Schools fail to cater for pupils with disabilities
Oct 23, 2005
ALTHOUGH the Government policy of inclusive education where children with disabilities study in the same schools with others, was aimed at avoiding stigmatisation, a study by the Uganda Child Right’s NGO Network (UCRNN) has discovered that the approach could be doing more harm than good, particula
By John Eremu
ALTHOUGH the Government policy of inclusive education where children with disabilities study in the same schools with others, was aimed at avoiding stigmatisation, a study by the Uganda Child Right’s NGO Network (UCRNN) has discovered that the approach could be doing more harm than good, particularly at primary school level.
The study found out that negative perception by other children and absence of facilities for children with disabilities (CWD) in school structures make the integration policy unsuitable for the severely impaired.
“The biggest drawback for CWDs is the constant teasing and nicknaming from their fellow pupils. This erodes any sense of self-confidence,†said the report entitled: Let’s Face It: Telling it as it is: An On-the Ground Perspective on Children with Disability in Education Policy and Practise in Uganda.
Stella Ayo, the UCRNN coordinator, said inclusive education is desirable and is being advocated for by Ministry of Education officials and proponents of human rights because it helps integrate children into their communities and teaches other children how to relate with disabled children. However, she said it had only succeeded in districts where NGOs run the programmes, but at a very high cost.
“But in Uganda, there aren’t enough teachers, facilities and support systems to make inclusive education feasible,†says the report, adding that inclusion in Uganda only promotes socialisation, but hardly meets the educational objectives.
The report was compiled from a study done in Arua, Yumbe, Kisoro, Kasese, Mubende, Kiboga, Tororo and Iganga districts. It also included views from ministries, district officials, CWD, teachers, children of parents with disabilities and civil society organisations.
The study revealed that children with disabilities did not like attending inclusive schools because the other children tease them. The children said they would prefer an environment that understands them, where they are properly cared for and fit in. The parents also asked for special schools as opposed to inclusion to protect their children from being teased and the fact that they are unable to fit in due to limitations.
UCRNN recommended that special boarding schools for CWD be established. UCRNN urged the Government not to relegate the education of CWD to charity organisations. However, Aggrey Kibenge, the education ministry spokesman, said there were policies to address the plight of CWD.
“We should encourage inclusive education, but in cases of severe disability, the children should receive special attention in specialised institutions,†Kibenge said.
The education sector annual performance report of 2004, says the supportive policy adopted for children with special needs included the construction of classrooms with ramps, the provision of toilets and washrooms with guardrails and the supply of brailed textbooks.
Wide sensitisation on the value of educating CWD raised the enrolment of children with special needs in primary schools from 218,286 in 2003 to 247,953 in 2004.
The Ministry of Education says 530 teachers and tutors were trained to manage inclusive education, 250 teachers to help the deaf and the blind, 200 to teach sign language, a similar number to teach Braille reading and writing and 450 to handle children suffering from autism. They say this reduced the teacher to pupil ratio to 1:10.
While Government policy promotes inclusive education and no school for CWD have been set up in decades, the concerns raised by UCRNN should be considered if the country is to beat the Education Millennium Development Goal of having all children complete the primary school cycle by 2015.
Ends
ALTHOUGH the Government policy of inclusive education where children with disabilities study in the same schools with others, was aimed at avoiding stigmatisation, a study by the Uganda Child Right’s NGO Network (UCRNN) has discovered that the approach could be doing more harm than good, particularly at primary school level.
The study found out that negative perception by other children and absence of facilities for children with disabilities (CWD) in school structures make the integration policy unsuitable for the severely impaired.
“The biggest drawback for CWDs is the constant teasing and nicknaming from their fellow pupils. This erodes any sense of self-confidence,†said the report entitled: Let’s Face It: Telling it as it is: An On-the Ground Perspective on Children with Disability in Education Policy and Practise in Uganda.
Stella Ayo, the UCRNN coordinator, said inclusive education is desirable and is being advocated for by Ministry of Education officials and proponents of human rights because it helps integrate children into their communities and teaches other children how to relate with disabled children. However, she said it had only succeeded in districts where NGOs run the programmes, but at a very high cost.
“But in Uganda, there aren’t enough teachers, facilities and support systems to make inclusive education feasible,†says the report, adding that inclusion in Uganda only promotes socialisation, but hardly meets the educational objectives.
The report was compiled from a study done in Arua, Yumbe, Kisoro, Kasese, Mubende, Kiboga, Tororo and Iganga districts. It also included views from ministries, district officials, CWD, teachers, children of parents with disabilities and civil society organisations.
The study revealed that children with disabilities did not like attending inclusive schools because the other children tease them. The children said they would prefer an environment that understands them, where they are properly cared for and fit in. The parents also asked for special schools as opposed to inclusion to protect their children from being teased and the fact that they are unable to fit in due to limitations.
UCRNN recommended that special boarding schools for CWD be established. UCRNN urged the Government not to relegate the education of CWD to charity organisations. However, Aggrey Kibenge, the education ministry spokesman, said there were policies to address the plight of CWD.
“We should encourage inclusive education, but in cases of severe disability, the children should receive special attention in specialised institutions,†Kibenge said.
The education sector annual performance report of 2004, says the supportive policy adopted for children with special needs included the construction of classrooms with ramps, the provision of toilets and washrooms with guardrails and the supply of brailed textbooks.
Wide sensitisation on the value of educating CWD raised the enrolment of children with special needs in primary schools from 218,286 in 2003 to 247,953 in 2004.
The Ministry of Education says 530 teachers and tutors were trained to manage inclusive education, 250 teachers to help the deaf and the blind, 200 to teach sign language, a similar number to teach Braille reading and writing and 450 to handle children suffering from autism. They say this reduced the teacher to pupil ratio to 1:10.
While Government policy promotes inclusive education and no school for CWD have been set up in decades, the concerns raised by UCRNN should be considered if the country is to beat the Education Millennium Development Goal of having all children complete the primary school cycle by 2015.
Ends