FIVE schools catering to children with special needs will be built and put into use in Luohu, Nanshan, Bao’an, Longgang and Longhua districts, respectively, by fall 2020, the city’s education bureau said Tuesday, sznews.com reported.

According to the latest three-year action plan regarding special education in Shenzhen, the city will continue to provide 15 years of free education for children with special needs, from kindergarten through senior high school.

It is estimated that more than 95 percent of children with special needs will be able to go to school by 2020.

In April 2015, Shenzhen launched a two-year plan to improve its special education system. According to the bureau, the admission rate for children with special needs was over 90 percent by the end of last December, meeting the goal set by the two-year plan.

According to the plan issued recently, Shenzhen will speed up the construction of a second municipal special-education school that is also expected to be put into use in autumn 2020.

The plan requires each district with a population of over 300,000 to build a special-education school that meets national standards, meaning that Luohu, Nanshan, Bao’an, Longgang and Longhua districts will each have a special-education school by 2020. The other districts are required to designate classes for children with special needs.

Public funds are also encouraged to contribute to the construction of special-education schools, according to the plan. The education authority will provide subsidies and favorable policies to nonprofit organizations, enterprises and individuals that invest in the development of special education.

Meanwhile, pre-school education for children with special needs has been included in the general municipal and district-level pre-school education plans. The education bureaus will support kindergartens that take in children with special needs and encourage qualified institutions to provide education to children with special needs.

In terms of teaching faculties, the plan requires all full-time special-education teachers to have relevant qualifications and complete professional training offered by provincial education department. All special education teachers must attend no less than 360 hours of training within five years.

The schools and classes for children with special needs will also be equipped with professional medical staff to assist in the students’ rehabilitation. Education departments at the municipal and district levels will need to assign qualified teachers to the schools for children with special needs.

(Zhang Qian)