Blog

For many children with disabilities in Malawi, going to school is only the first step. The greater challenge lies in whether the school environment is equipped to support their learning, participation and overall well-being. While inclusive education has gained momentum in recent years, many schools in Malawi still lack adequate adaptive resources, leaving learners to face barriers that prevent them from enjoying their right to education, contributing to national development and inspiring future generations.

In the blog from Link Education, the authors show the successes of the RISE project (Realising Inclusive and Safe Education Project). So far, the RISE Project has distributed 708 assistive devices to learners with disabilities, enabling them to participate more effectively in classroom activities and reducing obstacles to learning. In addition, the project has supported the operationalisation of 20 resource rooms in selected schools, equipping them with furniture, mattresses, toys and stationery to create safe, welcoming and supportive learning environments. These interventions particularly benefit girls with disabilities, who often face multiple layers of exclusion.

The authors note: “Achieving truly inclusive education, however, requires sustained commitment from everyone.”

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In the North West and South West regions of Cameroon, many children with different forms of disabilities have been unable to attend school for years due to insecurity, displacement, stigma, and the lack of adapted learning environments. In response, UNICEF, in partnership with the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services and the Presbyterian Community Rehabilitation Services, is working across affected communities to restore access to education through inclusive approaches.

Beyond access to learning spaces, the project focuses on creating an enabling environment, strengthening family and community support, and improving service delivery. Over 3,000 children have been screened in schools and Temporary Learning Spaces to identify disabilities and determine the specific support each child needs to learn. UNICEF has trained more than 82 teachers and facilitators working in schools and Temporary Learning Spaces on inclusive education practices, including Universal Design for Learning, basic Braille and sign language, and psychosocial support for children affected by conflict and trauma. While progress has been made, the needs remain immense. Less than half of children with disabilities are currently accessing the services they require, particularly in crisis-affected settings.

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In China at least five million children have a disability. Significant numbers of children with disabilities continue to learn in separate special education facilities, and the vast majority of abandoned children living in institutions have a disability.

The campaign aims to challenge stigma, increase public understanding of disability, and create more inclusive environments for children in schools, health centres and communities. The campaign therefore calls for children with disabilities to live with families and study in mainstream schools, wherever possible.

UNICEF youth representative Zhao Chen led an interactive session highlighting the shift from accessibility to inclusion.

“Every child, with or without disabilities, deserves equal access to learning, social participation and the chance to fulfil their potential”, he said, “While kindness matters, real inclusion requires us to set aside bias, so that everyone can live with mutual respect and participate in society equally.”

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In Rwanda, as in many under-resourced countries, deaf people are often left isolated, unable to communicate beyond their immediate family. World Jewish Relief encountered this reality during recruitment for people with disabilities for a livelihoods-focused agricultural project in Rwanda’s Eastern Province. The local partner, Farm Master Services, identified 12 individuals with profound hearing impairment. Most were unemployed or working as day labourers earning around 80 pence a day.

World Jewish Relief began planning how to include them in farm cooperative groups. However, the individuals were using different signs they had developed with their families. They first had to learn Rwandan Sign Language. But there was little material to teach it, instructions were not available. A dictionary was printed in 2009 but copies hard to find. And even when the author of the dictionary published the dictionary in digital format, it was based on written instructions, which the project participants couldn’t read. Overcoming all these obstacles was timeconsuming but worthwhile. The participants have begun forming a community – meeting peers, spending time together and experiencing something many had not known before: a sense of belonging, built through a common language.

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At a time when nearly 133 million girls remain out of school and millions more face harmful gender norms that limit their learning, support for girls’ education is receding. Whilst this is often explained by shrinking aid budgets, funding tells only part of the story.

The decline of girls’ education is the result of deeper political, symbolic and discursive shifts, which have coincided with, and have often resulted in, reduced funding. These powerful forces once propelled girls’ education to the forefront of international development, but now as they recede, they are pushing it off the agenda at a remarkable speed. There has been a reduction in financial commitment but also what the author calls a “symbolic retreat”.

Dedicated girls’ education departments have been reduced or absorbed into broader portfolios. High-profile leadership positions have been discontinued. Perhaps the most significant shift is occurring in the realm of ideas and narratives. Recently, a growing backlash has emerged against girls’ education. Much of this debate begins with the question, “What about the boys?” Yet this question often rests on misunderstandings about both the purpose of girls’ education and the nature of educational disadvantage. The author shows how support for girl’s education can be realised under current circumstances.

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The author explains an updated position paper that builds on established approaches. A language-responsive perspective reflects that wider recognition of the centrality of language to learning. It does not advise which language(s) any particular country should use within their education system, and it does not offer any one universal model. It offers a way of thinking that is pragmatic and context-sensitive through encouraging decision-makers and education stakeholders to ask questions about what kinds of language support are needed across core components of the education system, how different approaches can work together and what support the students within the education system need in order to have equitable access to learning.

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Over the past two decades, Kenya has made significant strides in strengthening its legal and policy framework to address School-Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV). What was once addressed primarily through child protection and criminal justice laws has evolved into a more comprehensive education-sector response, supported by school safety standards, teacher codes of conduct, re-entry guidelines for adolescent mothers and broader learner protection policies. Collectively, these measures establish schools as duty bearers responsible for creating safe and inclusive learning environments. Some schools have made important strides by adopting whole-school approaches that embed SRGBV prevention into teaching and learning, school leadership, learner participation and community engagement. However, many others, particularly those in under-resourced, rural or marginalised settings, continue to face significant challenges in translating policy into day-to-day practice. Schools in rural areas, informal settlements and crisis-affected contexts frequently operate with fewer trained teachers, limited access to counselling and psychosocial support services, and weak referral and child protection systems. As a result, the learners most at risk of violence are often those with the least access to effective prevention and response mechanisms. The blog lists strategies that help overcome these difficulties.

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With support from GPE and UNESCO, Côte d’Ivoire is empowering communities to support girls’ education while equipping more women to take on school leadership and system administration roles. It is mothers who advocate for the education of their daughters. One mother, Patricia Ouattara, describes how attitudes in her village have begun to change.

“This is a Muslim village. For many parents, school is for boys, not girls. The school director came to see me to say that we need to form a group to raise awareness among families, and now they’ve accepted the idea. The girls are going to school.”

Without this advocacy for girls’ education, these girls would still be at risk of dropping out of school and have limited opportunities for a prosperous future.

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