Beyond the Politics of Inclusion: The Policy Environment and the Fate of Children with Disability in the Ghanaian Educational System

Abstract

The 1992 constitution of Ghana and other national legislative instruments guarantee and promote free compulsory universal basic education for all Ghanaian children irrespective of their background. This has been the practice for many years. Even though these policies have chalked some successes, especially regarding school attendance and gender parity, there still remains some level of uncertainty as to whether all Ghanaian children, especially those with disabilities, benefit from these policies. Using secondary information available, the paper provides an overview of the existing legislative instruments that seek to promote the adoption of inclusive education policy in Ghana. Evidence from the literature reveals that there are restrictions within the current policy provisions which make inclusive education not possible for children living with disabilities. The paper concludes and recommends that there should be some modifications or new developments of inclusive education to enable the system to accommodate the diverse educational needs of children with disabilities.