From August 3 to 8, Ms. Filomena Pereira, an international expert on inclusive education from Portugal, visited Turkmenistan on a week-long technical mission.

The mission, organized within the framework of the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan's work on developing inclusive education with technical support from UNICEF, aimed at analyzing the progress achieved and identifying next steps.

During the mission, meetings were held with representatives of the Ministry of Education, regional education authorities, teachers, specialists from the teaching staff development system, members of interdisciplinary teams, representatives of psychological, medical, and pedagogical commissions, higher education institutions, and other partner organizations.

During consultations, on-site visits, and practical discussions, participants analyzed the results of the work already carried out by the Ministry of Education and agreed on further measures to expand educational opportunities for children with various educational needs.

Particular attention was paid to increasing the capacity of education system specialists, improving approaches to identifying children's individual educational needs and organizing the necessary support, as well as developing mentoring and professional training systems for the sustainable implementation of inclusive education.

Within the framework of the mission, representatives from the Ministry of Education and UNICEF visited pilot preschools and schools in the Ahal and Balkan velayats, learned about the practical implementation of inclusive education, and discussed with teachers, school directors, regional coordinators, and interdisciplinary teams the results achieved, existing challenges, and necessary support measures to ensure the full participation of every child in the educational process.

The recommendations developed during the mission will form the basis for the next phase of work, including improving teacher training, developing a monitoring system, and disseminating successful experiences from pilot institutions for the subsequent scaling up of inclusive practices, according to a UNICEF press release.