At the half-way mark to 2030, the world is still off-track in all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)[1], including Goal #4 which aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” As we race toward 2030, all East African Community member states significantly lag behind in realizing SDG #4 outcomes with only Kenya (ranked 126/193) and Tanzania (ranked 134/193) recording moderate progress while Rwanda (ranked 126/193) is stagnating. The low rates of children with disabilities completing primary and secondary education in Eastern and Southern Africa[2] confirms there are inherent barriers that preclude persons with disabilities’ access to higher education. Without reversing this trend, educational inequalities in higher education against persons with disabilities may deepen by 2030.

The International Bill of Rights guarantee the principles of universality and non-discrimination in the enjoyment of the right to education by all. By ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 2006, East African Community partner states are obliged to recognize the right of persons with disabilities to education and ensure an inclusive education system at all levels without discrimination. The EAC Policy on Persons with Disabilities, 2012 envisions a society that is fully inclusive and provides equal opportunities and access to services for all persons with disabilities. This is in tandem with Article 120 (c) of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community which enjoins the EAC Partner States to closely co-operate amongst themselves to develop and adopt a common approach towards disadvantaged and marginalized groups, including persons with disabilities. Although the UNCRPD requires inclusive education at all levels, its advocacy has tended to focus more at lower education levels.

State of Disability Scholarship in Africa

Disability studies scholarship is predominantly euro-centric and north-American, with limited space for, and/or recognition of Afrocentric perspectives. Available disability research in education in Sub-Saharan Africa focus more on primary than university education, and are largely authored through collaborations with researchers based in western institutions in the United Kingdom, Australia, United States and Canada.[3] Scholars in Africa grapple with limited opportunities to undertake disability inclusive research in spite of a growing need to indigenize disability research and promote a contextual understanding of disability that is cognizant of the political economy and cultural peculiarities of East Africa.

Why an East African Conference on Disability Inclusive Higher Education?

Providing a scientific platform for East African scholars to disseminate disability research, collaborate, network and mentor emerging scholars is pivotal to improving disability research in higher education in the sub-region. One such platform at tertiary level was the defunct East African Linkage on Inclusive Education started under the auspices of Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE), the former Uganda National Institute of Special Education (UNISE) and Patandi Teachers’ College in Tanzania. The Linkage was a rotational arrangement to share research and practice experiences on inclusive education within East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi). The last Linkage event was hosted by KISE at the United States University International University-Africa in Nairobi, Kenya in 2018. The upcoming conference on Disability Inclusive Higher Education seeks to revive the said linkage and elevate it into a congress status for regular networking, advocacy, mentorship and disseminating disability research in the region.

[1] Sustainable Development Solutions Network (2023). Sustainable Development Report 2023: implementing the SDG stimulus.  https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/chapters

[2] UNICEF (2023). Mapping and roadmap of disability-inclusive education in Eastern and Southern Africa. URL https://www.unicef.org/esa/media/12161/file/Mapping_and_recommendation_on_disability_inclusivee_education_in_Eastern_&Southern_Africa_February_2023.pdf

[3] Singal, N., Spenser, C., & Mitchell, R. (2021). Primary schooling for children with disabilities: A review of African scholarship.

Important Dates

• Issue call for abstracts: July 14th, 2024
• Deadline for submission of abstracts: August 11th, 2024
• Abstract decision notifications: August 25th, 2024
• Early bird registration: July 15th – September 15th, 2024
• Late registration: October 1st, 2024
• Submission of presentations: October 15th, 2024
• Preconference dinner (by invite): November 12th, 2024 at Protea Hotel Kampala Skyz, Uganda
• Conference dates: November 13th and 14th, 2024 at Kyambogo University, Uganda
• Submission of selected full papers for publication: January 30th, 2025