Education for all: Advocating for Inclusive Education Rights for Children with Deafness or Hearing Impairment

Young disability inclusion advocate and law student, Natalia Marovatsanga, has called for the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in promoting inclusive access to education for students and people with disabilities in the country.

After being exposed to unhu / ubuntu ideology “I am because you are”, Natalia notes that she was, "pushed myself into thinking of my social responsibility towards my society and how I can contribute to the good and exclude my self from the bad. This has opened my eyes to how the education system is not inclusive nor does it provide quality education to minority groups in my society particularly the disabled." 

In terms of the disabled persons act of Zimbabwe, section 2, a disabled person is a person with physical, mental or sensory disability, which gives rise to physical, cultural or social barriers inhibiting him from participation at an equal level with other members of society in activities, undertakings.

Her, "main focus is the one with impairment commonly known as deafness. In terms of disability, we can categorise it to three namely impairment, handicap and disability.At impairment level, a person loses a body part, the loss of a physical body part becomes impairment and if that handicapped person fails to get a wheel chair that can compensate loss of body part and loss of function then the person becomes disabled." said Natalia.

"In the legal framework of this country, section 6,11,19,22,27,75,81 and 86.Zimbabwe is also obligated to align its laws and policies to the international treaties it is a part of UN Convention on the Rights and Persons with Disabilities and African Charter on the Rights for persons with disabilities I will draw light to section 86 that provides that there… “ must be within the limits of the resources available to them , assist persons with physical or mental disabilities to achieve their full potential and to minimise the disadvantages suffered by them” it is because of this section I find myself writing about the lack of enforcement of education rights in our society despites policies and laws providing for this right , the conditionality of resources availability gives the state an excuse in the event of failure. Education is a right that should be afforded to every child it’s not optional. This then foster exclusion through systematically blockage which makes it hard for the excluded individuals to access resources, opportunities and rights." said Natalia

Speaking to the FinTech Review.Africa, Natalia, said, "I have had the privilege of attending an inclusive primary school located in Honde Valley called Makwasa primary school. It is due to learning and interacting with fellow deaf age mates that I discovered the inequality they face that start at a very young age. There is vast difference in terms of resource distribution mostly disabled individuals are only acknowledged in schools when it comes to donor attraction or donor funded initiatives and this is the only way inclusive schools are getting teaching materials." 

To make it worse high school teachers don’t have the skill to sign therefore meaning that children can’t go to schools locally so they either drop out due to financial constraints or go to the few high schools in different towns. All this leads to vulnerability in the sense that they become unemployable for they have not the skills needed in the 21st century nor are private and state institutions capable to provide the skills due to the fact that service providers can’t communicate in sign language nor do our curriculum cater to impairment and how teaching methods should be adaptive to ensure effective learning.

She observed that, "When it comes to education it doesn’t end in classrooms rather it extends to the school grounds. In the sport arena a lot of deaf children are excluded from participation which then stands in their full establishment of potential. The right to education for the hearing impaired is not only restricted by the education system but also negligence of the parents and private parties. Hearing aids are so expensive which then makes them inaccessible. Parents intentionally choose to not enrol their children due to the need for donor assistance forgetting that as a parent it your responsibility to cater to your children’s needs. In terms of private parties that involved in the provision of specialised education I do believe that some of the pricing is way too expensive. Children with hearing, visual and intellectual impairments are more likely never to attend school compared to children with physical impairments." 

"For a person to be capable one should be exposed to good quality education, whilst we have strong policies that align with the international policies with regard to human rights , the lack of teachers training about inclusive education poses as a threat to inclusivity as they are not equipped to establish inclusive learning environments and delivering appropriate support if they have limited fundamental understanding and capacity required to accommodate the different requirements of learners with hearing impairment. This then leads to learners’ inability to fully realize their potential both academically and personally. Also, huge classes prevent several educators from properly implementing inclusive education ideas," she added. 

In Zimbabwe, "Many educational institutions lack facilities and learning resources that will respond to the conditions of students with impairment. Examples of barriers include non-inclusive sports program and a lack of adaptive equipment such as translators for sign language and screen readers. There is also the need to push for sign language and make it a compulsory language to be learnt in schools." said Natalia.

"It takes a village to raise a child therefore the lack of communication, understanding or support from families can hinder effective implementation. Parents are mostly not comfortable to send their children to school due to fear and lack of understanding of their children. In instances where a child has speech and hearing impairment they are viewed as being stupid and lacking of an IQ and parents find it a waste of time and resources to send them to school for they don’t see it as the right investment. the donor dependency syndrome has also hindered support from communities and parents in the sense that they feel like it is the responsibility of the donor to send children and cater for their basic needs," notes the young law student.

The vivacious law student, said that "to address the lack of inclusive and access to the right of education for deaf children, there is need for implementation of the already existing policies and laws and the need for continuity of these policy implementation it should not be seasonal or trendy as in it is only given focus when it something being discussed on online platforms and then pushed out at certain stages .There must be redirection towards improving the quality of teaching methods with a particular focus on systematically developing teachers skills and knowledge given that most educators claim to be only marginally equipped to instruct children with special needs it is important that teachers get specialized training this will enable them to gain the skills and knowledge to create a supportive and inclusive learning environment.  This will further lead to individual needs identification, adaptive and flexible teaching methods and implement effective strategies inside the classroom."

Also, parental support and involvement are important in the successful implementation of inclusive education it fosters collaboration between educators and parents thereby creating a sense of responsibility.  Engaging parents provide invaluable insights into their child’s strengths, challenges and individualized needs thereby enabling parents and educators to tailor instruction and support accordingly. It then becomes more achievable to implement inclusive education if parents are knowledgeable about the implications of inclusive education on the interpersonal, psychological and emotional growth of students with disabilities.

It is time we level the playground to ensure that minorities in our society are self-reliant and live a meaningful life that is reflective of their potential. It is the responsibility of service providers to ensure basic needs and rights of hearing impaired or any other disability are upheld.