MPs lay emphasis on inclusive education

DODOMA: THE government has been implored to enhance inclusive education by increasing the enrollment of people without disabilities in colleges for persons with disabilities.

During the questions and answers session yesterday, Special Seats lawmaker, Mariam Kisangi (CCM) underlined the importance of students without disabilities and those with disabilities supporting each other, as the country still has a shortage of trained inclusive education experts.

In her basic question to the Prime Minister’s Office, the legislator sought the government’s plan to increase the enrollment of people in disabled colleges, arguing that the teacher-student ratio in schools and colleges for persons with disability was low.

She said it was important the government took deliberate measures to enroll more students without disabilities in schools and colleges that offer inclusive education so that persons with disabilities can learn from their compatriots.

Responding, the Deputy Minister for Community Development, Gender, Women and Special Groups, Ms Mwanaidi Ali Khamis, said the government cares about persons with disabilities and has come up with the National Strategy for Inclusive Education, 2021- 2026.

The deputy minister insisted that the strategy seeks to ensure that all children, youth and adults in Tanzania have equitable access to quality education in inclusive settings, and that the government has been providing necessary equipment and infrastructure as part of the implementation of the strategy.

She said the government is also implementing the strategic plan of the Prime Minister’s Office, Youth, Employment and People with Disabilities Strategic Plan 2023/24- 2025/26, which among others stresses the education and skills under inclusive settings in learning institutions.

Ms Khamis said under the strategic plan, the government planned to enroll 2,000 students in colleges for people with disabilities during the 2023/24 financial year, of whom 400, about 20 per cent, were persons without disabilities.

“Also, in the 2024/2025 year, the government has planned to enroll 1500 students in its colleges for persons with disabilities, including 500 persons without disabilities, which is equivalent to 30 per cent of the enrollment,” she informed the House.

Ms Kisangi commended President Samia Suluhu Hassan for renovating and supplying equipment to primary schools for persons with disabilities in Dar es Salaam, Mwanza and Tanga regions, which had been in poor condition.

In a supplementary question, Ritta Kabatti (Special Seats, CCM) highlighted that the Iringa region has a significant number of students with disabilities who successfully graduate from schools but face challenges in accessing information and guidance on pursuing higher education.

She urged the government to provide support to these students.

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Inclusive education is a system of education in which all learners are enrolled, actively participate and achieve in regular educational settings and other educational programmes regardless of their diverse backgrounds and abilities, without discrimination, through minimisation of barriers and maximisation of resources.

Some of the notable benefits of inclusive education, as highlighted in the national strategy for inclusive education, include the realisation of a basic human right of nondiscrimination, integrating beneficiaries especially those with disabilities in community life, and provide opportunity for all learners to establish relationship with peers, and foster collaborative work among diverse individuals.

Inclusive education is also fundamental in imparting a sense of belongings and acceptance of differences.

According to the strategy, inclusive educational settings play a crucial role in offering varied opportunities for all learners to grow socially and academically and for encouraging educators to design curricula and provide instruction, materials, and assessments that meet the needs of the widest range of learners, and particularly the individual needs of learners with special educational needs (LSEN).