Abstract

This study focused on Access to Higher Education of People Living with Disabilities in Cameroon. The Case of the University of Buea and the Pan African Institute for Development West-Africa (PAID-WA), Buea. The study had as objectives; firstly, to access the availability of infrastructure/ the trends of students living with disabilities in the different faculties and departments in the universities, secondly to find out the challenges face by students with disabilities in the Universities and finally the investigation of best practices and case study of inclusive education. The study used a multi-stage sampling technique involving purposive, stratified and simple random sampling techniques to identify participants from whom information had to be collected through the use of questionnaires and interviews. The study limited respondents to include only students with disabilities and school administrators who have direct link to the subject under study and out of a total of 450 students with disabilities and school administrators in the two institutions, 60 were administered questionnaires and interviews who were the target for this study. However, due to unavailability of some staff and students for reasons of other duties, the sample size dropped to 59 students with disabilities and school administrators which were still significant enough to represent the study population. This work adopted the comparative study in the sense that it focused just on two institutions that is the Buea University and PAID-WA. Demographics data show that majority of the students with disabilities (55.81%) were male while 44.19% were female. The mean age group of the respondents was 21-30 years, which constitute 70% of the total population of the two schools. 63.6% of those with disabilities are at the degree level.  The major forms of disabilities experience by students included visual impairment (40.0%), lib impalement (54.3%) and hearing impairment (5.71%). Limb impairment is more common in PAID-WA, while both limb and visual impairment have the same rate at UB.  Most of the infrastructure facilities are not suitable for students with disabilities as stated by 51.22% of the respondents as most of the pavement is not smooth for the movement of students with disabilities. Major challenges encounter by these students is the uncertainty of having a future job or workplace (75.0%), financial problem was another economic challenge (85%) and the inability to accommodate themselves especially for students living out of campus, absence of programs or place (76.0%) for disability students.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Between 10% and 15% of the world population are thought to be disabled. The 2006 UN convention on the right of persons with disability is an example of emerging global policy architecture for human right of disabled people. Art 24 states that disabled people should receive the support require for facilitating their effective education. In research, links between higher education access, equality and disabilities are being exploited by scholars of sociology of higher education (Morley, 2011). The civil right movement of the 1960s inspired the subsequent disability right movement that greatly influenced the legislation of the1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. These disability right laws prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities and provided access to education, public accommodations, telecommunication and transportation (Dockmann, 1990). Historically, many doors to college campuses were closed to students with disabilities. Today with the assistance of federal legislature, close to half a million students with disabilities are enrolled in post graduate institutions. Students with disabilities however are less likely than the nondisabled high school graduates to progress to post graduate institutions.

The federal legislature passed nearly ten years ago was design to ensure access to higher education for a larger group of students with disabilities yet many continued to experience obstacle to access (Dockmann, 1990). Since the enactment of the America with Disability Act (ADA) in 1990, the vast majority of disability services request in higher education are based on learning and psychiatric disabilities, not physical disabilities. The increase in mental disability services request in higher institutions is as a result of the broader definitions of disability found in the ADA, which drew from the language in section 504 of rehabilitation Act of 1993 (Dockmann, 1990). On the whole students found out that the transition from college to university had been the most significant.  They particularly mentioned the change in teaching styles and felt hat the issue could have been dealt with better by university staff and teachers within schools and colleges.

The financial arrangements within higher education were not seen as major barrier to this group of learners and they actually reported that they saw the current arrangement as an enabler to entry (Wray, 2011). China has made huge strides in expanding access to higher education since the 1980s. Over a span of less than 20years, the number of students in tertiary education doubled that of United States and became the largest body of tertiary education students in the world (UNESCO Institution for Statistics, 2011). During this time china shift from a system of free tertiary education to cost sharing system. The shift to cost sharing however altered the demographics of student’s thus changing equity. After the foundation of People Republic of China, the tertiary education focused in restructuring universities and colleges and building new public institutions. Nonetheless, tertiary education progressed slowly in the 1950s and the 1960s and even stalled during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) (Wang, 2014)

Traditionally, limitations have been placed in addressing issues of access, retention, progression and participation of students with disabilities within the South Africa tertiary environment. Some higher education in South Africa have established the so called Disability Units (DU) to offer specialized services to their students with disabilities in other to facilitate access and integration of these students at their institutions (Report of the FOTIM project conducted, 2011). The higher education system in South Africa is one that has been molded by various historians, social and political factors. Taking the degree of social inequality that existed in the past, it is not surprising that there has been a large focus over the last years of increasing the participation of black students in the higher education system (Report of the FOTIM project conducted, 2011).

Participation in tertiary education however remains lower in sub Saharan Africa than in other regions and the participation gap is widening (UNESCO, 2010).  Ghana had a gross enrolment of 6% and Tanzania 1& as compared to 26% globally (UNESCO, 2010), this is the largest minority group and 80% of disable people are estimated to leave in developing countries (UN, 2010). Though most disabilities are aged related, rates of mobility and sensory of impairment are high among children and youths in sub Saharan Africa due to diseases, inadequate health care and nutrition (Solarsh and Hofman, 2006).

Disability is a structure of inequality that has received little policy or research attention in relation to higher education in sub Saharan Africa (Meckosha, 2008: Mumba, 2009). Disabled people in Africa as elsewhere often face poverty as consequences of their exclusion from school, health care and work (Eide et al. 2003). Exclusion from basic education means that there has been a small pool of disabled students to Higher Education or particular programs can be formally blocked (Karangwa, 2008). There is little information available on the representation of disabled students in Higher Education in many countries although states ratifying the UN convention on the Rights of persons with Disabilities (CRPD) (UN, 2006) undertake in Art 1 to collect statistics that help identify and address the barriers by disabled people in exercising their rights including the right to access education on a par with their non- disabled peers. Some states are beginning to collect data on the participation of disabled students (Mumba, 2009).

In a medical model, disability is conceptualized as a restriction or the lack of ability to perform an activity in a normal manner and the social model suggest that disability is the unnecessary economic, social and cultural oppression that occurs in addition to impairment (Morley, 2011). World vision (2007), indicate that there are around 250 blind students in Higher Education institutions in Ethiopia and collaboration between universities in the UK, Ghana, and Uganda is promoting access for deaf people to higher education. In this light, Karangwa (2008) reports how a team at the Kigali Institute of education in Rwanda worked with ministry of education, the national examination council and the National Federation of Disabled to collect a list of 250 applicants with various impairment who had qualified but could not get into universities. Three Rwandan universities then opened their doors to male and female students with visual and hearing impairment for the first time. In South Africa only 2.8% of disable persons have access to higher education and about 30% of disabled persons have no education at all (statistics South Africa, 2005).

Formerly, education for children and young adults in Cameroon was done mostly in specialized centers with very few attending regular primary schools. The first center created in Yaoundé in 1972 called “Ecole specialize pour Enfants Deficient Auditif- ESEDA (Special School For Children with Learning Impairments) Yaoundé and L’externat Medico- Pedagogique de la COLOMBRE (Special School for mentally Retarded) Yaoundé. These centers are run and managed by religious groups and parents of children with disabilities. With the creation of the Ministry of Social Affairs in 1975 a Department of National Solidarity was established to oversee the wellbeing of the physically challenged and the elderly (Tani Emmanuel et al, 2016).

This department, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education has put in some efforts to improve the education of the people with disabilities. Thus the creation of many privately owned specialize schools or institutions in almost all regions of the country with some receiving yearly subsidies from the state took effect. Some of these institutions or special schools serve persons with specific disabilities for example those with mental retardation, visual and hearing impairment behavioral disorder and so on. Others provide services to persons with multiple disabilities (Tani Emmanuel et al, 2016).

Although the law on the protection of the people living with disability was enacted by parliament in 1983, the Head of State only signed the decree laying the modalities of its applications in November, 1990. It is divided into five parts with the first part dealing with the education and vocational training of the people living with disability. Article 1 of the law clearly states that; “the education of children and young adults with disabilities shall be taken care of in regular and special schools… in case of necessities, regular schools enrolling children with disabilities shall be provided with special teachers and didactic materials adopted to the children needs” (MINAS, 1990). To ensure the proper orientation of the 1983.

Law, the Minister of national Education issued a circular letter No 86/1/568/MINEDUC/CTZ of January 13 1986 calling on all national education authorities to implement the 1983 law giving priority, erasing and facilitation and enrolment of children with disabilities in the public and private schools. This circular letter also stated that punishment will be meted out to recalcitrant head teachers and teachers who go against the 1983 law. The major setbacks witness today is lack of follow up and implementation of this policy.

That is why the UN 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNESCO, 1998), the 1994 Salamanca statements, and the Cameroon 1998 law on the orientation of education are all aimed at providing educational opportunities for all both normal and the physically challenged. This is the most effective way to control educational exclusion. Unfortunately, the physically challenged (disabled, impaired, and cultural disadvantaged) are particularly excluded from Cameroon educational system as revealed in the following statistics;

1.2 Statement of The Problem

Higher levels of education enable students to get chances to integrate in to the society in general, and into employment in particular so that they may sustain themselves financially with dignity. Therefore, it is pertinent to promote an inclusive learning environment for them in higher learning institutions which lead to academic success, and this prompted the study. It is a serious issue that the numbers of students with disabilities participating in higher education are minimal. Various studies point to issues in the learning environment and participation of students with disabilities in higher education. Lack of ramps in existing buildings, slippery floors and lecture facilities with seats suitable only for able-bodied students point to exclusive learning environment in higher institutions of education. Furthermore, Barber (2012) observes that students with disabilities complete universities at a statistically significant lower rate than able-bodied peers indicating that there are issues with the learning environment for this group.

Despites the laws ratified by the Cameroon government for the protection of people with disabilities and access to higher education, such as the inclusive education law of 1990, the 1994 salamanca law, the International Education Law for All (EFA) degree 1998, yet there are limited number of people living with disabilities in these institutions. This is due to pre-entry issues as some schools like in China use to refused the enrolment of students and pupils with disabilities because of fear that they can contaminate other students like the case of Chen in China who was 7 years old and his mother brought him to a nearby school but the principal of the school could not let him enroll because of fear that he will affect other children which let the mother to turn to a special education school and she could not fine one (Human right watch,2013)

Physical accessibility here simple implies legislations and policies require universities to provide access to all buildings and facilities but in reality many buildings were not design to provide full access to students with physical impairment and that socially constructed barriers  for example in the design of the buildings, mode of transportation and discriminatory attitudes (Mose,2013)

Lack of information as the Cameroon government has many schemes, policies, program for children and adults with disabilities but such facilities do not reach many families especially those who stay in the villages or remote areas. Even many regular and special schools are not fully aware about the facilities and they could not provide adequate guidance to the parents. Many of the parents are unaware about the admissions, educational aids, vocational training, exams concessions etc. That lack of awareness of educational facilities prevents parents from giving better education to their children with disabilities. People including parents and schools are not aware of funding available to include students with disabilities in regular schools (Mondal and Mete, p64).

And access to the learning resources facilities that are an inclusive approach to teaching and learning. Teaching in higher education is affective in addressing student’s educational needs. It sought to offer insight into the lived experiences of both lecturers and students as a discussion basis for information teaching practices and creating an awareness of the hidden voices of disabled students and also accessing resource centers such as the library, computer laboratory, photocopiers etc. Even those who are already in the universities complain of finances, transportation, accommodation, discrimination. In this light, certain factors are to be associated with learners with disabilities such as perceptions of parents of children and adults with disabilities and their difficulties in helping children and adults with disabilities, the general attitudes of the society, government officials, schools, staff and infrastructure, inadequate level of training of stakeholders, invisibility of disability in the community, poverty, lack of acceptance, lack of interest, gender discrimination. It is against this backdrop the study is to investigate the challenged of access to university education of people living with disabilities in Cameroon.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

1.3.1 Main Objectives

The study has as main objective to investigate on the factors that are affecting access to higher education by students leaving with disabilities.

1.3.2 Specific Objectives

1. To access the availability of infrastructure/ the trends of the students living with disabilities in the different faculties and departments in the universities.
2. To find out the challenges face by students with disabilities in the Universities.
3. The investigation of best practices and case study of inclusive education.