SOUTHERN AFRICA INCLUSIVE EDUCATION STRATEGY FOR LEARNERS WITH DISABILITIES (SAIES) 23rd November 2016 Coastland Hotel - Durban

Introduction The 2012 Ezulwini Call to Action Statement that called for the development of a SADC Inclusive Education Strategy, Children with disabilities are children first and foremost, and are entitled to the same rights in all aspects of their lives as other children. The need to eliminate discrimination and ensure genuine inclusion, their involvement in decisions that affect their lives, elimination of all barriers and ensure equal opportunities and access to education and lifelong learning, and promote the respect and recognition of their contribution.

Development of the Strategy Funded by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa and Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) Coordinated by the Africa Disability Alliance (former Secretariat of the African Decade of Persons with Disabilities) in collaboration with MIET Africa and Southern Africa Association for Learning and Educational Difficulties, Consultative process undertaken

Situation of Learners with disabilities – SADC Region The study on Access to Education by Children with disabilities (SADPD, 2012) and information gathered from consultative meetings show limited access to quality education, within an inclusive education system, for learners with disabilities. The SADPD 2012 research identified a number of challenges that are contributing to the limited access to education by learners with disabilities in the region:

Enabling legislation and policies - Many SADC member states acknowledge the exclusion of learners with disabilities from the education system and are showing some commitment to address this exclusion, Unreliable and unavailable data on children with disabilities - there is unreliable and in some instances no data on the prevalence of disability among children, enrolment figures of learners with disabilities in public and private education institutions, the learners’ learning progress, their support needs and resource availability to address the learner’s support needs. In countries where some data on learners with disability is available, the data is unreliable.

Lack of awareness and negative attitude toward disability - Lack of awareness and ignorance with regards to capabilities of learners with disabilities as well negative attitudes towards disability reportedly contributes to the exclusion of learners with disabilities from the education system. Limited human capacity to support the development and implementation of an inclusive education system - Limited human capacity with necessary knowledge and skills at all level of the education system

Inaccessible and inflexible curricular - many learners with disabilities, especially those with intellectual disability, find it difficult to engage with the curricula because of its academic focus, Inadequate financial resources - It is recognised that the region faces a challenge of resource limitation. Inadequate resources have a negative impact on education service delivery in general and more specifically programmes that targets marginalized groups.

Good practices that are not put to scale and shared - The SADPD 2012 research report identified a number of innovative interventions that have succeeded in enabling access to education and quality participation of learners with disabilities in education. However, many of these initiatives remain on the margins and they are not taken up by governments and integrated into their education systems.

VISION The right to quality education for learners with disabilities in the SADC Member States is fully realized enabling them to gain knowledge, skills and values that will equip them to actively participate in their countries’ economic and social developmental activities.

PURPOSE This strategy is intended to make issues pertaining access to inclusive quality education for learners with disabilities an integral part of all SADC member States’ laws, policies and programmes

GUIDING PRINCIPLES Human rights and social justice – affirms that people with disabilities are entitled to the constitutional rights of Human Rights, Social Justice and Equity. Participation – will ensure learners with disabilities actively participate in quality education. Accessibility - shall improve access and equity (physical and attitudinal) to quality education for learners with disability. Holistic Mainstreaming – policies, strategies and programmes will promote holistic and comprehensive service provision for learners with disabilities.

Gender sensitivity – policies, strategies and programs on education shall promote gender sensitivity. Organisational culture and ethos that promotes inclusion – will ensure that all educational institutions adopt an organisational culture and ethos based upon positive attitudes towards welcoming, celebrating and positive utilisation of diversity. Sustainability – shall strive to promote and engage in sustainable and quality educational interventions that will enable access to quality education for learners with disabilities.

REGIONAL STRATEGIC PRIORITIES Development and harmonizing of policies and programmes that will enhance access to quality education for learners with disabilities Capacity development and strengthening for the implementation of a comprehensive inclusive education system that will benefit learners with disabilities Scaling up and sharing of regional and national good practices.

Promoting and strengthening of evidence based programme planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation Mobilisation and allocation of adequate resources by SADC member states and partners. Monitoring and evaluation of implementation of inclusive education system with including learners with disabilities,

CONCLUSION Establishment of the Regional Inclusive Education Development Fund which will fund mainly regional related activities. Establishment of a Partners’ Forum to provide strategic guidance, technical support and oversight to ensure that the objectives of the SAIES are achieved, Regional stakeholders such as the Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD), MIET, and Africa Disability Alliance (ADA) will be assigned specific roles in areas such as implementation, monitoring, evaluation, resource mobilisation, knowledge management, data/statistical analysis and promotional work.

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