CNRU held a virtual consultation workshop to enhance inclusive education in Rwanda

By Elias Hakizimana.

Rwanda National Commission for UNESCO (CNRU) in partnership with the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) and UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Partnership to Promote the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) held a virtual Consultation Workshop for developed policy and guidelines for Inclusive education and access to information for Persons with Disabilities in Rwanda.

This virtual ceremony took place on last week on March 31, 2022 with the main goal to sensitize stakeholders and create awareness on developed policies/guidelines for inclusive education and access to information for Persons with Disabilities in Rwanda

The main theme of the event was: ‘’Promoting Inclusive Education through Accessible Digital Learning Materials’’

It has been observed through this meeting that teachers need enhanced capacity development for sustainable inclusive education in Rwanda as its establishing policy has been put in place to ensure that all children and youth, including those with disabilities, have access to equitable, inclusive, and quality education.

“There is still insufficient number of teachers for needed special education. There is a need for Sustainable teachers’ trainings. Capacity development is needed to ensure inclusive child friendly approaches,” said Mary Kobusingye, Special Needs Education Expert at the Ministry of Education.

 “Teachers have not enough skills to identify complicities of some disabilities, so more trainings are needed to help tackle that challenge. We need to know firstly what a child is able to do and get to know how to help that particular child with appropriate teaching methods,” added Kobusingye.

Nicodeme Hakizimana, Executive Director of the Organization for the Integration and Promotion of People with Albinism (OIPPA) Rwanda highlighted that some teachers still think that albinism in not a disability and cannot help the students with that problem.

“Some teachers don’t know that albinism is a disability. They just take it as a skin color. So, if teachers are not aware, it is very difficult for them to help the students”. Hakizimana said, calling for effective awareness to help children with albinism.

The Government of Rwanda ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in 2008. Since then, several legislative and programmatic initiatives designed to empower and support persons with disabilities have been undertaken. Besides the provisions in the constitution and the National copyright law, Rwanda developed the National Policy of Persons with Disabilities to address a number of challenges that hinder the full inclusion of PWDs across all sectors.

“UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa is undertaking to support the National sensitizations and advocacy activities for developed policy/guidelines for inclusive education and access to information for Persons with Disabilities under the framework of the Accessible Digital Textbooks (ADT) project. The project focuses on promoting inclusive education through accessible digital textbooks, which is funded by the UN Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD).” Said Ir. Dominique Mvunabandi, Director of Science and Technology Unity in Rwanda National Commission for UNESCO (CNRU).

The meeting results and recommendations will increase awareness and understanding of the provisions in the Constitution and National copyright law which support inclusive education and access to information for Persons with Disabilities in Rwanda through discussions and knowledge sharing sessions. It will also help stakeholders to draft a mapping report highlighting key challenges experienced in the implementation of developed policies supporting inclusive education in Rwanda so that concerned authorities can rely on that to find sustainable solutions.

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