Zimbabwe: Disabled Children Excluded From Education

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Education is a fundamental human right which every child is entitled to regardless of their condition. However, the overwhelming majority of disabled children in Africa are being denied access to it.

According to the 2011 World Report on Disability, globally there are between 93 and 150 million children with disabilities under the age of 14. In Africa, 6,4% of the children in this age range have moderate to severe disabilities while fewer than 10% are attending school.

Children with disabilities constantly face barriers to the enjoyment of their civil liberties with those living in rural communities being the hardest hit.

Linda Mudawarima (14) is a deaf and dumb girl doing Grade 7 at Mufudziwakanaka Primary School in Sadza, Mashonaland East province. She has dusted off societal stigmatisation that would have kept her bed-ridden in dejection as most people with similar conditions would do.

Societal stigmatisation brings up feelings of isolation, anxiety, doubt, confusion, humiliation, loneliness, and sadness, among many other painful emotions.

To Mudawarima, disability can never be the end of the world, thanks to the support she is getting from the Alfred Dondo Foundation (ADF), a charity organisation taking care of 65 under-priviledged children in Chikomba and Sadza districts in Mashonaland East province.

ADF is a corporate social responsibility arm of Impala Car Rental.

"I want to do something better in life and look after my parents," Mudawarima said in an interview with the aid of her mother.

"I would like to thank the foundation for the support. They are paying my school fees, buying food and stationery for me. I promise I will put their resources to good use."

Her mother said her daughter was well-disciplined and would do very well in school if she gets special needs education.

"We are happy with the support Linda is getting, but I think she can do well if she gets special needs education. She needs a school that caters for her condition," she said.

Mudawarima's condition is aggravated by her family background. Her parents are not employed and rely on part-time menial jobs which are hard to come by.

"We have no jobs and live from hand to mouth. Sometimes we go for days without food," her mother said.

Acting deputy headmaster at Mufudziwakanaka Primary School Victor Mandoga said Mudawarima's situation was more complex because the school does not cater for pupils with special needs.

"We do not have qualified personnel for special education which makes life a little bit difficult for pupils with special conditions. Linda has the potential to do better, but she needs that special needs education which we do not offer at the school," he said.

However, Mandoga said he has noticed some improvement in Mudawarima since she got assistance from ADF.

"We now see her at school every day and this has also a significant improvement in her school work," Mandoga said.

A survey carried by The Standard Style in rural schools, particularly in Mashonaland East province revealed that most learning institutions lacked key materials and resources which would make the inclusion of disabled children easier.

There is dearth of training and skills among teachers which hinder the inclusion of disabled children in the teaching and learning process.

"Apart from lack of qualified personnel for special needs education, our school does not have adequate resources to cater for children with disability," said Mufudziwakanaka Secondary School head Tichaona Mutukumira.

There are three pupils with impairments at Mufudziwakanaka Secondary School and Mutukumira believes a lot needs to be done to address their situation with regards to attainment of quality education.

"The first step was done by the Alfred Dondo Foundation that is paying for their fees and levies as well as buying stationery and food. However, when it comes to education they are getting a raw deal because we don't have the resources," he said.

Seventeen-year-old Tariro Gonzo, a Form 3 pupil at Chisangano Secondary School in the area, feels discriminated against in school because of her condition.

What started as a small lump on her left side of the neck when she was two months old has developed into a big cyst that is threatening her hearing in the affected ear.

"I feel isolated at school and in most cases, I am 'left out' on everything at school," she said.

"I am happy that I am able to attend school regularly because Alfred Dondo Foundation is paying for my school fees, stationery and uniforms as well as providing food," she said.

"However, at school I cannot concentrate on my studies because my peers call me all sorts of names. I am discriminated because of my condition."

Tariro said her parents have tried to seek medical help to no avail.

"My parents have taken me to doctors and we have been referred to specialists, but they can't afford," she said.

Tariro hopes to become a teacher when she completes her studies.

"I want to become a teacher and I can only achieve this dream when I get medical help," she said.

She said her condition was causing chronic headache.

"Sometimes I fail to attend lessons because of severe headache. The cyst is developing and almost affecting my hearing as well," she said.

ADF coordinator for Sadza, Marry Magombedze confirmed that children with impairments were finding it difficult to access education.

"As the case with Tariro, she is well-disciplined, but her condition is affecting her studies. I have heard reports that she is being ridiculed and called all sorts of names because of her condition," she said.

Magombedze said the attitudes of teachers and students presented the greatest barrier to children with disability's inclusion.

"Yes, it is rampant in schools where you will find children with disability discriminated and isolated. There is a need to improve resources in schools to incorporate pupils with disabilities," she said.

Research conducted in most countries in southern Africa suggests that the exclusion of children with disabilities from education has an adverse economic impact at the family, community and country level.

Magombedze believes educating children with disability was linked to better life.

"When children with disabilities are unable to go to school, there is also an added economic burden on the household," she said.

According to Impala Car Rental events and projects manager Tracy Ngoma, children and adolescents with disabilities have the right to education.

"As part of our corporate social responsibility, we believe that every child regardless of their condition have a right to education," she said.

"AFD has five children with visual impairment under its wings who are getting special education at primary school.

Three are at Hugo Primary School of the Blind while two are at Daramombe Primary School," said

Ngoma said most rural schools have no resources for inclusive education.

"If resources were permitting, we would have taken most of these children to special schools. We have children with different impairments, ranging from those that are dumb and deaf to those with mental challenges that we are taking care of," she said.