Nanjing held its first culture and art festival for students with special education needs in the city’s Lishui Special Education School on April 18. The event featured peonies and was organized by the city’s Department of Education.

Zhang Liming, deputy director of the department, said Nanjing has 15 special education schools including one each for the visual and hearing impaired, both under the department’s direct administration and open for students from across the city. The other 13 schools, under the administration of a district’s educational department, only admit students from the local district.

There are 4,119 students with special education needs in Nanjing, including 2,106 studying in special schools. Nanjing has built more than 330 integrated education resource centers to improve the services to all students with special education needs.

Nanjing has 61 model schools that provide education both to healthy students and those with special needs. Among young students with disabilities, the net enrolment rate for the compulsory education has maintained over 99 percent in the city. Nanjing has essentially provided all the city's disabled children with 15 years of free education.

Contact us at english@jschina.com.cn