in developed countries. However this pursuit requires a huge shift in the mind set of our society as a whole. The status of these institutes cannot be limited to beneficiaries. They lay the foundations of how inclusive a society can become, how the ‘disabled’ have to be treated like ‘able’ and responsible citizens of the society.

Similarly, disability professionals cannot be regarded as volunteers for social work. The work of these tutors and therapists demand a lot hard work and dedication. Therefore they must be given a remuneration that raises them to the status of a working individual. In addition to this, there should be a change in the curriculum that is followed by universities that offer degrees in special education. As a short term remedy, institutes working in the disability sector themselves need to invest in capacity building and train the professionals to up grade their skills.

The sad state of affairs in the disability sector is the reflection of the much larger education sector in Pakistan. One has simply turned a blind eye to this pressing social need. It is a matter that requires policy adjustments that amends the concept of education practiced in Pakistan in order to make it a more inclusive pursuit.

Zehra Hussain is a student at LUMS, currently interning at Dawn.

The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.