The Sunday Mail
Dr Christine Peta
Children with disabilities confront difficulties in accessing education due to a mythical belief that education is an unnecessary burden for them.
Some parents and guardians hold the belief that a disabled child will never be a breadwinner, hence there is no need to invest in his or her education.
For families that value education, identifying an appropriate learning centre which caters for the special needs of children with disabilities, and enrolling the children in such schools may be difficult.
Some parents may be reluctant to send their children with disabilities to boarding schools, particularly special schools that are far away from home, in cases where there are no appropriate schools nearby.
Whichever way, denying children with disabilities access to education is a serious violation of their human rights. Research indicates that the negative impact of such a violation of the rights of children with disabilities perpetuates into later years, with life-time consequences such as increased poverty and vulnerability to sexual and emotional abuse.
Compared to their non-disabled counterparts, children with disabilities are usually excluded from educational services and they are more vulnerable to violence, abuse and exploitation (Unesco, 2011), a scenario which is in direct contradiction with various treaties which seek to secure the rights of children with disabilities.
Treaties that pay attention to the realisation of the rights of children with disabilities include the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the first human rights legal instrument that made an explicit reference to disability (Article 2 on non-discrimination) and a separate Article (23) solely devoted to the rights and needs of children with disabilities.
The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990) contains articles on the rights of children with disabilities. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008) gives direction of ways through which discrimination can be overcome and how the right to full participation of children with disabilities can be recognised in schools, homes and communities, health care services, recreational activities and in all other aspects of life (Unicef, 2011).
High-quality inclusion in education can enable children with disabilities to benefit in both short-term and long-term ways, with some of the benefits manifesting later on in life.
Furthermore, children who gain access to educational settings from an early age experience immense growth, acquire abilities, skills and knowledge in numerous overlapping spheres — physical, emotional and social spheres as well as self-help which includes aspects such as communication and language.
It therefore follows that denying children with disabilities access to education is tantamount to thwarting their potential to attain full growth.
In his 2013 State of the Union speech, former President of the United States Barack Obama stated that early childhood education is likely to reduce among other things, teenage pregnancies and in addition “ students grow up more likely to graduate high school, hold a job, and form more stable families of their own”.
The occurrence of unwanted pregnancies adds a layer of difficulties for women with disabilities in their quest to shoulder their responsibilities of motherhood in a context where their livelihood options are limited by lower educational opportunities that often begin in early childhood.
Some disabled girls and women may be left with not much of a choice but to become commercial sex workers, a livelihood option which does not demand educational qualifications but which primarily demands their feminine body parts and some social skills.
That is not to say that the sex work industry is not profitable or that it does not employ millions of people across the world, but it is to say that the livelihood options of girls and women with disabilities may be limited by their lack of education.
Measures that can be adopted to try and lessen the negative impact of a lack of education, which includes vulnerability to sexual abuse, STI and HIV infection are far more costly than the provision of timely education which transcends into primary and secondary education and beyond.
Some persons who are non-disabled and educated are also vulnerable to sexual abuse, STI and HIV infection, but the vulnerability of girls and women with disabilities may be worsened by the intersection of both disability and a lack of education.
It is undisputable that Zimbabwe’s attitude towards education is that of valuing high quality standards of education. The Medium-Term Strategic Plan, 2011-2015, enhances the professional status of teachers by setting expected standards and providing a diversity of opportunities for professional development (Government of Zimbabwe, 2011).
In turn, every child has a right to access and participate in educational activities. There is therefore need for families to work together with educators to ensure the inclusion of children with disabilities in educational programs from a very early age.
However, inclusion calls for not just access to the same environment by disabled and non-disabled children, but also to meaningful participation of children with disabilities. Participation is more than a cosmetic presence of a child with disability in a classroom, but the child must be able to actively participate in a scenario where their contribution and participation is not only valued by others involved, but also by him or herself. Education creates an avenue through which people can escape vulnerability to abuse and poverty (Unesco, 2007).
Way forward
Parents/guardians of children with disabilities should facilitate the enrolment of such children in appropriate schools along with other children of their ages. Collaboration and communication between families and educators can go a long way in ensuring high quality education for children with disabilities from an early age.
Both physical and attitudinal barriers ought to be dealt with, within contexts that offer different and multiple ways of promoting learning and development, so as to ensure effective participation of children with disabilities. Participation is the engine of development, hence efforts should be made to create a sense of belonging for all children, including children with disabilities.
Families and communities in both rural and urban areas need to realise the need for including children with disabilities in educational programmes at appropriate times. The disability of a child does not mean that he or she should start school later than his or her non-disabled counterparts.
Stories have been told, particularly in rural areas, of children who are enrolled to start school at the age of 14, alongside a mistaken belief that they should start school later because they are disabled. Such children struggle to fit into a mainstream class of grade one learners who are five or six years old, and they end up quitting school, to their detriment.
Depending on the severity of the impairment, instead of waiting until a child with disability is a teen, the child should be enrolled in school at the same age as non-disabled children, who usually enter early childhood education formal settings at the age of three and primary school at the age of five.
In any case, the Government has directed two years of early childhood education plus an additional two years that are embedded in grades one and two (the four years which are known as infant school).
However, whilst there is growing international interest in the early learning of children, the topic in relation to children with disabilities remains under-researched within the Global South. I therefore call upon interdisciplinary scholars to undertake further research on this valuable but under-researched topic, particularly within African contexts.
Dr Christine Peta is a public healthcare practitioner who, among other qualifications, holds a PhD in Disability Studies. Be part of the international debate on how best to nurture a society which is more accessible, supportive and inclusive of disabled people. Partner with Disability Centre for Africa (DCFA) on [email protected]
