Vanuatu’s 2020 census shows that children living with disabilities largely do not attend school in Vanuatu.

The causes for their exclusion include community stigma around disability, lack of screening for disability, lack of inclusive pedagogy, limited skills and knowledge of teachers, poverty and lack of specialist support services.

Juliette worries about her 11-year-old son Jimmy, who struggles to learn due to a visual impairment. “When he got to grade 3, Jimmy’s eyesight became worse. This became very challenging in the classroom and at home.”

Juliette encourages Jimmy to go to school, but he often feels despondent about attending. She explains: “Jimmy says things like, ‘I don’t want to go to school because I don’t recognize what the teacher is writing. The teacher erases things from the board too quickly, and I can’t keep up.’”

Steps toward more inclusive education

With GPE support, the Ministry of Education and Training in partnership with Save the Children are working to transform education in Vanuatu by strengthening inclusive education.

The GPE-funded project helped train teachers and principals across the country to screen students like Jimmy for disabilities. They also learnt how to write and review individual education plans for children needing more support in the classroom and refer students living with disabilities for specialist services and assistive devices.

Educators were supported to adapt their classrooms and teaching styles by better understanding external challenges faced by families and children living with disabilities.

Juliette is determined not to let her son’s discouragement linger and does everything she can to help him learn. “I went with him to the school and asked the teachers to seat him in front so he can see the board clearly. The teachers now know this, and Jimmy is always seated in the front.”

Despite these improvements, Juliette and Jimmy still face challenges. “It’ll be good for the government to step in and assist our children with disabilities in our schools,” says Juliette.

The GPE-funded program is also supporting the construction of the first-ever inclusive education resource center situated at the National University of Vanuatu in Port Vila. The center will enable teachers and students like Jimmy to receive the tailored support and resources they need.

Around 4,600 children with disabilities (500 at early learning level and 4,100 at primary level) will benefit from better-trained teachers and inclusive education services.

And with the establishment of the inclusive education resource center, more teachers and students will continue to reap its benefit well beyond the end of the GPE program, strengthening the inclusiveness of Vanuatu's education system in the long term.