The unequal access to the right to education among Black children with disabilities in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

Abstract

In Africa, and specifically in South Africa, the multidimensional barriers continue to impede equitable access to the constitutional right to education for Black children with disabilities. The study aimed to explore the problem in rural and other marginalized communities of the Eastern Cape province. Ubuntu philosophy is used as the framework to articulate the African worldview of inequalities experienced by Black children with disabilities in access to education. The study used a qualitative research methodology and a case study in Komani and Qonce. Through purposive sampling, 22 participants were selected who were parents, guardians, Eastern Cape Department of Education officials, and South African Human Rights Commission officials. The data were analysed using Braun and Clark’s thematic analytic approach. The participants expressed that access to education by children with disabilities is affected by infrastructural barriers, the feeling of gloom and despair, and the exclusionary nature of equality in South Africa. There is a need for further research to inform policymakers and implementers on the inequalities experienced by children with disabilities concerning access to education. This paper also contributes to the broader discourse on disability rights and educational equity in South Africa’s most disadvantaged regions.