Eastern and Southern Africa regional study on the fulfilment of the right to education of children with disabilities EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA REGIONAL STUDY ON THE FULFILMENT OF THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES Eastern and Southern Africa regional study on the fulfilment of the right to education of children with disabilities July 2016 Education Development Trust Highbridge House, 16–18 Duke Street, Reading, Berkshire RG1 4RU, UK T +44 (0) 118 902 1000 E [email protected] W www.educationdevelopmenttrust.com 1 EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA REGIONAL STUDY ON THE FULFILMENT OF THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES © COPYRIGHT EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT TRUST 2016. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS PUBLICATION ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT TRUST OR UNICEF. ISBN: 978-1-909437-80-7 06/16 2 EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA REGIONAL STUDY ON THE FULFILMENT OF THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES Contents Preamble 4 About the researchers 5 Acknowledgements 5 List of abbreviations 6 Foreword 7 Executive summary 11 Methodology 11 Findings: Enabling environment 12 Findings: Supply-side conditions 12 Findings: Demand side conditions 13 Recommendations 14 Introduction 17 Objectives 17 Research design and methodology 21 Overview 21 Methodology 22 Analysis 24 Limitations of the research 24 Key findings 27 Enabling environment 27 Supply-side conditions 45 Demand-side conditions 64 Supportive Factors 69 Enabling environment 69 Supply-side conditions 70 Demand-side conditions 71 Recommendations 73 Enabling environment 73 Supply-side conditions 73 Demand-side conditions 74 References 75 Appendices 80 3 EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA REGIONAL STUDY ON THE FULFILMENT OF THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES Preamble Between December 2014 and August 2015 the Education Development Trust (Formerly CfBT Education Trust) and the UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) conducted a research programme to investigate the extent of fulfilment of the right to education of children with disabilities in countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. The research programme was a desk-based study of the 21 countries1 covered by UNICEF ESARO that investigates the fulfilment of the right to education of children with disabilities across the region. Accompanying this report are detailed studies on the Republic of Madagascar, the Republic of Rwanda and the Union of the Comoros, which provide a more in-depth analysis of the realisation of the right to education of children with disabilities. 1Angola, Botswana, Burundi, the Comoros, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. 4 EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA REGIONAL STUDY ON THE FULFILMENT OF THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES About the researchers Anna Riggall is the Research Manager at Education Development Trust, overseeing its portfolio of international research and supporting research activity across the organisation. Anna spent her early career teaching in Russia, Southern Europe and the Caribbean and has worked as an educational researcher since the early 2000’s. She holds an MA in Education and Development Studies and a PhD in primary education quality. Alison Croft is a researcher working in the field of education, disability and development and was previously a lecturer at the Centre for International Education, University of Sussex. She has worked in many countries, including as a regional special/inclusive education adviser in the Republic of Namibia and as a support teacher for children with disabilities in mainstream classes in England. Acknowledgements This study could not have been completed without the support of: • The 21 UNICEF country offices within Eastern and Southern Africa; • UNICEF Comoros, UNICEF Madagascar and UNICEF Rwanda Country Offices for the in-depth country studies; • UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office, Research, Communication, and Programme Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation sections; • UNICEF Headquarters, Disability Section, and Programme Division Education; • Lamait Said Abdallah, Jacqui Mattingly, Lila Ratsifandrihamanana and Patrick Suubi, who assisted with the data collection for the country studies; • Alex Elwick, Tim Goundry and Peter Grimes, for their contribution to the development of the contextual background, tools and data collection; • Rasheeda Azam, Marta Hlouskova, Susy Ndurahutse and Andrew Vivien, of the Education Development Trust, International Development Team, for logistical support. 5 EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA REGIONAL STUDY ON THE FULFILMENT OF THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES List of abbreviations ADA Africa Disability Alliance MoE Ministry of Education B.Ed. Bachelor of Education NADAWO Namibian Association of Differently Abled Women BoLSA Bureau of Labour and Social Affairs (Ethiopia) NFPDN National Federation of People with Disabilities in Namibia CBR Community-Based Rehabilitation NGO Non-governmental Organisation CLaSH Association for Children with Language, Speech PWD Persons with Disabilities and Hearing Impairments (Namibia) RAPID Rehabilitation and Prevention Initiative against CRC UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Disability (Ethiopia) CRPD UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities SADC Southern African Development Community CSO Civil Society Organisation SAFOD Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled DANIDA Danish International Development Agency SDGs Sustainable Development Goals DFID UK Department for International Development SEN Special Educational Needs DPI Disabled People’s International SIDA Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency DPO Disabled People’s Organisation SNE Special Needs Education EAC East African Community UNEB Uganda National Examinations Board EEE Education, Equality and Empowerment UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund EMIS Education Management Information System UNISE Uganda National Institute of Special Education ENAB Ethiopian National Association of the Blind USAID US Agency for International Development ENAPH Ethiopian National Association of the Physically VSO Voluntary Service Overseas Handicapped WASH Water, Sanitation and Hygiene ESARO Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office WHO World Health Organization FAPED Federation of Organisations of Disabled People in Angola ICF International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health ICF-CY International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth INGO International Non-governmental Organisation LSA Learning Support Assistant 6 EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA REGIONAL STUDY ON THE FULFILMENT OF THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES Foreword Education is a right that belongs to all children – including children with disabilities. A child’s development is rooted in education as it impacts the entire life course. Access to quality education has immense potential to enhance social and economic security and reduce poverty. Indeed, it ensures confidence and literacy, and full participation in society. As well as being a right in itself, a child’s enrolment in school is protective against harm, including child marriage, child labour and trafficking for exploitation. These transformative aspects are equally crucial for children with disabilities. Yet, in Leila Gharagozloo-Pakkala sub-Saharan Africa children with disabilities are disproportionately affected by a lack of access to education. While worldwide 93 million children (5 per cent) aged 14 or younger live with a moderate or severe disability of some kind, in sub-Saharan Africa a higher percentage of children (6.4 per cent) have a disability. Meanwhile, as many as one third of the 58 million children who are out of school globally are children with disabilities, and more than half of these live in sub-Saharan Africa. So the figures are clear: children with disabilities are far less likely to access quality education compared to their peers. UNICEF is working with partners to identify and address the root causes of inequality for all children, particularly for children with disabilities who are among the most marginalised and excluded groups. This is rooted in the belief that the denial of schooling for many children with disabilities must be challenged and addressed to prevent disparities, encourage social inclusion and widen economic opportunities. But, we have a challenge. Children with disabilities who are out of school are not only being deprived of their right to education, but are also denied multiple other rights including freedom from discrimination, the right to participation, protection from violence and abuse, and the right to live a full and decent life with dignity and independence, and to play an active part in the community. This regional study gives us a glimpse of the situation of children with disabilities in Eastern and Southern Africa, and their right to education. It is encouraging to see that a number of policies and programmes designed to support education for children with disabilities exist in many of the 21 countries surveyed. Political will is evident and clear, with every country in the region having ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The vast majority (16 countries) have also ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons