Exploring Adolescents with Disabilities’ Access to Education, Social Protection and Employment Opportunities in Ethiopia

Abstract

The importance of providing inclusive services for persons with
disabilities has been gaining increasing international attention in line
with the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and pledges made at the
2018 Global Summit on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to scale up
investments in inclusive education, health and employment services.
This trend has been mirrored in Ethiopia as highlighted by the National
Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities (2012–2021). This article
explores the extent to which adolescents with disabilities in Ethiopia are
able to access inclusive services to realise their full capabilities, drawing
on longitudinal data collected before and after the onset of the Covid-19
pandemic with a sample of young people with physical, visual or hearing
impairments aged 10–19 from Afar, Amhara and Oromia Regions and
Dire Dawa City Administration. The findings highlight that while recent
investments in special needs education services have made a critical
difference to adolescents’ access to formal education in Ethiopia, there are
significant quality deficits, including inadequate teacher training, a
dearth of adapted teaching materials and infrastructure and underinvestment
in follow-on inclusive education services beyond 4th grade.
These challenges are compounded by inadequate social protection to
address economic barriers to education service uptake, and a dearth of
inclusive youth- and disability-friendly psychosocial support services.
The article concludes by reflecting on context-sensitive and cost-effective
entry points for strengthening inclusive services in Ethiopia, including
case management by social workers, in line with international
commitments enshrined in the Convention of the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities.
Keywords: Adolescents, Disabilities, Education, Inclusive Services