BENEFITS OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

According to O. S Kuzmina (2015), holds that inclusion in education is establishing a learning

process that enables leaners with healthy ailments study alongside their healthy counterparts.
Inclusion therefore, involves a transformation in content, instructional styles, and strategies with
an aim of giving leaners with different health and mental capacities an enabling and fair learning
environment (Hehir, T., Grindal, T., Freeman, B., Lamoreau, R., Borquaye, Y., & Burke, S.,
2016). Students with disabilities receive both academic and social benefits because of inclusive
education, as they perform highly in subjects such as math and languages (Hehir, et al. 2016). It
is also true that when students with disabilities are enrolled in inclusive schools, they perform
better than their segregated counterparts do (Lamoreau, R., Borquaye, Y., & Burke, S., 2016).
Inclusion also goes a long way in developing students both socially and emotionally, as they get
an opportunity to form meaningful relationships and develop their psychological capacity
(Bossaert, Boer, Frostad, Pijl, & Petry, 2015) & (Schwab, 2015). In conclusion, inclusion also
has great benefits for non-disabled students that include, acceptance of human differences,
growth of tolerance of others, elevation of their self-esteem, development of good moral
standards as well as formation of meaningful solid peer friend ships (Staub & Peck, 1995)..
References

(http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/CRPD/GC/RighttoEducation/CRPD-C-GC-4.doc).
Hehir, T., Grindal, T., Freeman, B., Lamoreau, R., Borquaye, Y., & Burke, S. (2016). A
Summary of the Evidence on Inclusive Education. Abt Associates.
Zamiralova, T. A., Molchanov, K. V., Karpunina, A. V., Kvitkovskaya, A. A., Akhtyan, A. G.,
& Bereza, N. A. (2019). On the Question of Inclusive Education in Higher School: Problems and
Prospects. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 8(2), 261-266.
 EVOLUTION OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN UGANDA

People in Uganda considered people with disabilities sick, unable and disadvantaged. No special
attention was paid to them and in fact, even parents never sent such children to schools. Upon the
request of Sir. Andrew Cohen, then a colonial agent, in 1955, the Little Sisters of St. Francis
congregation established the St. Francis School for the blind. This was the first school in Uganda
for people with disabilities. By 1969, Uganda had at least six schools for people with disabilities.
Government support for special needs education developed at a very slow rate, where religious
and voluntary organization were taking a leading role in aiding education for special needs both
morally and financially. It was not until 1983, that the ministry of education established a
department for special education. Until 1991, teachers in special needs schools taught without
any training and in the same year a 1991 Act of Parliament mandated the Uganda National
Institute of Special Education , UNISE, to train special needs education teachers (Mattingly and
Mwesigwa). Because Uganda is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948), the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the child and the United Nations Convention on
the right of Persons with Disabilities (2008) mandated the Uganda government to commit and
observe the rights of all individuals. Articles 21, 32 and 34 in the 1995 constitution of the
Republic of Uganda provided for the recognition of people with disabilities and their rights to
education. The Disability Act of 2006 made this clearer. The 1995 Constitution through articles,
21, 32 and 34, also provided for recognition of people with disabilities and the right to education.
The Disability Act of 2006 made an even stronger case for inclusion of children with disabilities
in the education system. Whereas a lot is lacking to transform inclusive education in Uganda,
there is no slight doubt that the government together with voluntary and involuntary
organizations and associations have done and are doing whatever it requires to realize a total
transformation of the education sector towards better inclusive education standards and services.
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN UGANDA

To a large extent, the education system currently in my country does not support inclusive
education. My argument is based on the following reasons;

Inadequacy and lack of inclusive education courses during teacher training in higher institutions
of learning. It is crystal clear that the element of handling leaners with disabilities is not
emphasized when training undergraduate prospective student teachers. I personally do not
remember any course unit during my bachelors degree studies focusing on inclusive education.
We were taught and training as if all students we were going to meet in the field are able and
devoid of physical and mental disabilities. Irrespective of the fact that we were taught to consider
individual differences while teaching, it was based on inclusive education values and
mechanisms. 

Absence of sync between most learning facilities and inclusive education. A few schools are
constructed in such a way that allows for inclusive education. Whereas my country has
physically disabled students many school facilities don't consider this reality. If lessons are to be
run in the third or fourth flow, physically abled students will have to carry the disabled ones to
classrooms, as most buildings are constructed with only stairs and not slanting pathways for the
disabled. This implies that implementation of inclusive education considerably challenging.

A distance between inclusive education and national educational policies. As it stands, leaners
with disabilities in Uganda, should attend separate schools. Therefore teachers in schools that are
not designed for learners with disabilities, know next to nothing about handling such leaners. 
Special needs learners, in such schools require special attention, and some affirmative policies. A
question of how lame students access a toilet for example and which type of toilet it should be is
not of any importance to school administrators. Therefore students with disabilities in most
public schools go through extreme challenging conditions.

In my opinion, the following measures should be taken by both National, Regional and Local
stake holders to enhance inclusive education.

Teacher trainees as well as school proprietors should take inclusive education courses. Such
training should be a pre-requisite for graduation and establishment of a school. In so doing
therefore, a school private or public should not be allowed to run unless its staff are well trained
in inclusive education planning and management. Training these immediate policy implementers
would go a long way in streamlining inclusive education.

Improvement of school and institutional facilities. Educational facilities and the entire school
plant should reflect a readiness  for learners with different levels of mental and physical ability.
Before licensing a school therefore, the ministry of education has to ensure that inclusive
education need and requirements are catered for in terms of physical facilities and staffing. This
would enable all children to attain education in the nearest school in their neighborhood.

Inclusive education affirmative policies. Curriculum design, education management and

Assessment policies should have a broader picture of inclusive education. Having learners with
disabilities in view as policy makers formulated and resolve policies would directly transform
the shape of instruction and handling of learners with special education needs. Regarding
assessment, leaners with disabilities ought to have an affirmative grade policy. That is to say for
example, reduced entry points to university and full or partial scholarships in the course of their
study. Managing inclusive education environments also requires schools to have specific staff
that are primarily sourced to guide the school on such leaners such that an enabling inclusive
learning environment is created in schools.

In conclusion, the government is doing its best, though the idea of inclusive education with all its
beautiful outcomes and benefits, still faces innumerable challenges in my country.

Thank you.