Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin believes that each federal region should have a university or institution adapted to the needs of handicapped individuals wishing to receive a higher education.
Putin said a program is being developed in Russia for "inclusive education" so that preschoolers with handicaps may attend kindergartens with their peers on an equal level, and may then progress on to elementary school and finally to a higher educational institute.
"There are examples of this already," Putin said at a meeting on Saturday with employees from the Moscow Social Business Center for the Disabled.
"We will allocate 9 billion rubles ($290 million) on the federal level to support those regions that are operating programs for the education of children with disabilities learning alongside their peers," he said.
There are several schools throughout Russia that teach handicapped children, especially the blind and deaf; however, most of them are segregated.
Most universities catering to the disabled are located in Moscow, and usually fail to integrate people with disabilities into academic and social life.
MOSCOW, June 19 (RIA Novosti)
