INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: REFLECTIONS ON INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
Every year the world, including Malawi observes International Day of People with Disabilities (IDPWD) on the 3rd of December with the aim of promoting the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development.
Today, this important celebration is being observed under the duly appropriate and fitting banner, “Building back better: towards an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 world by, for and with persons with disabilities.”
Under normal circumstances, persons with disabilities are less likely to access essential facilities and services in health, community, employment and more specifically in education. According to United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) of the global population of persons with disabilities, 80% of them live in developing countries and fewer than 2% of children with disabilities in developing countries are in school. This is a reality that has been worsened due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and Malawi is not an exception to any of this.
Of course it should not be trivialized that there have been significant strides in the country in promoting inclusive education (IE) and special needs education (SNE), especially since the introduction of the National Strategy for Inclusive Education (NSIE) in 2017.
It is worth noting that MK 244.6 million (up from MK 86 million allocated in 2019/20) has been allocated to special needs education in the current educational budget, representing a 184% increase in the budget. Another stride towards improved SNE has been the increase in enrolment over the past few years. For example, according to the 2019/20 education sector performance report, last year 3.2 per cent of enrollment in primary schools were SN learners. This year the number has gone up by 0.2 per cent. The refurbishment of the special needs resource centre at Chancellor College is also a very welcome development.
However, the area of SNE and IE still remains a largely neglected area. The government’s interest is minimal, leaving most of the responsibility of championing inclusive education to implementing partners and non-governmental organisations. Despite the increase in budgetary allocation in the 2019/2021 financial year, the allocation is still far below the MK 3.8 billion proposed by the NSIE (only 6% of the required estimate) in order to achieve key strategies on the same. With population of SN learners estimated at 149,936 (143,970 in Primary Schools and 5,966 in Secondary Schools) according to the Education Management Information System (EMIS) 2017, the allocation implies that on average Government is spending MK 1, 631.36 per SN learner per year which is not sufficient to carter for basic school materials.
It is also regrettable that this year’s budget made no provision for the long-awaited Special Needs Institute. The integration of SNE in the regular teacher training colleges as a bridging effort to ensure that all graduant teachers have basic competences in SNE does not help to produce specialist teachers. Unless there is deliberate effort towards this, learners with severe disabilities that require the presence of specialists will fail to progress. This will shatter their hopes, and continue to be pushed to the margins of poverty. It is an injustice as well as discrimination.
Perhaps another challenge that the sector has faced is the provision of resource centers for SN students. While 3.4 per cent of primary schools had SN resource centers in 2020 financial year, only 5.7 per cent of secondary schools had such centres based on the 2019 Education Performance Sector Report.
Despite increasing enrollment of SN learners in primary schools, their retention is very subpar especially at tertiary level. In the 2019/20 education sector report, it is observed that 186, 422 learners across primary schools were SN learners and yet only 137 were enrolled into universities. The report noted that there was not a substantial increase in enrolment in the past year and that in some institutions such as Mzuzu University and Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, enrollment had even declined.
The enrollment disparity that exclude SN learners from and within tertiary settings can be attributed to a myriad of unaddressed reasons ranging from inadequate infrastructure to accommodate SN learners to lack of psycho-socio support. The issues highlighted are only a snapshot of what our special needs learners are facing just to get an education. As a country, we do not have comprehensive databases and information that provide an all-round and up to date portrayal of what the situation truly is on the ground.
Regardless of the situation we find ourselves in, we must collectively hold a firm belief that disability is not inability. Persons with disabilities are equally endowed with capabilities and competences that given the needed support have demonstrated excellence. What this entails is that proper strategies and support should be availed to them to shape their own destiny. Leaving No-one Behind in our pursuit for “Education for All, 2030 Agenda” requires more action than before. It is a call for common purpose, and an incredible shift from business as usual approach. This pathway is not only a matter of justice but also an investment in a common future.
Without education, SNE children have no hope to live a bright future, and therefore, Malawi government has both the moral and legal duty to guarantee their access to education. They are entitled to education as everyone else is. They have dreams and desires as everyone else is. They are a resource to the national development as everyone else is. Therefore, they deserve better for we cannot win poverty without uplifting persons with disabilities.
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEOPLE WITH DISABLITIES.
