A Way to Universal Primary Education?

Opening of the Centre for Blind Children in KibehoThe United Nation’s millennium goal of primary education for all children by 2015 is quickly approaching. However, about 23 million disabled children worldwide are excluded from this basic education.  This represents close to a third of the total number of students worldwide.  These students are missing out on primary education, and therefore should be of significant interest to all of us working towards the millenium goals.

Many Millennium Development Goals may not be realized, but universal primary education doesn’t have to be one of them.  Sightsavers, a charity working to promote equal opportunities for blind and disabled people in the developing world, has been working to transform old special schools into resource centers in several African countries.  In the model, teachers who previously taught at the special needs schools travel between other schools to assist in integrating disabled children into the classroom.

A pilot project in 15 Zambian schools has proven successful, causing the Zambian government to put more money into these inclusion programs.  Hopefully, these success stories will promote similar projects worldwide, broadening access to primary education.

Creative Commons Love: PolandMFA on Flickr.com

Written by Jessica Wheeler