• Boys with physical disability are <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly access<strong>in</strong>g school, whereas boys with sensorial disability ormental difficulty (with the exception of epilepsy) are lagg<strong>in</strong>g beh<strong>in</strong>d. For girls the ma<strong>in</strong> issue rema<strong>in</strong>s theaccess of all girls to school. The gap that we observe with regard to physical disability can be expla<strong>in</strong>edby easier access of boys with these disabilities due to social norms of acceptability and m<strong>in</strong>imal effortrequired with<strong>in</strong> classes <strong>in</strong> order to <strong>in</strong>clude them with<strong>in</strong> the education process.• In the ma<strong>in</strong> towns, for children aged between 7 and 14, the education effort has been considerable, butis not reach<strong>in</strong>g children with disability, and is further <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g this <strong>in</strong>equality. It is obvious that wherethere is an absence of schools of any form <strong>in</strong> the area, the impact of disability on access is irrelevant.However, when structures do exist, the lack of access is attributed to the disability, before be<strong>in</strong>g expla<strong>in</strong>edby gender.Gender is acomplex factorto understandand to tacklethrough policiesand programmess<strong>in</strong>ce it usuallyentails grappl<strong>in</strong>gwith deep-rootedbeliefs andcultural practicesthat cannotbe changedovernightTo Sum Up Regard<strong>in</strong>g Efficiency:• When people did access some form of school<strong>in</strong>g, a majority of them learnt to read and write.• Formal school systems achieve high literacy rates for children with disability as well as the non-disabled,which is encourag<strong>in</strong>g.• Gender differences are less regard<strong>in</strong>g literacy than those observed regard<strong>in</strong>g access. Results suggestthat school contributes to reduc<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>equalities <strong>in</strong> terms of basic learn<strong>in</strong>g outcomes, the first one be<strong>in</strong>gliteracy.• With<strong>in</strong> schools, special focus needs to be given to children with sensorial disability who require more effortof adaptation of methods and teacher tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g with regard to learn<strong>in</strong>g to read, write and communicate <strong>in</strong>general.Steps Ahead:Enhanc<strong>in</strong>g Equality Between Persons with Disability and Non-Disabled Persons: The MajorChallenge AheadThe most disturb<strong>in</strong>g f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g of the survey with regard to education is that the efforts of different decisionmakers are not reach<strong>in</strong>g persons with disability equally. One issue is the build<strong>in</strong>g of schools and structures.But here aga<strong>in</strong>, access needs to be regarded <strong>in</strong> the larger sense: physical accessibility, and ensur<strong>in</strong>g that thereis a school there to access, but access also concerns learn<strong>in</strong>g environments, teach<strong>in</strong>g methods and facilitiesthat exist. This is essential when we look at girls’ education.Access to Education for Girls: A Serious ConcernGender is a complex factor to understand and to tackle through policies and programmes s<strong>in</strong>ce it usuallyentails grappl<strong>in</strong>g with deep-rooted beliefs and cultural practices that cannot be changed overnight. The issueof education for girls will require a lot of thought and discussion among different actors <strong>in</strong>volved, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>gthe M<strong>in</strong>istry of Women Affairs. At school, sensitization towards girls and women’s rights should start with<strong>in</strong>the classes for all children. In general, at all ages, males have more access to school than females. At all ages,women without disability have less access to school than men who become disabled before school-start<strong>in</strong>gage. The effect of gender is significant with<strong>in</strong> almost all <strong>in</strong>dicators that have been presented <strong>in</strong> this report.Gender seems to have more importance than be<strong>in</strong>g disabled <strong>in</strong> terms of access to education. The reasonsbeh<strong>in</strong>d these differences are many and <strong>in</strong>ter-tw<strong>in</strong>ed. They range from beliefs and cultural practices to distanceof school, the availability of female teachers and adequate facilities such as toilets. These reasons need tobe taken <strong>in</strong>to account systematically and accord<strong>in</strong>g to the specific needs. The need for consideration of theabove issues is also evident when the reasons given for not send<strong>in</strong>g girls to school are exam<strong>in</strong>ed. A number ofpersons believe that schools are not for girls. This is <strong>in</strong> contradiction to the fact that a large majority of personsth<strong>in</strong>k that education is useful <strong>in</strong> general (over 90% of our sample). All of the above clearly shows that beyondmak<strong>in</strong>g school accessible <strong>in</strong> terms of distance, facilities and teachers; a huge effort needs to be made <strong>in</strong> thearea of gender stereotypes and gender specific attitudes. This should be done at every level <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g teachertra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g, curricula and material development, and teach<strong>in</strong>g methodologies <strong>in</strong> order to encourage girls withdisability to access education at par with other children.42 Understand<strong>in</strong>g the Challenge Ahead
Different Types of Disability, Different AccessBoys with physical disability are <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly access<strong>in</strong>g school, whereas boys with sensorial disability ormental difficulty (with the exception of epilepsy) are lagg<strong>in</strong>g beh<strong>in</strong>d. For girls the ma<strong>in</strong> issue rema<strong>in</strong>s theaccess of all girls to school. The gap that we observe with regard to physical disability can be expla<strong>in</strong>ed byeasier access of boys with these disabilities due to social norms of acceptability and m<strong>in</strong>imal effort requiredwith<strong>in</strong> classes <strong>in</strong> order to <strong>in</strong>clude them with<strong>in</strong> the education process. If we look at learn<strong>in</strong>g outcomes suchas literacy, it is evident that with<strong>in</strong> schools, special focus should be given to children with sensorial disability.These require adaptation of methods and teacher tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g to enhance the quality of learn<strong>in</strong>g. As access toeducation improves, it is plausible that certa<strong>in</strong> other forms of disability will become more salient, such aslearn<strong>in</strong>g and <strong>in</strong>tellectual disabilities. At present these forms of difficulties are still hard to detect.Towards Inclusion and Equality <strong>in</strong> Education43
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