GESCI and the Rwanda Basic Education Board organised a workshop with teachers and policy makers in the inclusive education space. This workshop is a follow up activity after the training of teachers on use of assistive technologies and development of accessible digital textbooks under the Accessible Digital Textbooks Project implemented by UNESCO.

The workshop, held virtually on 27th January 2022 aimed at providing an opportunity for  participants in the teacher training institutions to share insights and experiences and perspectives and to relate promising practices, lessons learnt and opportunities for improving the adoption of Assitive Technologies and Accessible Digital Textbooks in teaching and learning for  learners with disabilities.

Teachers and head teachers from 40 districts in Rwanda participated in the workshop.

Speaking on the status of Accessible Digital Textbooks in Rwanda, Mr. Theodore Ngendahayo, the ECE and Primary Schools Digital Content and Development Engineer ICTE Department from the Rwanda Basic Education Board cited the following: 

Ratification of Marrakesh Treaty: he mentioned that this treaty had been ratified by the Rwandan government and key education stakeholders had, in November 2021, concluded national consultation on the status of implementation.

Baseline study: he mentioned that the Accessible Digital Textbooks steering committee worked with GESCI to carry out a baseline study in Rwanda on the national policies for inclusive ICTs in education for learners with disabilities.

Teacher training: He cited one of the key interventions in Rwanda as being the training for teachers on Assistive Technologies including access to associated information for PwDs (Persons with Disabilities). Also, the acquisition of skills in using interactive digital textbooks in teaching and in adapting content for improving learning outcomes.

Mr. Ngendahayo concluded by saying teachers were now appreciating the importance of assistive technology and demonstrated increased understanding of the role of assistive technologies in promoting equitable and inclusive learning and that they had demonstrated increased awareness and understanding of the key role of the teacher in promoting the use of assistive technology to enhance the learning experience.

This workshop provided an opportunity for sharing key recommendations from the baseline study conducted by GESCI  which focused on finding out information on the current situation of inclusive ICTs in education for PwDs and the status of implementation of the same. The target groups included organizations working to support inclusive education in Rwanda.

The baseline study generated some conclusions from where the following key recommendations can be drawn; 

• There is a need to develop a National ICT in education for PwDs policy for Rwanda.
• Improve resourcing for inclusive ICTs in education infrastructure.
• Increase opportunities for in-service teacher professional development.
• Accelerate the implementation of the ICT in education policy.
• Review national procurement policy to support access to assistive technologies for learning.
• Develop clear guidelines on developing accessible digital content.
• Sensitize the public on inclusive ICTs in education for students with disabilities.
• Develop guidelines on accessibility to infrastructure and equipment for Persons with Disabilities in all public settings.

On the benefits of the training, trained teachers had this to say:

Mr. Rukundo Claudie from Kiyenzi Inclusive Primary School :

“This training exposed us to the different types of disabilities and not just VI and HI as we always knew before attending the training.  I learnt that there are learners with Learning Disabilities.” 

Mr. Musabyimana Clementine from  Mushirarungu Primary school:

“We were trained about preparing lessons plans, learning materials and teaching all learners including those with disabilities.”

The break out discussions around challenges and opportunities to do with infrastructure in schools, capacity development for teachers and policies got the following recommendations from the particiapants.

Infrastructure

• Inadequate equipment: There is need for greater efforts from government and development organization to support schools to acquire assistive devices to improve the quality of learning and teaching for learners with special needs.
• Internet connectivity: There should be a plan to fund schools for internet connectivity for eth schools to facilitate teachers to connect and access free/open online educational resources and software that they can use for training.
• The cost of equipment: The government should consider either manufacturing/assembling some of the devices locally or subsidize the cost to make it affordable for schools and individuals supporting learners with disabilities. The participants called on the government to lobby providers to lower the cost and develop a programme that enhances distribution of assistive devices to schools on termly basis.

Capacity Development for teachers

Participants suggested that the Ministry of  Education together with partners should carry out nationwide teacher training, provide teachers with required gadgets and prepare more training materials on the Accessible Digital Textbooks.

Policies and guidelines

Participants suggested that the ministry of education should work on sensitization of the public on these policies to ensure they are implemented.

This activity was carried out under the framework of the Accessible Digital Textbooks (ADT) project, focusing on promoting inclusive education through accessible digital textbooks, funded by the UN Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD), the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, Nairobi, is promoting inclusive education through Accessible Digital Textbooks (ADTs).