UNESCO’s new 2020 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report shows that the COVID-19-19 pandemic exacerbated exclusion. About 40% of countries in sub-Saharan Africa have not been able to support disadvantaged learners during school closures, notable students with disabilities.
Before the pandemic, countries in the region were taking different approaches to inclusion. Data from the continent shows that 23% of countries have laws calling for children with disabilities to be educated in separate settings. Most countries, however, combine mainstreaming with separate arrangements, usually for learners with severe disabilities.
Many of the countries looking to move from segregated towards inclusive systems need to overcome management challenges. They need to think about how to share specialist resources between schools better so that all children can benefit. Examples of this can be found across the continent.
Angola and Nigeria, for instance, are looking at transforming special schools into support bases for children with disabilities in mainstream schools, as well as providing training for teachers. Angola set a target in 2017 of including 30,000 children with special education needs in mainstream schools by 2022.
Kenya also recognizes special schools’ pivotal role in the transition towards inclusive education. At present, almost 2,000 primary and secondary mainstream schools provide education for students with special needs.
Malawi tries a twin-track approach. Those with severe disabilities are educated in special schools or special needs centres, while those with mild disabilities are mainstreamed. Special schools at each education level are being transformed into resource centres.
Instead of resource centres, Tanzania is mobilising itinerant teachers offering specialist services. These teachers are trained and managed by Tanzania Society for the Blind and provided with a motorbike. They also perform vision screening, refer children to medical facilities, and organize community sensitization and counselling.
While the political will for change seems clear, there is often a gap between theory and practice. This is where the emphasis between now and 2030 must lie. Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, teachers mention that implementing inclusive education is hard because they lack resources.
The 2020 GEM Report looks at the different steps needed to provide disability-inclusive education, providing ten recommendations for policymakers, teachers, and civil society over the next ten years, says Manos Antoninis, the Director of the GEM Report, UNESCO.
