With the support of European Union funds amounting to more than EUR 1.7 million, by 2027 a system for the exchange of technological solutions and assistive tools will be developed to support learners aged from 5 years to grade 9 who require additional assistance in acquiring educational programs. This is provided for by the regulations approved by the Cabinet of Ministers today, 8 April.
Approximately half of the available funding is planned to be invested in the purchase and maintenance of assistive technologies.* As a pilot project, the implementation of an assistive technology exchange system will be launched in educational institutions, providing students with assistive technologies intended for individual use. The range of assistive technologies will be determined based on the results of research planned within the project.
To ensure effective and transparent access to assistive technologies, improvements will be made to the Education Resources Accounting and Monitoring Information System (RUMIS) and the State Education Information System (VIIS). The project will also include training for the involved professionals and educational institution staff, as well as consultations for legal guardians of learners regarding the use of the provided assistive technologies.
The planned project represents a prototype of an assistive technology exchange system for educational program acquisition. At the end of the project, conclusions and recommendations will be drawn regarding the future functioning of the system, including potential improvements.
Currently, the system and practice do not fully provide learners with disabilities, mobility impairments, and other special needs with the necessary technological solutions and assistive tools to support their learning process. It has also been concluded that educational institutions face difficulties in navigating the range of available assistive technologies and fully understanding their usage. There is also a need for better centralized data on learner needs to ensure comprehensive support.
The regulations approved today, titled “Implementation Rules for the Measure ‘Establishing an Exchange System for Assistive Technologies for Acquiring Educational Programs’ under Specific Objective 4.2.1 of the EU Cohesion Policy Programme 2021–2027: Improving Equal Access to Inclusive and Quality Services in Education, Training, and Lifelong Learning by Developing Accessible Infrastructure, including Enhancing Resilience in Remote and Online Learning”, are available on the Cabinet of Ministers' website.
*Assistive technologies are devices, software, or systems that help people with disabilities or limited abilities perform tasks that others do without assistance. Examples include various types of software, screen readers for the visually impaired, speech synthesizers or communication devices for people with speech impairments, specialized computer keyboards or mice, text enlargement software for the visually impaired, and more. Under this support measure, only assistive technologies specifically intended for educational program acquisition will be provided, without duplicating aids already available through the National Rehabilitation Centre “Vaivari”.
