The challenges facing children with disabilities in accessing and attaining primary school education in Bukedea district

Abstract

The main objective of the study was to identify the challenges faced by children with disabilities in accessing and attaining meaningful formal primary education in Bukedea District, Kachumbala Sub County. The specific objectives of the study were to examine how the policy environment affects access to educational service by CWDs, to establish the extent to which school related factors affect access to educational services by CWDs and to investigate the socio-economic factors that influence the accessibility of CWDs to educational services. The researcher used a cross section design with both quantitative and qualitative approaches. In the study, purposive and random sampling methods were used in selecting the respondents. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources and the primary data was gathered through questionnaires, observation, interviews and focus group discussion guide. Secondary data on the other hand was gathered through review of available information in the education officer’s office and the headtachers’ offices. The study used both qualitative and quantitative approaches for data analysis. Quantitative data analysis was done using a computer programme of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The field findings revealed that the existing curriculum does not benefit learners living with disabilities in schools, teachers have not been trained to handle children with disability, cost of teaching/learning instructional material and equipment have hindered effective learning of pupils with disability, the infrastructure was not adequate for the inclusion of children with disability, there were no enough teaching-learning materials in inclusive setting, the high poverty rates in Kachumbala Sub County had hindered CWD to access better education and a big family size and high dependence ratio contribute to CWD to be neglected by parents. The study concludes that the shortage of equipment and other resources has resulted in the failure of the entire programme for learners with disability in Kachumbala Sub County. The study recommends that the Ministry of Education, Sports, Science and Technology and other stakeholders should ensure that all inclusive schools are equipped with relevant teaching/learning materials and there should be more training of teacher on how to handle CWD.