Working Towards Inclusive Education for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities in Ghana

On 27th & 28th July 2024, Inclusion Ghana and its coalition partners concluded the first workshop on working towards Inclusive Education for persons with intellectual disabilities in Ghana. We were fortunate to have the presence of two senior officials from the Special Education Division of the Ghana Education Service, who also contributed greatly to the depth of knowledge shared during the workshop.The coalition consists of 5 Inclusion Ghana member organizations, being Awaawaa2 (Greater Accra Region), Special Attention Project (Greater Accra Region), SAPID (Central Region), Adehye Home (Central Region), and Talent Search International (Eastern Region), with Inclusion Ghana providing support and undertaking national level advocacy. The project has been developed to monitor and advocate for greater implementation of inclusive education in Ghana over two years, with a specific focus on the experience of inclusive education for persons with intellectual disabilities.During the workshop, the coalition partners shared stories of the challenges parents face when trying to enroll their children with intellectual disabilities in mainstream schools. Many have been turned away, laughed at or met with suspicion and fear. Others who have been enrolled in school are not receiving adequate support to ensure the education is meaningful. While some coalition partners have had success placing and supporting students in private schools, the cost of the support has either been borne by the parents or by NGOs and it was agreed that such an approach is not sustainable.Recognising Ghana’s 2012 ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the coalition …

The coalition consists of 5 Inclusion Ghana member organizations, being Awaawaa2 (Greater Accra Region), Special Attention Project (Greater Accra Region), SAPID (Central Region), Adehye Home (Central Region), and Talent Search International (Eastern Region), with Inclusion Ghana providing support and undertaking national level advocacy. The project has been developed to monitor and advocate for greater implementation of inclusive education in Ghana over two years, with a specific focus on the experience of inclusive education for persons with intellectual disabilities.

During the workshop, the coalition partners shared stories of the challenges parents face when trying to enroll their children with intellectual disabilities in mainstream schools. Many have been turned away, laughed at or met with suspicion and fear. Others who have been enrolled in school are not receiving adequate support to ensure the education is meaningful. While some coalition partners have had success placing and supporting students in private schools, the cost of the support has either been borne by the parents or by NGOs and it was agreed that such an approach is not sustainable.

Recognising Ghana’s 2012 ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the coalition partners noted that as stated in Article 24, it is the right of every child to receive a free and inclusive education. Further, the government has agreed to provide the necessary support to persons with ID in education. This project will collate data to assess the level of implementation of Article 24 of the CRPD and advocate to the government to ensure improvements are made.