Namibia is one of the nations in Africa which has received lots of foreign support from groups such as the United Nations to help develop their education system. The primary focus of these efforts is achieving equality in the learning environment so that all students have the same opportunities to succeed. In some nations this means emphasizing education for girls as well as boys, while in other countries these efforts support greater equality between different ethnic groups while at school. Namibia, however, features numerous programs to assist students with learning disabilities. Thus far, the government has a rather well developed system, established by national legislature, to assist handicapped students based on their individual needs. Over the past decade there has been growing momentum among Namibians to have inclusive education for disabled children, which has for awhile faced lots of resistance from the Namibian government. Currently almost all decisions pertaining to education systems are left up to the national government, so Namibia has yet to experience any form of inclusion/mainstreaming.
Learn more about Namibia's approach to special education here:
http://www.nied.edu.na/publications/nieddocs/Special%20education%20Broad%20Curriculum.pdf
(Republic of Namibia, 1999)
Section 2.1 of the government document linked above addresses the basic issue of mainstreaming for handicapped students, however as they explain it, the Namibian government only supports inclusion for individuals with non-mental disabilities. In fact, 2.1 states "It is possible for some learners to follow the mainstream curriculum and teaching in the ordinary classroom with the provision of special aids or facilities (e.g. hearing aids, Braille equipment and books, wheelchair ramps and wider doors)", which has no mention of resources to assist students with learning disabilities such as autism. This leads us to the larger inability in Namibia for the government to accept the significance of inclusion in the educational development of all disabled learners. Simple changes in related policies could bring Namibia to par with more developed nations like Canada.
Learn more about Namibia's approach to special education here:
http://www.nied.edu.na/publications/nieddocs/Special%20education%20Broad%20Curriculum.pdf
(Republic of Namibia, 1999)
Section 2.1 of the government document linked above addresses the basic issue of mainstreaming for handicapped students, however as they explain it, the Namibian government only supports inclusion for individuals with non-mental disabilities. In fact, 2.1 states "It is possible for some learners to follow the mainstream curriculum and teaching in the ordinary classroom with the provision of special aids or facilities (e.g. hearing aids, Braille equipment and books, wheelchair ramps and wider doors)", which has no mention of resources to assist students with learning disabilities such as autism. This leads us to the larger inability in Namibia for the government to accept the significance of inclusion in the educational development of all disabled learners. Simple changes in related policies could bring Namibia to par with more developed nations like Canada.