When learners cannot access education in a language they already understand, whether their mother tongue or one from their community, it can make it harder for them to learn, hindering their access to and progression through education. When taught in their mother tongue, proficiency in their mother tongue improves, and so does the acquisition of foundational language skills that can be used across languages—the building blocks of reading—as well as foundational numeracy skills. This blog gives two examples from Viet Nam and Cameroon.
[Blog] Can Distance Education be Truly Inclusive?
“When thinking more deeply about inclusion and exchanging experiences among practitioners about how to operationalize distance learning opportunities for children affected by crises, a key question arises: can distance education be truly inclusive, especially when delivered amid emergencies and crises?”
This is the question asked in this blog. It also invites you to share your insights:
“Together, we can strengthen equitable access to inclusive education for the most vulnerable children and families living in and impacted by extreme circumstances. Your input can make a real difference – Join the conversation!”
[Report] Let’s make Official Development Assistance to disability-inclusive education count
CBM has published a report on their investigation into the state of Official Development Assistance relating to disability-inclusive education.
The report outlines the persistent under-funding of disability-inclusive education and makes recommendations.
Read a summary blog and download the full report.
(Note: This report was completed before the Trump regime stopped all aid funding from USA. However, USA’s funding was excluded from CBM’s analysis, because the USA was already not using the OECD-DAC disability-marker in more than 50% of its programmes.)
[Blog] “Some children in the class are in a wheelchair. Well so what?”
Tis blog from UNESCO features inclusive education in Moldova, Estonia and Armenia. These countries have implemented inclusive education for several years. The blog describes the progress and gives links to further resources.
Tiina Keskula, a parent of students in school grades 6 and 9 in Estonia said about inclusive education: “This means children accept variation and are truly tolerant of people who differ from them. It makes everyone more empathetic, understanding and tolerant. We’re all different and yet we’re all the same. Some are in a wheelchair. Well so what?”
[Report] The State of the World’s Children 2024 (UNICEF)
In November 2024 UNICEF published its latest State of the World’s Children Report. It examines the forces and trends shaping our world today and reflects on how they might shape the future. The report explores three megatrends that will profoundly impact children’s lives between now and the 2050s:
- demographic shifts;
- the climate and environmental crises;
- frontier technologies.
The report considers future scenarios.
[Blog] Moldova: Assistive technology makes education more inclusive
While some education institutions in Moldova are equipped with teaching materials and assistive devices for children with sensory disabilities, many lack such materials due to a shortage of financial resources. Moldova is working to change this.
The new assistive devices are part of the Digital Innovation of Moldovan Education System Program, designed to enhance inclusivity in education.
“Access to assistive technology is about more than inclusion—it’s about transformation. The classroom of today mirrors the society of tomorrow, and by equipping children with disabilities with the tools they need to thrive, we are laying the foundation for a more inclusive, innovative, and equitable world.” (Maha Damaj)
[Blog] Reflecting on youth advocacy in Indonesia for inclusive and equitable education
“With youth activism, it feels like you make a lot of progress and then some hurdles come along. It can feel tough sometimes, but I have a strong community of young people to tackle these challenges”, writes Anna Bella Sabilah, a GPE youth leader from Indonesia.
She continues: “To raise awareness and popularize the idea that tuition-free school is a basic need for all Indonesian children, we’ve put on a discussion series on how education policies work, advocacy mechanisms, promoting a gender and socially inclusive framework as well as an intersectional analysis on education issues. The most recent update on our advocacy efforts shows we still have a long way to go, but there’s progress.”
[Blog] Learn, Heal, Thrive: The Power of Hospital-Based Schools in Malawi
For International Childhood Cancer Awareness Day, the organisation World Child Cancer wrote about the importance of education for children with cancer:
“Beyond medical care, learning provides children with a sense of normalcy, hope, and purpose during their treatment journey.”
The blog focusses on Hospital-Based Learning, specifically the Hospital-Based Schools in Malawi. These schools are a lifeline for young cancer patients, ensuring they stay on track academically even while undergoing treatment. The teachers employ a learner-centered approach, creating an engaging and inclusive learning environment where children can thrive despite their illness. Their passion for education extends beyond textbooks; they instill a love of learning that gives these children hope and a sense of belonging.
[Webinar] Scaling Innovative Approaches to Early Childhood Education: Evidence and Experience
Date: 6 March 2025.
Time: 3 p.m. (Amsterdam time).
Location: online, Zoom.
Through a new webinar series, ECDAN, GPE, IDRC and the LEGO Foundation will convene key stakeholders involved in research on key challenges facing education systems across the Global South to share their findings and the global goods that have been developed.
The first webinar will offer an overview of GPE KIX synthesis report summarising the findings of the eight completed ECE research projects, and will highlight evidence-based approaches in the following thematic areas:
- Play-based pedagogy and school readiness;
- Teacher training and professional development.
Threats to inclusive education in DRC [English and French version]
From: NGO Renaissance Africaine, RENAFKIVU, Bukavu Office, South Kivu, DRC
Our organisation is committed to supporting the development of inclusive education, in particular by supporting the educational inclusion of learners with disabilities. We want to see the education system reformed, with accessible learning environments, flexible systems, and well-trained and inclusive teachers. Yet, our efforts and those of all other education actors are thwarted by a conflict that is not receiving enough attention on a global scale.
The International Rescue Committee estimates that more than 7 million people have been displaced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This figure includes 2.8 million displaced people from North Kivu (where the recent fighting has been concentrated).
Displaced families have been forced to move to Goma and South Kivu, where host communities are already struggling to sustain themselves.
For years, the education system in North and South Kivu has been disrupted by the ongoing armed conflict. The conflict has destroyed school and community infrastructure, limited the safety of movement, interrupted health and other social services, and deepened poverty.
Of course, the current climate crisis (droughts and floods) is further compounding the impact of the conflict.
In addition to the general increase in child labour, forced recruitment into armed groups is widespread, affecting many children and young people who should be attending school. There are also disturbing levels of sexual violence against adults and children, and traumatized survivors receive almost no psychosocial support.
Maintaining and building an education system for all under these conditions is almost impossible. Humanity and Inclusion recently reported that its warehouse in Goma, where it stored equipment and provisions for its NGO partners working in the field of disability, was looted.
The recent influx of displaced communities in South Kivu makes access to education for all more difficult than ever. In some communities, more than 50 per cent of students are from displaced families. Many children, both disabled and non-disabled, are out of school, and there is no comprehensive way to identify them, let alone provide them with appropriate educational support.
The state and the international community are simply not doing enough to solve the education crisis in the DRC.
Recently, schools have been seriously affected, including the Munanira Primary School in Kalehe, South Kiva, which was bombed on 12 February 2025 (see photo).
Munanira Primary School, bombed on 12 February 2025
507 schools are closed in Kalehe territory in South Kivu, including 6 kindergartens, 325 primary schools and 176 secondary schools, affecting a total of 35,700 students aged between 5 and 16 years old.
Too little attention is paid to the communities affected by this conflict. Not enough is being done to ensure respect for international humanitarian law. The human rights of people with disabilities are almost forgotten. We need a lasting peace.
We call on all EENET readers around the world to speak out about the situation in the DRC and to help us defend our learners with and without disabilities, their teachers, families and communities.
To learn more about Renaissance Africaine, RENAFKIVU, email: renafsudkivu@gmail.com
Menaces sur l’éducation inclusive en RDC
ONG Renaissance Africaine RENAF, Bukavu, Sud-Kivu
Notre organisation s’engage à soutenir le développement de l’éducation inclusive, en particulier en soutenant l’inclusion scolaire des apprenants handicapés. Nous souhaitons voir le système éducatif réformé, avec des environnements d’apprentissage accessibles, des systèmes flexibles et des enseignants bien formés et inclusifs. Pourtant, nos efforts et ceux de tous les autres acteurs de l’éducation sont contrariés par un conflit qui ne reçoit pas suffisamment d’attention à l’échelle mondiale.
Le Comité international de secours estime que plus de 7 millions de personnes ont été déplacées en RDC. Ce chiffre comprend 2,8 millions de personnes déplacées du Nord-Kivu (où se sont concentrés les récents combats).
Les familles déplacées ont été contraintes de se déplacer vers Goma et le Sud-Kivu, où les communautés d’accueil ont déjà du mal à subvenir à leurs besoins.
Depuis des années, le système éducatif du Nord et du Sud-Kivu est perturbé par le conflit armé qui perdure. Ce conflit a détruit les infrastructures scolaires et communautaires, limité la sécurité des déplacements, interrompu les services de santé et autres services sociaux et aggravé la pauvreté.
Bien entendu, la crise climatique actuelle (sécheresses et inondations) aggrave encore l’impact du conflit.
Outre l’augmentation générale du travail des enfants, le recrutement forcé dans les groupes armés est monnaie courante, touchant de nombreux enfants et jeunes qui devraient être scolarisés. On observe également des niveaux inquiétants de violences sexuelles contre les adultes et les enfants, et les survivants traumatisés ne bénéficient quasiment d’aucun soutien psychosocial.
Maintenir et construire un système éducatif pour tous dans ces conditions est presque impossible. Humanité et Inclusion a récemment signalé que son entrepôt à Goma, où elle stockait du matériel et des provisions pour ses ONG partenaires œuvrant dans le domaine du handicap, a été pillé.
L’afflux récent de communautés déplacées au Sud-Kivu rend l’accès à l’éducation pour tous plus difficile que jamais. Dans certaines communautés, plus de 50 % des élèves sont issus de familles déplacées. De nombreux enfants, handicapés ou non, ne sont pas scolarisés et il n’existe aucun moyen global de les identifier, et encore moins de leur fournir un soutien éducatif approprié.
L’État et la communauté internationale ne font tout simplement pas assez pour résoudre la crise de l’éducation en RDC.
Récemment, les établissements scolaires ont été gravement touchés dont l’Ecole Primaire Munanira à Kalehe bombardée ( voir sa photo en annexe) au Sud Kivu 12 février 2025.
L’Ecole Primaire Munanira bombardée le 12 février 2025
507 écoles sont fermées en territoire de KALEHE au Sud Kivu dont 6 écoles maternelles, 325 écoles primaires et 176 écoles secondaires ayant au total 35700 élèves dont l’âge varie entre 5 à 16 ans.
On accorde trop peu d’attention aux communautés touchées par ce conflit. On ne fait pas assez pour garantir le respect du droit international humanitaire. Les droits humains des personnes handicapées sont presque oubliés. Nous avons besoin d’une paix durable.
Nous appelons tous les lecteurs d’EENET dans le monde à s’exprimer sur la situation en RDC et à nous aider à défendre nos apprenants avec et sans leurs capacités, leurs enseignants, leurs familles et leurs communautés.
Pour en savoir plus sur Renaissance Africaine RENAF, envoyez un courriel à : renafsudkivu@gmail.com