Case study: Inclusive Education in Rwanda

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Facts and Figures

• 84 percent of the Rwandan population lives on less than $2 per day(1)
• 390,000 Rwandan children are currently out of school. (3)
• Rwanda is not a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• 29 percent of Rwandan children are orphans and/or vulnerable. (4)
• 12.2% of government spending goes towards education (1)
• 26 percent of school age children are out of school. (5)
• The Rwandan constitution of 2003 (Art. 40) as well as the law of January 2007, relating to the equal opportunities of people with disabilities, provide for equal rights in education.
• The Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) has an Education Sector Strategic Plan 2004-2008 in which disabled children are mentioned. (6)

Sources
(1) UNESCO 2005
(2) EFA Global Monitoring Report 2007
(3) Republic of Rwanda, 2002
(4) Rwanda: Standard DHS, 2005
(5) UNESCO 2005
(6) Mainstreaming Disability in Development: County Level Research (April 2005) Philippa Thomas

(c) Handicap International

Context
In Rwanda the education opportunities for disabled children lie within segregated schools and centres. There are a limited number of government special schools which are almost exclusively for children with visual and hearing impairments. For the most part education provision for children with moderate, profound and multiple impairments is organised outside of the national system by private or religious structures. In certain districts the local authorities may provide teaching staff to special schools; however these teachers often lack basic teacher training and are not aware of child-centred methodologies or issues around disability and impairment. The majority of special schools in Rwanda are in urban locations.

In 2006 four parent-led centres for children with disabilities joined with Handicap International in a series of participatory workshops to discuss their future and role within the community. The workshops were opened to local education authorities, Disabled Peoples’ Organisations, parents and pupils to discuss the challenges they face meeting the educational and support needs of the disabled children in their centres. Four workshops were convened in which participants discussed the issues facing both the centres and disabled children. For some it was the first opportunity they had to share their experiences and knowledge. From these meetings concrete steps have been made to develop the relationship between special and mainstream schools in Rwanda.

Handicap International’s experience working with special centres in Rwanda has involved many different components:

• Capacity building of four centres for children and families with profound and multiple learning disabilities to become inclusive education resource centres for neighbouring ‘mainstream’ schools. This includes management training for centre staff (small business development for financial sustainability) and disability awareness and technical training for existing staff and staff at local mainstream schools
• Community awareness raising of disability and education issues through a range of media and events
• Creation of a steering committee which meets three times annually to reflect on the development of inclusive education in Rwanda and specifically in the project (national, district and local level education representatives, schools staff)
• Structural rehabilitation of the partner and local schools premises to create accessible environments
• Publication of training manuals to be used for community awareness raising and teacher training

Why work with Special Schools and Centres?
Handicap International’s policy on inclusion in education for disabled children recognises the knowledge, expertise and resources which exists in special schools and works towards harnessing this to ensure that children with disabilities receive an appropriate education in a broader choice of learning environments. For most disabled children in developing countries specialist education provision has provided the only chance of an education. Working with centres for disabled children, mainstream schools, parents, local education authorities Handicap International’s inclusive education work in Rwanda attempts to influence national policy.

(c) Handicap International