Rwanda avails digital textbooks for learners with disabilities

Textbooks for subjects taught in pre-primary and primary education are now accessible in a digital form that is user-friendly for pupils with disabilities, according to education officials. Officials provided the update on Tuesday, March 4, while responding to issues identified in the report of the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) which was being examined by members of the parliamentary Committee on Governance Affairs and Gender. The report indicated that as regards performance, the indicator related to caring for children with disabilities and those with ‘special issues’ was too low, standing at 6.2 per cent, and that it continues to lag behind in early childhood development (ECD) scorecard. ALSO READ: How Rwanda is faring in special needs education The Minister of Education, Joseph Nsengimana, told lawmakers that the textbooks available on the Rwanda Education Board’s e-learning platform have an audio feature which can help learners with visual impairment, and sign language visuals for easing access to education for those with hearing impairment. This, he said, is one of the means to facilitate learning for persons with disabilities. “By enabling students with disabilities to make use of books designed for all students, we realise that this helps in inclusive education,” he said, encouraging parents to ensure their children with disabilities are enrolled in school. He also said that assistive technology is used for additional features such as showing a signal on a specific word one has listened to so that they are able to recognise it easily. This, he pointed out, facilitates learning for children with mental-related disabilities. ALSO READ: Inclusive education: non-physical disabilities still a pressing challenge – officials REB Deputy Director General Flora Mutezigaju said that textbooks [in print form] for all subjects taught in pre-primary and primary schools – including Kinyarwanda, social studies, and mathematics – were changed into accessible digital textbooks. Accessibility for learners with disabilities, she said, means the books have audio and sign language features. Audio helps learners who are visually impaired while sign language is meant to help learners with hearing impairment. She indicated that such textbooks are not only meant for people with disabilities, as any person may read a book and once they finish, also be able to switch to its video form. She observed that the training of teachers on their use, and their distribution in schools were done this year. “In the next year budget [2025/2026], we also want to digitise secondary school textbooks,” she said. Commenting on internet access as digital textbook imply the need for internet, she admitted that it is required, but pointed out that the textbooks are installed in the computers of teachers who were trained on their use, and in smart classrooms such that they can be used offline. ALSO READ: Govt to build five model special schools for autistic children REB Director General Nelson Mbarushimana said that, apart from textbooks that are interactive with such features, “we also started to produce copies of all the textbooks we have in braille form.” “And we hope that we will have completed them soon to help learners with visual impairment.” Under the education sector strategic plan 2024-2029, Rwanda targets to almost double the number of children with disabilities enrolled in primary schools annually, from 40,324 in 2023/2024 to 80,323 in 2028/2029.

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Rwanda avails digital textbooks for learners with disabilities