Disability In Rwanda Case Study

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CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction

Rwanda is striving to provide quality education to all children. The political will and the state commitment to provide education to all citizens regardless of their different needs is also clarified by the national constitution of June 2003, emphasizing both rights of education for all and special provision to learners with disabilities and other educational disadvantages:
“Every person has the right to education; the state has the duty to take special measures to facilitate the education of the disadvantaged” Article 40, (Republic of Rwanda, 2003a. p 72).

In addition, the legislative and policy environment in respect to equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities appears to be conducive today. Some of the evident indicators include: The ratification of the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and its optional protocol in 2008; The establishment of National Council for People with Disabilities (NCPD) in 2011(Law N° 03/2011 of 10/02/2011) and in 2013 EDPRS2 was launched with clear prioritization on disability rights across thematic areas (Republic of Rwanda, 2013).

Despite the legislative and political willingness in Rwanda, people with disabilities like in other communities of the sub-region still face some kind of educational exclusion and marginalisation. The trend is evidenced by their low representation in educational and training institutions (Karangwa, Iyamuremye & Muhindakazi, 2013).

The current study looks into the learning difficulties associated with the curriculum faced by visually impaired students.

1.2 Background of the study

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) in its article 24 addresses the...

... middle of paper ...

...education and three years of general cycle of secondary education without paying school fees (Republic of Rwanda, 2008b).

1.9 Conclusion

Education of children with visual impairment in Rwanda dates back in 1960s. Since then, the country has undertaken different initiatives through enforcement of laws and establishment of policies and strategies to provide quality education to these learners. Nevertheless there is a remarkable gap between the policy and implementation.

The research is not promising to bridge the gap by providing solutions to the challenges or difficulties that these children face but to inform the decision makers and stakeholders in education sector about the challenges faced by visually impaired learners to access national curriculum equally as their sighted counterparts and finally, the research will provide recommendations for improvement.

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