AN EVALUATION OF THE INCLUSIVE EDUCATION POLICY IN ZIMBABWE: A CASE STUDY OF DANHIKO SECONDARY SCHOOL IN EPMAFARA DISTRICT

ABSTRACT 

The research aimed at evaluating the inclusive education policy in Zimbabwe. In this study, Danhiko Secondary School was used as a case study. The growing rate of school dropouts has increased due to poor educational provision. Most schools in the country are struggling to offer inclusive education. The rate of dropouts and cases of discrimination in schools has also indicated more need for readdressing the educational policies and laws that supports the inclusive education. It is against this background that the basic assumption to this study is that the government as the major education service delivery actor has failed. This study has also looked at the role of private partners in the process of inclusive education provision. This  has  been  furthered  by  analysing  the  current  educational  policies  that  impact  on  the provision of inclusive education. The theoretical framework which guided this study is Social Contract Theory by Thomas Hobbes. It states that the government and the citizens are in a contract  to  curtail  state  of  anarchy.  The  Government  is  responsible  for  protection, promotion,  respect  and  fulfilment  of  human  rights  such  as  educational  rights. The social responsibility  of  the  government  is  measured  by  laws  it  put  in  place  and  the  way  it implements  them.  The  study  used  both  qualitative  and quantitative  research  methods.  For primary data collection, interviews were used and questionnaires were used to collect data from key informants with this data being corroborated by journals, newspapers, international publications and articles. The major findings of this research are that the government is no longer active in the process of inclusive education provision with private partners occupying that space and it being  only a  facilitator.  The  study also  revealed that  the  process  of  the provision of inclusive education has been facing a challenge of financial constraints, lack of policy  and  institutional coordination,  and  corruption.  Based  on  the  findings,  the  research recommends  that  the  government  should  create  an  institution  that  will  coordinate  the provision  of  inclusive  education  from  private  partners  to  increase  education  delivery services.  This  process  will  include  creation  of  policies  and  laws  that  strongly  support inclusive education. Also the research recommends amalgamation of policies that influence the provision of inclusive education