Abstract
The study was guided by the Ujamaa Intersections Model in assessing the historical contributions of the Ujamaa Policy on the inclusiveness of people with disability in higher education in Tanzania. Tanzania’s post-Arusha Declaration of 1967 embraced Ubuntu values such as human dignity, equality, Ujamaa, inclusion, etc. The values facilitated the endorsement of Universal education and self-reliance policy indispensable for the inclusion ecology of people with disability in higher education. In the course, the Ujamaa Intersections Model became a supportive tool for people with disability to enroll in higher education in support of the African Ubuntu vision that education belongs to a community through collective and holistic community engagement. Each Ujamaa or community intersection was responsible for preparing youths for higher education and as a result between 1960 and 1984 enrollment of people with disability increased from 25% of the age group (only 16% of females) in 1960 to 72% (85% of females) in 1985 (despite the rapidly increasing population); the adult literacy rate rose from 17% in 1960 to 63% by 1975 and continued to rise. Therefore based on the goals of the Ujamaa Policy, education is an integral part of the community that renders a necessary inclusive environment for people with disability in higher education through collective and holistic community engagement. Global education stakeholders should revisit the Ujamaa Policy through the Ubuntu lens to capture available opportunities that can promote the inclusion agenda of people with disability at various educational levels relevant to the realization of SDGs.
Presenters
Meinrad Haule LembukaAssistant Lecturer, Sociology and Social Work, The Open University of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Past and Present in the Humanistic Education
KEYWORDS
African Ubuntu, Community engagement, Disability Inclusion, Ujamaa Intersections Model
