It is a Friday evening at University of Kigali where two hearing-impaired students, Yves Dushimimana and Pascasie Masengesho, sit attentively in front of a classroom. As lecturer Fred Muvunyi delivers the lesson, a sign language interpreter, Alain Shema Mbangutse, translates in real time, ensuring the two students follow and participate alongside their hearing peers. ALSO READ: Making school inclusive for children living with disabilities Dushimimana and Masengesho are part of a small but growing group of hearing-impaired students enrolled under the university’s inclusive education model. Through a bilingual and bicultural approach, combining sign language and written communication, the university is working to remove barriers that have long excluded students with hearing impairments from higher education. According to Samuel Kabera, Director of the Centre for Equity and Inclusiveness at UoK, such inclusion efforts are aimed at making persons with disabilities, especially hearing impairments, to feel welcomed, respected, and supported. “When you read the constitution, it states that every child has a right to education,” he said. He told The New Times that while pursuing his master’s degree in the USA, he identified a gap and a strong need for inclusive education in Rwanda, and thus, he decided to pursue a PhD in Special Needs Education to gain deeper knowledge about inclusive education. ALSO READ: Govt urged to enforce implementation of special needs education policy Despite having strong policies in Rwanda, he says, many children still do not attend school, especially those with disabilities. He pointed out that the issue is not that schools refuse to welcome them, but that there are too few trained professionals capable of teaching learners with special needs. “Because of lack of skills and knowledge of how to teach in an inclusive classroom setting, you find that a big number of students with special needs are left out. For us, after identifying this gap, we said we can start opening doors for students with disabilities to join the university because a campus stands for the community,” he said. “That’s how I developed the concept to start the Centre for Equity and Inclusiveness. Our focus is on promoting inclusivity in higher learning institutions. We decided to first enrol the hearing-impaired students,” he explained. “We believe that a student who is hearing-impaired uses two main languages – sign language and written communication. The latter had to be done by sign language interpreters. We trained students from different departments in just five months, employed them and they now help teachers to translate.” Fabrice Ishimwe, a student with hearing impairment, who is currently pursuing Administrative and Local Governance, said sign language is the key that unlocked his entire learning experience. “If there is sign language, I understand everything; without it, I understand nothing,” he explains. ALSO READ: How schools can apply inclusive education Inclusive learning, Ishimwe says, has strengthened his confidence and determination to pursue education. His colleague Dushimimana said interpretation makes them feel included and not left behind, just like their classmates who can hear. Mbangutse, a sign language interpreter, said he is usually involved in classes, group discussions, and other academic activities, something he describes as a calling and a passion. In the 2022/23 academic year, 40,342 learners, representing 0.9 percent of the total 4,456,419, were identified as having disabilities.
