The government of Uganda has pledged to increase support for disability inclusive education for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) through more funding and the introduction of new policies to favor inclusive education.
The State Minister of Education and Sports, John Chrysostom Muyingo, made the pledge while officiating the 1st East African Conference on Disability Inclusive Higher Education that took place on November 13, 2024, at Kyambogo University in Kampala.
Muyingo said that the issue of inclusive education for PWDs stretches as far as childhood education to institutions of higher learning, stating that this calls for more government funding and the formulation of new policies that will help in inclusive education for the PWDs.
“The NRM government has always supported inclusive education from the time it adopted the White Paper on Education, which officially committed it to take full responsibility for the education of PWDs in special schools and units. However, we want to go further by including all persons in equal education and opportunities. We shall fund and formulate policies that will help us achieve that,” Muyingo noted.
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He added that the government should introduce a higher education loan financing scheme with PWDs as the priority targeted group to enable them to access higher education.
“To benefit from this scheme, one needs to have done a science-related course, but this does not apply for PWDs. I urge them to apply for the scheme unordered to have higher education,” he added.
The Vice Chancellor of Kyambogo University, Eli Katunguka Rwakishaya, said the institution has organized the conference to be able to bring together people in academia, research, and people who want to support PWDs.
“We organized this conference to share information on how PWDs can be provided for so they can access higher education,” he stated.
The two-day conference themed University of All and For All will took place on November 13-14, 2024, at Kyambogo University in a bid to share information on how PWDs can be enrolled in higher education.
