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Soma Umenye Activity SOMA UMENYE ACTIVITY INCLUSIVE EDUCATION WORKSHOP JUNE 26-28, 2019 FINAL WORKSHOP REPORT Contract No. AID-OAA-I-14-00055, Task Order AID-696-TO-16-00001 Cover photo: Participants on the final day of the inclusive education workshop. (Credit: Julia Huber for USAID Soma Umenye). CONTENTS Acronyms ........................................................................................................................................................ 2 Introduction.................................................................................................................................................... 4 Workshop Report ..................................................................................................................................... ...4 Purpose of workshop .................................................................................................................................. 4 Workshop summary. ................................................................................................................................... 6 Next steps ....................................................................................................................................................15 Annex A: Workshop agenda ............................................................................................................... 22 2 ACRONYMS CBC competence-based curriculum CFS child friendly services CWD children with disabilities ECD early childhood development ESSP Education Sector Strategic Plan HI Humanity and Inclusion IE inclusive education IEP individualized education plan MINEDUC Ministry of Education NCPD National Council of Persons with Disabilities NECDP National Early Childhood Development Program NUDOR National Union of Disability Organizations in Rwanda REB Rwanda Education Board RNUD Rwanda National Union of the Deaf RUB Rwanda Union of the Blind SEN special education needs SNE special needs education SNECO Special Needs Education Coordinator TTC teacher training college UDL Universal Design for Learning URCE University of Rwanda College of Education 3 INTRODUCTION The objective of Soma Umenye is to improve reading outcomes in Kinyarwanda for at least 1 million children in public and government-aided schools in Rwanda. Specifically, Soma Umenye will target all children in Grades 1-3 attending public and government-aided schools nationwide and ensure that at least 70 percent of students are able to read grade-level text with fluency and comprehension. Soma Umenye is committed to supporting the Ministry of Education’s (MINEDUC) and Rwanda Education Board’s (REB) vision to ensure that all children, including those with disabilities and special education needs, have access to quality education. Building on the momentum gained from the January 2019 Cabinet approval of the Special Needs and Inclusive Education Policy, Soma Umenye, in partnership with MINEDUC and REB, convened a three-day workshop (from June 26-28, 2019) for a variety of stakeholders to identify critical next steps in the policy’s implementation plan. WORKSHOP REPORT PURPOSE OF WORKSHOP The government of Rwanda has demonstrated commitment to supporting students with special educational needs (SEN) and those with disabilities. This commitment is reflected in the Ministry of Education’s (MINEDUC) Strategic Priority Number 7 of Education Sector Strategic Plan Framework for basic education (ESSP) 2018/19-2023/24, and specifically Outcome 7.2 which has a stated goal to “increase the participation and achievement of children with disabilities and SEN at all levels of education.” Additionally, the 2016 competence-based curriculum (CBC) was designed to be accessible to all students, including those with learning difficulties and disabilities. The recent Cabinet approval of the Special Needs and Inclusive Education Policy (2019) demonstrates further renewal of the government of Rwanda’s commitment to supporting inclusive education for all students. This policy builds upon the previous special needs education policy (2007) and incorporates new and revised policies at the national and international level, including but not limited to the Rwandan Integrated Child Rights Policy (2011), Ministerial Order N° 007/2016 of 01/03/2016 determining modalities for special treatment of persons with disabilities in schools, and the Sustainable Development Goals. Development partners and civil society organizations, in addition to REB and MINEDUC, currently implement a wide range of inclusive education activities. While these activities range from teacher training, to materials development, to school infrastructure adaptations, there is some overlap, which highlights the need for increased coordination between all stakeholders. Against this backdrop, MINEDUC, REB, and Soma Umenye facilitated a workshop to bring together stakeholders and partners to develop structured, targeted, and harmonized interventions, grounded in the Rwandan context, to support inclusive education. With input from 4 other stakeholders, Soma Umenye, MINEDUC, and REB developed the following objectives for the workshop: 1. Define realistic interventions that respond to the current context and constraints and can be successfully implemented (with the hope of impact and contributions towards a sustainable system of inclusive education) in the short term. These short-term interventions will be developed within the context and stated objectives of the Special Needs and Inclusive Education Policy (2019), along with its accompanying implementation plan, and will contribute to the execution of the implementation plan. 2. Provide partners and stakeholders a space to share existing tools and resources. 3. Strengthen processes for frequent knowledge sharing and collaboration within established networks and working groups. The workshop convened a variety of stakeholders, including over 60 representatives from the government of Rwanda, teacher training colleges, national NGOs/civil society organizations, disability organizations, school representatives, implementing partners, and the private sector. Inclusive Education Workshop Participants Government ministries Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) and education Rwanda Education Board (REB) institutions National Council of Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) National Early Childhood Development Program (NECDP) University of Rwanda College of Education (URCE) Teacher Training Colleges (Nyamata and Bicumbi) HVP Gatagara/Gikondo National NGOs and National Union of Disability Organizations in Rwanda (NUDOR) civil society Rwanda National Union of the Deaf (RNUD) organizations Rwanda Union of the Blind (RUB) International A Partner in Education development Chance for Childhood organizations, DFID implementing partners, DFID/Building Learning Foundations and private sector eKitabu Humanity and Inclusion Right to Play UNICEF USAID/Rwanda USAID Soma Umenye USAID Mureke Dusome/Save the Children USAID/World Vision/Australian Aid: All Children Reading Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO) VVOB Education for Development World Vision/Rwanda World Vision/USA 5 Following discussions with MINEDUC and REB, several areas of the special needs education (SNE) policy were chosen as focus areas for the workshop: 1. Policy context and inclusive education framework 2. Identification of students with disabilities and special education needs 3. Strengthening teacher training and multidisciplinary support provisions to foster inclusive learning 4. Learning assessments of students with disabilities and special education needs 5. Leadership and coordination of inclusive education activities 6. Accessible digital content for students with disabilities and special education needs Sessions 2-4 started off with an introduction and overview of the topic by representatives from government ministries (MINEDUC, REB, NECDP) and development partners. Following these presentations, participants formed several breakout groups to look at the related indicators in the policy’s implementation plan. Within their groups, participants identified some key next steps in order to move closer to meeting specific indicators. A summary of these next steps is presented towards the end of this report. Session 4 was led by Humanity and Inclusion, the co- chair of the Inclusive Education Working Group, and presented an overview of the working group’s goals. Finally, session 5 was a hands-on presentation on how to leverage accessible digital content for students with disabilities and special education needs. WORKSHOP SUMMARY Workshop Opening The Minister of Education, the Director General of REB, and the US Ambassador launched the Inclusive Education Workshop on June 26, 2019. Dr. Irénée Ndayambaje, Director General of REB, welcomed participants and thanked partners for their consistent support in addressing the challenge of ensuring all children have access to quality education, including children with disabilities and special education needs. He emphasized the Soma Umenye. continued support needed to achieve this important goal. In his opening remarks, Minister of Education Eugene Mutimura gave a call to action for development partners and the government of Rwanda to Alain Patrick Mwizerwa for USAID for Mwizerwa Patrick Alain : work together to implement the Special Needs and Inclusive Education PHOTO policy. He recognized the workshop as From left to right: The Director General of REB, the Minister an opportunity for networking and of Education, and the US Ambassador to Rwanda opening the workshop harmonizing
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