Inclusion and education

partially sighted learners were published for literature 
textbooks in grades 5–7.
BOX 5.4: 
Textbooks in Montenegro support inclusion of 
students with learning disabilities
Montenegro has begun using textbooks in the Digital Accessible 
Information System (DAISY) format, the first country in the world 
to do so (Perovic, 2020). DAISY textbooks allow easy recording of 
written material containing audio and visual information. Their 
text can be easily enlarged, and their words highlighted, while 
spoken by the narrator of the audio. The texts are accessible 
through any technological device with a display screen, in a 
class or at home. 
DAISY textbooks are intended for all learners but are especially 
beneficial for those who have difficulty reading printed texts. 
Producing them has involved adapting printed textbooks in 
Montenegrin (reading books for grades 4–9 and history for grades 
6–9) to the relevant audiovisual format to support learners with 
visual impairments, those with no residual vision, and all students 
with a learning disability such as dyslexia or dysgraphia.
The Ministry of Education, in cooperation with the Institute for 
Textbooks and Teaching Aids, the Resource Centre for Children 
and Youth ‘Podgorica’, the Bureau for Education Services and the 
School of Dramatic Arts, with UNICEF support, initiated DAISY 
textbook production in 2014. The project was piloted in 25 schools 
and had expanded to 70 by 2019. About 35,000 students can 
benefit from the use of DAISY textbooks in schools, including an 
estimated 500 with disabilities (Zero Project, 2020).
The 2019–2025 National Inclusive Education Strategy envisages 
their roll-out (Montenegro Ministry of Education, 2018). Next 
steps include increasing awareness of DAISY textbook use and its 
impact on learning (Zero Project, 2020). The Bureau for Education 
Services organized accredited teacher training on the use of DAISY 
textbooks in schools in 2019/20 and 2020/21.
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GLOBAL EDUCATION MONITORING REPORT 2021

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