Education and Welfare Systems
Senior 4 · General and Religious Studies
Education and Welfare Systems
Lesson 1 of 3
25 min
Article 20 of Rwanda's Constitution says: "Every Rwandan has the right to education", and "Primary education is compulsory and free in public schools." Now meet three illustrative learners:
All three have the same right. Each meets a different barrier. Whether they learn depends less on the law than on whether the education system is inclusive: designed so that every learner can be present, take part and succeed.
Definition
Education: the process of developing a person's knowledge, skills, values and attitudes, so that they can live well and contribute to society.
Formal education: organised, graded learning in schools, colleges and universities, leading to recognised qualifications. Non-formal education: organised learning outside the school system, such as adult literacy classes or a cooperative's training. Informal education: learning from daily life, family, work, media and community.
Inclusive education: an education system that adapts itself so that all learners, whatever their abilities, background, sex, language or circumstances, learn together in the same schools with the support they need.
Learner with special educational needs: a learner who needs extra support or adaptations to learn, for example because of a disability, a learning difficulty or a difficult situation at home.
Equality gives every learner the same thing; equity gives each learner what they need to reach the same goal. Example: the same textbook for all is equality; a large-print textbook for a learner with low vision is equity.
| Level | Grades | Official age | Net enrolment rate, 2024–25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary | 3 years | 3 to 5 | 50.3% |
| Primary | P1 to P6 | 6 to 11 | 95.8% |
| Lower secondary | S1 to S3 | 12 to 14 | 28.9% (ages 12 to 17) |
| Upper secondary, including TVET | S4 to S6 | 15 to 17 | |
| Higher education | Degrees and diplomas | 18 to 22 | Gross enrolment 10.2% |
Source: Ministry of Education, 2024–2025 Education Statistical Yearbook. The net enrolment rate is the share of children of the official age who are enrolled at that level. Notice the drop from primary to secondary: almost every child of primary age is in primary school, but fewer than three in ten young people aged 12 to 17 are enrolled in secondary school at the right level.
UNESCO puts the difference between integration and inclusion this way: it "focuses on the inclusivity of the whole education system rather than trying to remove barriers one by one; the emphasis is on how to transform existing systems rather than on how some learners can be integrated into them". It also reports that, globally, one in five children, adolescents and youth are entirely excluded from education, for reasons that include poverty, location, gender, language and disability.
Rwanda's Constitution backs inclusion directly. Article 20 makes primary education compulsory and free in public schools, and Article 51 gives the State "the duty to establish special measures facilitating the education of persons with disabilities".
| Indicator | 2020–21 | 2024–25 |
|---|---|---|
| Learners with disability in the education system | 30,729 | 43,663 |
| Of whom in primary | 23,427 | 31,927 |
| Of whom in general and professional secondary | 3,973 | 5,599 |
| Primary teachers trained in special needs and inclusive education | no figure given | 10,192 |
Source: Ministry of Education, 2024–2025 Education Statistical Yearbook, section 8. The number of learners with disability enrolled rose by 12,934, or about 42%, in four years. Read this carefully: a rise may mean that more learners with disability are reaching school, that schools are identifying and recording disabilities better, or both.
Warning
Two common errors. (1) "Inclusive education means education for disabled children." Inclusion concerns every learner who risks exclusion: girls and boys, the poor, refugees, those who speak another language at home, those who live far away. (2) "Putting a learner with a disability in an ordinary class is inclusion." Without ramps, adapted materials, trained teachers and changed teaching methods, that is integration: the learner is present but not truly taking part.
Tip
Present, participating, progressing. To test whether a school is inclusive for a learner, ask three questions: Is the learner present (enrolled and attending)? Is the learner participating (taking part in lessons and school life)? Is the learner progressing (learning and moving up)? All three must be yes.
Important
Discuss. Choose one of the three learners (Keza, Eric or Ange). List the changes that the school, the family and the community could each make so that this learner is present, participating and progressing. Which change would cost least and make most difference?
UNICEF Rwanda: "Disability Inclusion: Leaving No One Behind", about 1.5 minutes, with UNICEF's Yetnebersh Nigussie Molla. Listen for the message about the right to education of children with disabilities.
Practice
Key points
Sources and credits
Written by Ganzaa: the three learners, Figure 1, the tables and the exercises.
Quick check
Match each kind of education to its example.
Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.
