The Jomtien Conference in 1990 set the agenda for the international community and national governments to promote ‘Education for All’. This campaign was launched at a time when there was already a strong undercurrent for an unqualified support for educational integration for persons with disabilities (PWDs). The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education goes beyond ‘integrated education’ by advocating ‘inclusive education’ as a means towards ‘Education for All’. This paper argues that the move towards inclusive education in relation to people with disabilities is a Western realization of the problems brought about by ‘bundling PWDs up’ in asylums and later in special schools, a system which was transported wholesale to countries of the South. It is now realized how important it is to educate children and adults in ordinary settings within the framework of the Normalization Principle. For non‐Western countries, inclusive education is an assertion of the principles embodied in indigenous customary education. Although it is impossible to return to or rely on customary education fully, the application of its principles will guarantee appropriate education to all people with special needs.
Joseph Kisanji (Thu,) studied this question.