In 2011, the ministry of Education and Sports released the first draft of the national Special Needs and Inclusive Education policy to give every child equal access to quality education.
Thirteen years later, the disability fraternity wants the government to pass the long-awaited policy, now "stuck" at the cabinet level, writes YUDAYA NANGONZI.
When Mauvice Apia was born 23 years ago, she was a healthy baby with bright eyes. As she grew, Apia was attacked by Measles, which eventually claimed her eyesight at six years.
"I was born a normal child and [got] fully immunized against measles. I think it was God's plan for me to lose sight," Apia said. "While in eyeglasses, people don't believe I am visually impaired. So, I decided to throw them away so that people know the struggles with my sight."
Apia is among students with disabilities who graced the third National Inclusive Education Symposium 2023 held recently at Silver Springs Hotel in Bugolobi under the theme: Ensuring Inclusive Education: From Theory to Practice".
She shared the plight of the visually impaired at institutions of higher learning at the two-day conference. Apia is a first-year student on government sponsorship pursuing a Bachelor of Office and Information Management at Makerere University Business School (MUBS).
Like other speakers, Apia pointed to the absence of the national Special Needs and Inclusive Education (SNIE) policy as an impediment to access to quality education at all levels. Whereas MUBS embraced her disability by accommodating her on campus, she is lucky to have her sister as a guide.
According to Apia, most visually impaired students get strangers and often fall out due to inefficiencies. At universities, the government offers a stipend per semester for guides but government students with disabilities struggle to find appropriate support. She also decried some private universities that declined to admit students with disabilities despite meeting the course requirements.
"If only the government passed the policy, lecturers would be mindful of conducting online lessons that favor students with disabilities. Universities would also be compelled to provide assistive devices to both government and private-sponsored students in a bid to attract more students with disabilities to join institutions of higher learning," she said.
Her concerns were backed by Esther Kyozira, the executive director of the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU), which has been part and parcel of the SNIE policy.
POLICY IS LONG OVERDUE
The ministry of Education documents have consistently defined inclusive education as a system where all children, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, study in the same classrooms and schools. However, the current setup dictates that children with special needs study from either special schools, units attached to mainstream schools, or all-inclusive schools.
Kyozira said due to the absence of a policy, this arrangement can limit the exposure of children to diverse learning environments, lead to stigmatization, and perpetuate stereotypes about disabilities. Yet, inclusive education is meant to promote acceptance and understanding of differences, hence reducing the likelihood of stigma.
"The policy has stayed long in cabinet. The ministry has often encouraged us that steps are being taken but we see the years have gone. The first draft came in 2011 and this is 2023. For 13 years now, that's a long period. The policy is long overdue and needed by the disability sector and special needs departments implementing special needs education," Kyozira said.
She explained that although there is no guiding framework, several actors have abused the essence of inclusive education amidst the dire need for assistive devices for learners with disabilities.
"[For instance] a child with visual impairment will come to class but because they are enrolled in a school without Perkins machines to help with their braille learning, this child will just sit in class without taking notes. For those with hearing impairment, few teachers are skilled in sign language. If a child needs hearing aids, the equipment alone costs more than Shs 3m. Which parent can afford this yet we are still convincing them to take children with disabilities to school?" she asked.
The Norwegian Association of Disabled (NAD), working with 91 government schools to make them inclusive, is also pushing for the passing of the SNIE policy. The NAD Regional Inclusive Education Advisor, Moureen Kekirunga, said they have since found that learners with sensory impairment and multiple disabilities have lagged on the road to inclusive education in Uganda.
"We have also seen that learners who are blind and deaf have continued to drop out of schools that we support because of a lack of specialized teachers and materials that can enable them to learn. The policy should come out soonest so that we can authentically speak about inclusion," Kekirunga said.
In 2016, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics indicated that 12.4% of Ugandans live with some form of disability. The Disability Status Report Uganda, 2019 further attributed limited access to education by children with special needs to a weak policy framework. The report emphasized that the lack of an inclusive education policy has affected the effective implementation of inclusive education in Uganda.
The National Council for Disability which authored the report then urged the education ministry to expedite the development of the policy as well as allocate the required resources for the implementation.
EDUCATION MINISTRY RESPONDS
The director for Basic and Secondary Education, Ismail Mulindwa, agreed that the policy has dragged on. He, however, said the policy is now awaiting presentation to the cabinet.
"When the policy reached cabinet, they identified some gaps. We have since fixed them and hope the cabinet will soon consider the policy. The struggle was passing through the lower levels and securing a certificate of financial responsibility from the ministry of Finance. We have all that in place and the policy is now less than a year in cabinet to iron out a few technicalities," Mulindwa explained.
At the symposium, he asked the disability fraternity to consider the ministry's apology for performing below standard during the Covid-19 period.
"We gave several excuses for not delivering learning materials for children with special needs on time. We are sorry for the mishap. I know we have not performed to the expectations of our disability enthusiasts but all efforts are there to ensure that our learners are not left behind," he said.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Mulindwa shared that the ministry is still challenged with inadequate funding, negative attitudes towards children with disabilities from communities, and few special needs teachers. The ministry has agreed to make special needs and inclusive education a compulsory module in teacher training institutions at all levels as a measure to curb the shortage of specialized teachers.
CHANGE ASSESSMENTS
To further address the plight of special needs learners, the assistant commissioner for inclusive and non- formal education, Sarah Ayesiga, said the policy will check on assessments offered to candidates during national examinations. She commended Uneb for modifying the assessments by adding 45 extra minutes for each candidate, and provision of transcribers, among others, but a lot leaves to be desired.
"The policy must compel Uneb to have disability-friendly assessments. When I was doing my masters abroad, we supervised an autistic child who did their exam for a full week and passed. Uneb can borrow a leaf from such policies," Ayesiga said.
She added that children should be assessed in specific competencies instead of subjecting them to the entire curriculum in final examinations. This year, at least 777 candidates with disabilities are writing their O-level exams which commenced last week. Some 2,580 and 341 candidates registered to sit the PLE and UACE examinations starting next month.
The principal examinations officer in charge of special needs at Uneb, Daniel Alenyo, urged teachers to adequately prepare the candidates to avoid accusing Uneb of failing learners with special needs. In inclusive schools, Alenyo insisted that there are no specialized teachers while the routine transfer of such teachers immensely affects learners.
