The State and Implementation of Inclusive Education Policy in Tanzania: The Case of Primary School Education in Ilala Municipal Council (IMC)

Paul Mtasigazya¹

1. Department of Ethics and Leadership/The Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial Academy, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Section:Research Paper, Product Type: Journal-Paper
Vol.9 , Issue.1 , pp.25-32, Jan-2023

Online published on Jan 31, 2023

Copyright © Paul Mtasigazya . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
 

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Abstract :
Special education has been practiced in Tanzania in 1950 education by the Church Missionary Society. Notwithstanding its long time in the country, its implementation literature is sparse although Tanzania education policy has clearly stated the need for inclusive education. This study examines the compliance of public primary schools on inclusive education policy in Tanzania in particular it examine the compliance on inclusive to the pupils with disabilities in primary schools by considering school infrastructure and teachers’ capacity to implement it and the challenges in implementing primary education in Tanzania. This study was qualitative and it employed a case study design. The sample size was 66 respondents selected using purposive sampling while the methods of data collection were interview, focus group discussion and documentary review. The method of data analysis was content analysis. The findings indicate that inclusive education, which has led to an increase pupils with disabilities in schools. Despite this achievement in enrolling pupils with disabilities as part of inclusive education, the challenges such as inadequate of learning and teaching materials and lack of teachers ‘competence to handle pupils with disabilities indicate that Tanzania has a long way to go in provision of inclusive education. This study suggests that the government has to increase the budget for inclusive education and provide capacity building for teachers and other caretakers so that pupils with disabilities and special needs may get competent teachers and services needed while at schools. Further to that, the ministry of education, Science and technology and other stakeholders in education sector should put their efforts on improving the implementation of inclusive education so as pupils with disabilities get education and services at school similarly to pupils without disabilities in primary schools in Tanzania.

Key-Words / Index Term :
Inclusive education, primary education, Implementation, Tanzania, policy

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