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5.1 Context

Uganda has committed itself to uphold the UN Human Rights norms by ratifying various UN human rights treaties,22 including the recently adopted CRPD. The current constitution of Uganda reflects a similar commitment. Chapter four of the constitution guarantees protection and enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms to every citizen. Article 21 of the constitution, generally reaffirms the principle of chapter four that the enshrined fundamental rights and freedoms of the individuals in the constitution are inherent and not granted by the State; and that, these rights and freedoms shall be respected, upheld and promoted by all organs and agencies of government and by all persons.

Among the rights enshrined in the constitution include a right to equality and freedom from discrimination,23 a right to education to all,24 a right by marginalised groups including disabled people to affirmative action measures in guaranteeing their equality in society25 and rights of disabled people to respect and human dignity, and the State and society taking appropriate measures to ensure disabled people realize their full mental and physical potentials.26 Further to the realization of rights of disabled people, the constitution requires Parliament to enact laws appropriate of protection of disabled people.27

22 _{According to the UN Treaty Body Data Base, as at November 2010, out of the 9 UN human} rights treaties, Uganda has either accessed or ratified 8 and signed one. However, has not taken action on three UN human rights optional protocols, namely, Second Optional to the International Covenant on the Civil and Political Rights (CCPR- OP 2- DP) Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on the Economic, Social and Cultural Right (ICESCR-OP) and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW- OP). Information available at <http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/Statusfrset?OpenFrameSet> accessed on 25th November 2010.

23_{The Constitution of the Republic of Uganda 1995, Article 21.} 24 Ibid Art 30. 25 Ibid Art 32(1) 26 Ibid Art 35(1). 27 _{Ibid Art 35(2).}

Of the constitutional provisions on disability rights, affirmative action is seen to be most commonly translated into practice. The aim of affirmative action is redressing the imbalances that exist between the marginalized groups and other groups in society. Since its enshrinement in the constitution, affirmative action appears to have been successful in bolstering wide-ranging legal provision on disability inclusion, including guaranteeing the election of disabled people into political positions in the country and consequently, bringing in some policy changes in favour of disabled people. In education, Uganda appears to have expanded access to education for disabled people at all levels. In particular, the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) polices make it mandatory that disabled pupils have education (More discussion on this is reserved for chapter 3 where it suits best the aim of this chapter is only introducing the research). Also, educational structures are set up to support education of disabled pupils at primary and secondary level, such as training of teachers to diploma level on special needs education and establishment of a special needs education desk by the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) to cater for the needs of disabled children in examinations. Because of such favourable education policies and an educational infrastructure for inclusive education for disabled people as noted in before, nearly 1000 annually are projected to join higher education by 2010. However, similar infrastructure and policies do not exist for higher education. Institutions of higher education do not therefore appear to be ready for disabled people. This raises the question of compatibility of Ugandan law with the obligation in international human rights law to ensure disabled students‘ access to higher education without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunities. One of the aims of this study, as noted above, is to investigate the extent to which Ugandan law and policy are working to achieve inclusive higher education for disabled people in line with human rights instruments including the CRPD.

5.2 Justification for the Study, Originality and Contribution to Research This study aims to make two contributions to general research. The first one is its theoretical contribution to existing literature on disability inclusion in higher

education, particularly in the Ugandan context. The second one is its practical contribution of proposing a framework for further development of the Ugandan disability policy and legislation.

This is the first study on Uganda which critically assesses the impact of the disability legislation on people with a range of impairments in the institutions of higher education and examines the extent to which these institutions‘ policies are compliant with Ugandan disability law. It is also the first study to examine the extent to which Uganda disability law and policy are working to achieve inclusive higher education for disabled people in line with human rights instruments including the CRPD. Its proposed framework of improving the legislation by drawing on the social mode of disability and conceptions of equality and non- discrimination extends its originality.

Whilst Uganda is in the international limelight for its disability inclusion with regards to political participation of its disabled people and having a strong, articulate and representative disability movement,28 its literature on disability inclusion in higher education is rare. Further, while comprehensive reviews of Uganda higher education have been undertaken by funding bodies29 and the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE),30 disabled students are still invisible in these reports. Again, while national reviews on disability have been undertaken by the national disability organisations and by international

28

AK Dube, ‗Participation of Disabled People in the PRSP/PEAP in Uganda‘ in B Albert (ed), In

or out of Mainstream? Lessons from Research on Disability and Development Cooperation (Leeds

Disability Press, Leeds 2006) 134.

29 _{See X Liang, ‗Uganda Tertiary Education Sector‘ (Human Development Sector, African}

Region, World Bank 2004).

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/AFRICAEXT/Resources/no_50.pdf accessed on 23rd September 2010.

30 _{See National Council for Higher Education, ‗State of Higher Education and Training in Uganda} 2006: A report on Higher Education Delivery and Institutions‘ <http://www.unche.or.ug/brief.php?id=27> and ‗State of Higher Education and Training in

Uganda 2005: A report on Higher Education Delivery and Institutions‘

development partners,31 these reports contain scanty information on how institutions of higher education are including the disabled people. This study aims to contribute to this literature by filling these gaps.