As part of efforts to harmonise policies that ensure inclusive education, the Ministry of Education (Mineduc) is set to revamp the education policy to cater for children with disabilities.

The announcement was made in Kigali at a validation workshop aimed at updating stakeholders about the resolution on inclusive education policy passed by the cabinet in 2007. It attracted partners in education including disabled people bodies.

According to Erasme Rwanamiza, the in charge of planning for inclusive education at the ministry, the existing policy was not bad but there are so many things that need improvement to meet the needs of disabled children’s education.

"For instance, the 2007 statement was not clarifying needs for public buildings, especially schools to conform to disabled persons’ needs, thus this workshop will expose issues to be modified and the ones to be added,” he added.

The plans 

Some of the plans include providing inclusive education training to teachers in the country effective this year, according to Dr Evariste Karangwa, the founder of Faculty of Special Education at Kigali Institute of Education (KIE) and chairperson, National Task Force for the Development of Inclusive Education (NTFDIE).

"We will start a school of inclusive education and rehabilitation in KIE, with seven programmes designed to give teachers’ inclusive education knowledge,” he said.

The project implementation has been allocated Rwf400m by Mineduc. Karangwa noted that the school will enhance training for teachers nationwide.

The move seeks to improve disabled education policy in order to meet inclusive education, which will require disabled persons to have their specific schools.

He was responding to a query by Jean Pierre Nteziryayo, the head teacher of Gatara School of the Blind in Rwamagana District, who said that the lack of qualified teachers with special needs training a another major challenge that many schools faced.

Atleast 10 per cent of young people in Rwanda have disabilities, according to an Education ministry report. A few attend their local mainstream school, though most go to special schools and centres in urban areas, too far for most Rwandans.