Inclusive Teacher-Training Centres

ADPP, a Mozambican NGO, and Light for the World are working together to transform rural teacher-training centres (TTC) into centres of expertise on Inclusive Education. ADPP acts as the implementing partner, while Light for the World provides most of the funding as well as the Inclusive Education expertise.

ADPP, a Mozambican NGO supporting vulnerable people, and Light for the World, a global disability and development NGO working in low-income communities, are working together to transform rural teacher-training centres (TTC) into centres of expertise on Inclusive Education. Starting with two TTCs in the Mozambican provinces of Sofala and Manica, ADPP acts as the implementing partner, while Light for the World provides most of the funding as well as the Inclusive Education expertise through an international consultant. Since the first centre of expertise was jointly established in 2017, 200 new teachers have been trained in Inclusive Education each year.

Problems Targeted

Inclusive Education is not part of the official teacher-training curriculum in Mozambique, which means there are few teachers in the country who are skilled in instructing children with disabilities and special educational needs.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

The project started with the inclusion of blind persons in the teacher-training programme at the TTC in Sofala, who then became role models and advocates in their communities. At the same time, the TTC built up expertise in Innovative Education and started to work with trainers, students, and the school community to promote the inclusion of children with disabilities. Now teachers for primary education are trained in disability issues, enabling them to work with children with and without disabilities. In addition, the centres of expertise create links to the communities through their knowledge of environmental, health, and nutrition issues. The trainers are also state officials, ensuring seamless cooperation with government authorities. The centres for expertise also offer a postgraduate degree in Inclusive Education, covering areas such as special educational needs, alternative communication systems, transition to the labour market, and early intervention. Moreover, the centres provide expertise and support to other stakeholders, including 47 mainstream schools and one district authority. As of 2019, there are two centres of expertise in which a total of 200 teachers are trained each year.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

The project is sustained through funds and in-kind contributions from Light for the World, with support from the Austrian Development Cooperation, ADPP, and the Mozambican Government. ADPP has already started to replicate the model with the transfer of the former director of the TTC in Sofala to Manica, where a second TTC is being transitioned to a centre of expertise. Moreover, the NGOs also plan to transform eight of the 47 schools supported by the centres into model schools for Inclusive Education. At these eight model schools, teachers will receive intensified Inclusive Education training and support, while community-based activists and members of disabled persons organizations will cooperate to bring their expertise to new communities.

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