A comparative study of deaf and blind pupils’ access to primary school education in urban and rural areas of Zambia.
Date
2015
Authors
Ndhlovu, Daniel
Mtonga, Thomas
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The University Of Zambia School of Education
Abstract
The article compares pupils with hearing and visual impairments’ access to primary school education in urban and rural areas of Zambia. Data were collected from 408 respondents in fifteen primary schools. The study revealed that more children with hearing and visual impairments in rural areas entered grade one between 2006 and 2012 than their counterparts in urban areas. However, more pupils in urban schools progressed to grade seven than their counterparts in rural areas. This situation implies that more pupils dropped out of school in rural areas than their counterparts in urban areas. As regards gender, 44% of the female pupils in rural areas dropped out of school compared to 21% of their counterparts in urban areas. Long distance to schools, failure by parents or guardians to pay fees demanded by schools, negative attitude of parents and children towards school, poor academic performance and early marriages contributed to the high dropout rate.
Description
Keywords
Hearing and visual impairments--Zambia. , Special education--Zambia.