INCLUSION
3. Laws, plans, policies and programmes
6. Teachers and support personnel
There is no legislation or policy that provides a fixed definition of inclusive education or "special educational needs". Although Chad's Interim Education Plan 2018–2020 (PIET in French) discusses the establishment of an inclusive, participatory and multisectoral approach for all, it does not define this approach.
The National Basic Education Curriculum Framework (2008) favours differentiated instruction and stipulates that the curriculum should favour inclusive education. The framework maintains that teachers must adapt to students, that "there are no small successes" and that "schools must banish exclusion and reaffirm their will to ensure a culture of shared learning for all children".
The Education for All National Plan of Action (2002) gives special attention to girls and children from disadvantaged backgrounds (nomadic children, islanders) or with special educational needs (children with hearing impairments, visual impairments and/or other disabilities).
The Interim Education Plan 2018–2020 states that schools must be "inclusive and accessible to all" and supports the creation of "special facilities to educate children above the legal school age (non-formal basic education)". This will make it possible to educate children who have been excluded from the system and to gradually increase the percentage of children meeting the age requirement (6 years) to enter first grade.
School and university health facilities screen and assess physical and learning disabilities and monitor the health of these learners free of charge.
Overall, Act No. 16/PR/2006 "recognizes the right to education and training for all, without distinction as to age; sex; or regional, social, ethnic or religious background." Article 40 of the Constitution states in this regard that the State and the autonomous communities create the conditions and institutions that ensure and guarantee the education of children, and the promotion of gender and persons with disabilities. However, the country has not signed the Convention against Discrimination in Education.
At the national level, the Interim Education Plan 2018–2020 especially targets children "in difficult circumstances" (children with disabilities, islanders, children in nomadic environments, child victims of natural disasters) and "the most vulnerable" children (girls, children in Koranic schools). For this period, 0.6 per cent of the activities in the Interim Education Plan 2018–2020 focus on inclusive education. An inclusive education policy (based on a needs assessment) had to be developed by the Ministry of National Education and Civic Promotion in 2018 and implemented by the Directorate for the Promotion of Nomadic and Island Schools and Special Education. However, there is no formal supervision of inclusive education in the education system, aside from a few isolated and fragmented initiatives.
Disability
Act No. 007/PR/2007 recognizes the right to education and training for persons with disabilities and provides a framework for the support of decentralized regional and local authorities. Order No. 337/MEN/DG/95 "exempts students with confirmed disabilities from enrolment fees in all state schools" and stipulates that they may be eligible for a reduction at private schools, the rate of which is left to the discretion of the school authorities.
The non-governmental organization (NGO) Centre d'éducation spécialisée pour les enfants retardés [Special Education Centre for Children with Learning Disabilities – CESER] provides training for persons with learning disabilities (Down syndrome, autism, psychosis, multiple disabilities, etc.) in N'Djamena through a six-year learning cycle (first grade to sixth grade). The John Paul II Foundation offers skill-building workshops to improve these learners’ socioeconomic integration (leather goods, agriculture and livestock farming). The NGO COOPI has also implemented an inclusive education and psychosocial support programme in the region of Lac.
Gender
The Constitution states that "the State has a duty to ensure the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and the protection of their rights in all areas of private and public life." The law stipulates that the enrolment of girls in schools should be promoted by eliminating stereotypes and other "socioeconomic and cultural constraints" that hinder the learning process.
Decree No. 414/PR/PM/MEN/2007 provides a framework for the activities of the Directorate for the Advancement of Girls' Education, which is responsible for implementing the Government's policy on the promotion and acceleration of girls’ enrolment in school (2004–2015) (initiative 25). This policy intends to "achieve parity between girls and boys". In parallel, the Interim Education Plan 2018–2020 provides for scholarships for vulnerable children, including girls from disadvantaged areas (XAF 18 million in 2019). This plan also recommends that at least one girls' secondary school be created in each department and one girls' college in each region. It also provides the framework for the Basic Education and Gender Parity Programme. Since 2007, the Directorate for the Advancement of Girls' Education has also been responsible for organizing, running, and monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the Government's policy to promote and accelerate girls’ enrolment in school.
Ethnicity and languages
The Constitution makes teaching in the two official languages, French and Arabic, compulsory in all schools. The Government has also adopted a bilingual education policy (French and Arabic) in basic education. To this end, the Interim Education Plan 2018–2020 aims to promote cultural diversity through an education programme on this subject. Various programmes are in place, including the Support Programme for French-Arabic Bilingual Education (PAEB) and the Bilingual Primary Education Development Project (PRODEB). However, few details are available on the implementation and impact of these programmes.
Poverty
The Interim Education Plan 2018–2020 proposes certain measures, such as opening school canteens, providing school kits and developing school/community partnerships. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) provides school meals to disadvantaged children in areas with chronic grain shortages. WFP supports Chad in its policy of enrolling the most disadvantaged children in schools. This programme is supported by the Government of Chad.
Refugee and displaced students
Chad has a Refugee Education Strategy (2013–2016), which however adopts a policy of confinement in camps. Chad took a portion of the USD 7 million in funding from the Global Partnership for Education agreed upon in 2015, which it allocated to an emergency programme to cover the costs of canteens, construction of schools and teaching materials. WFP provides school meals to displaced children in Chad and to disadvantaged children in areas with chronic grain shortages. The Government linked 108 schools in 19 refugee camps and settlements to the national education system in 2018. Finally, the Interim Education Plan 2018–2020 plans to set up temporary learning spaces.
Several ministries share responsibility for implementing an inclusive approach in education, including the Ministry of Women, Social Action and National Solidarity (responsible for preschool education), the Ministry of National Education and Basic Education, and the Ministry of Vocational Training, Small Secondary Trades, and Vocational and Technical Education. The Ministry of Higher Education deals with universities.
Infrastructure
Article 20 of Act No. 007/PR/2007 stipulates that public contracting authorities – including decentralized regional and local authorities – must provide for access ramps when constructing buildings. To this end, the Project to Strengthen Education and Literacy in Chad (PREAT) aims to improve access to primary education by improving school infrastructure in the most disadvantaged areas.
Curriculum and teaching materials
The Interim Education Plan 2018–2020 helps connect villages with information and communications technology via community access points to promote the gradual establishment of an "inclusive information society". The Project to Strengthen Education and Literacy in Chad provides reading, mathematics and science textbooks; slates; and teacher's guides for primary education. It also distributes educational materials "that support inclusive formal education messages".
Future primary school teachers are trained in special education for three hours a week and in psychology for two hours a week for three years.
Chad has sent more Chadian teachers to refugee camps to teach French, civic education and geography, while enhancing refugee teachers’ qualifications so that they are properly certified and able to teach in state schools. Between 2012 and 2014, 98 refugee teachers from the Central African Republic studied a course leading to a diploma at the teacher training college in Doba. Between 2012 and 2016, 341 refugee teachers from Sudan also graduated from the bilingual teacher training college in Abéché after a two-year course run during the summer months. New groups of Sudanese teachers are currently being trained, and in Djabal refugee camp, some teachers are temporarily working in Chadian schools. The Governments of Chad and Sudan have signed a joint agreement with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to ensure that diplomas and equivalences are recognized when Sudanese teachers return to their home country.
Chad does not have a national education monitoring report, nor does it have clearly defined indicators for measuring inclusive education.
