Democracy and Political Governance 349. 150 Chapter 3 Despite the establishment of the Training and Employment Board and enabling laws, the CRM learnt that disabled people are not well represented in the job market. The 2000 Population Census Report on Disability reported that there were 4,203 employed disabled persons in 2000. The activity rate of the disabled population was 12.3 per cent compared with 54.8 per cent for the total population. This shows that disabled people are facing challenges in the employment sector. While the measures to improve vocational training that the board is advancing are useful for building skills among disabled people and improving their chances of employment, a rights-based approach to eliminating discrimination and promoting the integration of disabled people in the workplace may yield better results. 350. The Ministry of Social Security, National Solidarity and Senior Citizens Welfare and Reform Institutions has run several campaigns and sensitisation programmes to ensure that disabled people are employed in the private and public sectors. In the civil service, there is sometimes a deliberate effort to ensure that disabled people are employed, although there is no law that requires affirmative action for disabled people. 351. More disabled people work in the public sector than in the private one. This might be because of their low educational qualifications. The 2000 Population Census Report on Disability noted that disabled employees worked mainly in “manufacturing” (24.1 per cent), “community, social and personal services” (23.4 per cent) and the “wholesale and retail trade, restaurants and hotels” (16.5 per cent). The law requires any company in the private sector that employs more than 35 people to employ at least 3 per cent disabled people or face fines. There is a penalty for those who break the law. However, the Ministry of Social Security, National Solidarity and Senior Citizens Welfare and Reform Institutions explained that the government is unwilling to apply this quota, because employers may choose a fine rather than hire disabled people. Therefore, government has adopted a partnership approach through sensitisation and persuasion on this issue. However, there is no government mechanism to monitor compliance with the quota. The CRM believes that the soft approach the government uses does not protect the rights of disabled people looking for work. The fact that companies would rather pay the fine shows the inadequacy of the sanctions mechanism for noncompliance and suggests that incentives rather than sanctions may work better. Chapter 3 Democracy and Political Governance 352. NGOs receive funds from the government to run special schools that cater for the needs of disabled children. According to the NHRC Annual Report of 2007, the government provides social security for societies involved in providing services for disabled people. Some of these, which the CSAR also mentions, include the Lois Lagesse Trust Fund (Rs2,050,000), the Society for the Welfare of the Deaf (Rs1,000,000), the Parents of Severely Disabled Children (Rs400,000), the Trust Fund for Specialised Medical Care (Rs102,000,000) and other charitable institutions (Rs45,900,000). 353. Disabled people in Mauritius are well integrated in the mainstream education sector. The MECHR noted that 1,475 children had been enrolled by May 2009. This is an increase from 1,305 in February 2008. The proportion of the disabled with no formal education (34.2 per cent) was significantly higher than that of the total population (8.7 per cent). Overall, only 65.4 per cent of disabled people were attending, or had attended, school compared with 90.7 per cent of the total population in 2000. The absence of school curricula and methodologies that are accessible to disabled learners may be a deterrent to disabled children. 354. The MECHR has made a policy decision to look after the policy needs of disabled children by adopting a policy of integration wherever possible. In order to improve access to quality education for disabled children, the ministry developed a policy strategy document in 2006. It focuses on an enabling institutional and regulatory framework. The ministry has a whole department of special needs education, but the country lacks capacity in this area. The ministry is looking to countries with expertise in the area to provide technical assistance and build capacity. 355. The MECHR has a twin-track approach of mainstreaming education for disabled learners and working with NGOs to provide special needs education. However, NGOs seem to have undertaken most of the interventions in special needs education. Education is the great leveller of opportunities and should be part of government policies for disabled people in order to broaden their options and ensure their inclusiveness. The government-sponsored schools, run by charitable organisations, are a commendable partnership, given that some of these institutions may have developed the necessary skills and competence over the years. 151