Inclusive Education
Ensuring every child including those living with disabilities can access quality education
Challenge
Children with disabilities are among the most disadvantaged when it comes to accessing quality education because they are often overlooked in responses for children who are out-of-school and in school.
According to research, one child in every five aged six to 24 years with a disability has never attended school and those who are in school are often stigmatized and face discrimination.
An assessment conducted in five districts showed that awareness raising, screening and teacher training are key activities needed to increase the enrollment of children with special needs and keep them engaged and learning in class.
Other factors such as long distances from school, lack of or limited infrastructure, unfavorable learning environments lead to high rates of erratic attendance, long absenteeism and dropping out of children with disabilities.
Solution
While UNICEF's overall goal for education is to ensure that every girl and boy has access to quality education, it also stresses on additional focus on children with disabilities and the need to implement interventions that help them overcome the barriers to receiving complete basic education.
To achieve this, UNICEF supported the development and implementation of the Inclusive Education policy with the aim of strengthening the capacity of the Ghana Education Service to equip regional assessment centers with assistive devices such as hearing aids, glasses, wheel chairs, crutches and basic screening materials.
UNICEF has also supported training and capacity building of teachers to develop the skill of identifying children with disabilities and keeping them engaged so they can learn while in school.