Rwanda Governance Board(RGB) has called on the government to improve service delivery for persons with disabilities especially in public institutions such as schools and other public places.

According to the Rwanda Governance Scorecard (RGS) 2018, the fifth pillar of Investing in human and social development improved by 0.67 percent. However, the Social Protection indicator which falls under the above mentioned pillar was, "the lowest performer of all the indicators with 63.79.”

It has four indicators: Education, Health, Social Protection, Climate Change and Environmental Resilience.

According to the survey, five indicators scored below 70 per cent. They include; Vibrancy of Non-State actors in policy formulation (67.33%); Service delivery in Economic Sector (66.48%); National Capital and Exports promotion (66.41%); Citizen Participation (65.63%; and Social protection came last at 63.79 per cent.

Under the Social Protection indicator, the percentage of Inclusiveness for people with disabilities stands at 59.73 per cent while Citizens’ level of satisfaction with services to promote social and economic welfare was 63.50 per cent, making them the worst performers in the entire report.

"Multiple efforts” should be put in place to improve the status of inclusiveness for persons with disabilities as well as social protection in general.

Develop and implement strategies to improve service delivery especially for people with disability in schools and other public places,” Rwanda Governance Scorecard recommendations reads in part.

In a recent Interview with Sunday Times, Children with disabilities called on the government to ensure that their rights are equally respected, especially in schools for them to access education.

Pacifique Niyonkuru, 12, from GS Mayange in Bugesera District stated that special arrangements for kids with impairments could go a long way in creative conducive environment for them to thrive.

"Our speed to grasp things is not the same as our able-bodied peers. Some children have hearing and speech impairment but very few schools cater for such special needs, which makes it hard for some of the disabled children to get education,” Niyonkuru said.

Chantal Tuyishime, 16, who completed her Senior Three at GS HVP Gatagara in Huye, said that she endured a great deal of struggles until she joined the special needs school at Gatagara.  

Right from primary through secondary school the physically disabled Tuyishime says that teachers and students were insensitive to her special needs.

"I remember one incident while we were sitting for district examinations and the invigilators who were well aware of my problem could not allow me extra minutes to finish my paper. It was really sad and I ended up failing that specific exam,” Tuyishime narrated.

"Some school infrastructure are built in a way that do not allow us to freely access all corners of the school and also making it hard to enter classroom especially for someone like me who uses a wheelchair.”

The Executive Secretary of National Council of Persons with Disabilities (NCPD), Emmanuel Ndayisaba, also noted that said that there were about 46 schools countrywide which provide for children with special needs.

Ndayisaba also revealed that not all of the schools for children with special needs are functional while the majority that are operational are privately owned and expensive.

The Score Card is an independent publication that comprehensively assesses governance in Rwanda using both primary and secondary data sources. It considers 8 observed dimensions of governance that constitute 8 governance pillars, with 37 indicators and 157 variables.

Justice Minister, Johnston Busingye observed that the scorecard was a mirror through which the Rwandan government gauges its efforts and commits to do more and better in areas lagging behind.

 "The aim of the Governance scorecard is to identify critical areas that need improvement but also suggesting recommendations that help the government to improve the areas with identified deficits,” AnastaseShyaka, CEO of RGB said at the launch of the report.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw