Blind lecturer is a staunch champion for inclusive education

After Beth Nasiforo Mukarwego’s birth while the family was in exile in Burundi, her parents were frantic about her education because she had a visual impairment that led to blindness.

“I was born with a visual impairment due to abnormal development during pregnancy. It began in my right eye. As I grew up, my vision continued to deteriorate because of the development of a cataract. There was nothing the doctors could do,” she said.

Mukarwego, now a lecturer at the University of Rwanda-College of Education, said that, in Burundi, it was impossible for a visually impaired child to go to school and get a quality education. So, her family moved her to Kenya where she finished her schooling and eventually also obtained a PhD degree.

“The journey was not easy. People with visual impairments do not manage to get enough materials to read in Braille,” the 54-year-old told University World News.

A headmistress with a plan

After primary school, secondary school lessons were much tougher and required specialist support. “I went to an inclusive secondary school for girls. Here I experienced many challenges. Nobody knew Braille, nobody had any idea how to help me,” she said.

That was until the headmistress at the school came up with a solution that enabled her to quench her thirst for knowledge.

“The headmistress decided that, each week, a girl would sit next to me and read to me whatever the teachers were writing on the chalkboard, and even help me read textbooks so I could get more information,” Mukarwego said.

The headmistress picked bright girls, but Mukarwego was also able to help them, because she finished primary school in a higher-quality institution.

“I had an opportunity to discuss work with them, but I also helped them so that we could share information. That secondary school was in a rural area and, since I knew better English, I could explain to them what we read in books,” she said. They also became friends, and Mukarwego thinks it was a mutually beneficial relationship.

Mukarwego’s blindness did not stop her from excelling at school. Thanks to the support of her classmates, she passed the national exams and moved to high school with good grades. During the O levels, she recalled, there was only one girl she could never beat.

She studied English, history, and Christian religious education at high school and at university, receiving a bachelor degree in 2000. A masters degree followed in 2010, and a PhD in 2016 – both in special needs education. She completed her PhD in only three years.

Passion for education started early

“After my first degree in 2000, I went to teach at Thika High School for the Blind in Kenya but, after Senior 6, I also got a job in a private secondary school where I taught for months. I was younger and did not see the importance of money,” she reminisced.

Soon a job advertisement at the Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE) grabbed her attention. She applied and got a job teaching at a college that offered higher diplomas to teachers who would teach blind and deaf students and other learners with physical and mental challenges.

After seven years, she obtained a permanent position at the University of Rwanda.

“After my masters degree, I came to visit Rwanda as my home country and I had the will to work in Rwanda and assist people with disabilities because I had also been assisted. I did not manage to go to school because it was my will, I managed to go to school because I had help,” she said.

“Because I had succeeded, I felt that other people with disabilities would want to go to school, be taught and receive advice from people who had ideas or knowledge about how to survive in society,” she added.

No teasing in class

In 2009, she accepted a position to teach at the then Kigali Institute of Education, now the University of Rwanda-College of Education.

“Teaching at the university was not hard because I was used to teaching young students,” she said.

The only challenge she faced was the language barrier as she had joined at a time when the government had introduced English as the language of instruction at all universities.

“I found it hard to explain in Kinyarwanda, but that did not last long. As time went on, my Kinyarwanda improved, and most of the time, I tried to use simple English vocabulary so that students could understand,” she said.

Despite her blindness, students never tease Mukarwego. “They respect me. They never walk out when I am teaching, they never make a noise. I master their voices, so if one makes a noise, I call out their names and tell them to keep quiet,” she said.

Her students love her.

“Mukarwego taught me developmental psychology and it was so amazing to attend her classes. She could explain with examples and in simple language. We would all rush and avoid missing out or being late whenever she was about to teach,” said Emmanuel Muzeza, a teacher who graduated from the College of Education.

Mukarwego enjoys working at the university and monitors students’ progress even when they are doing internships. “I feel proud and happy because I can assist a generation that is going to tutor others.”

A rather rocky road

The technology has helped her overcome some challenges related to getting and preparing notes. “It was a big challenge but not any more.

“I can use my computer well now and project whatever the students want to see and use Braille so that I can follow,” Mukarwego said.

She still has to rely on people when she is preparing notes and using sources that are not available online, though.

Mukarwego’s journey as a lecturer has one uncrackable conundrum. “When it comes to the point of marking, I have to employ somebody who is a good reader and who is a good English speaker so that, whatever this person is reading, I am able to understand and award marks,” she explained.

To meet all her work needs costs money. “I have to pay the person I hire to help me. I must pay for their transport. The university does not help me get that person,” she said.

“Where I used to work in Kenya, the government said that every person with a visual impairment should be given an allowance to pay a reader or a guide, but here it is not done.

“We are still pushing. Maybe we will succeed someday but we cannot stop working. I do not cry because I have paid this person from my own salary. I just feel happy that I am contributing to the education [system],” she said.

Travelling is another issue for her because she has to hire a taxi whenever she has a lecture or any other academic activity. “Even though those are challenges, the most important thing is that I have a job and I am not begging. I am supporting myself and supporting others,” she said.

Dr Evariste Karangwa, dean of inclusive education at the University of Rwanda-College of Education describes Mukarwego as an outstanding lecturer whose skills and knowledge are helping much in the promotion of inclusive education.

“She has impeccable teaching skills and manages students despite being visually impaired,” Karangwa told University World News.

“Her contribution towards the promotion of inclusive education is huge and she serves as a role model to persons with visual impairment and other disabilities,” he added.

Karangwa also hailed Mukarwego’s sacrifice in using part of her salary in academic activities the university should be financing.

“We have worked on the procedures and internal regulations which stipulate how the university should pay someone who supports the visually impaired, but this has not worked, but we are still pushing and, hopefully, we will come up with a solution,” he added.