Students Who are Blind/Low Vision or Deaf/Hard of Hearing

In December 2006, the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was adopted. Since then, 166 countries, including Morocco, have ratified the Convention (United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2016a). This landmark treaty is generally seen to represent a global paradigm shift from viewing disability as something pitiable that requires charity toward viewing disability as a human rights issue. The CRPD also creates the international standard for education of children with disabilities by stating that children with disabilities should be educated in inclusive settings alongside their non-disabled peers and should receive instruction in sign language and have access to materials in braille when needed (United Nations, 2006). Furthermore, the Sustainable Development Goals, established in 2015, serve as a set of aspirational goals for countries to work toward over the next 15 years and also address disability within education targets (United Nations, 2015). As a result of emerging international laws and policy frameworks, many countries worldwide are looking to reform their education systems to better address the educational needs of individuals with disabilities.

This report provides a detailed analysis comparing international standards and best practices to the current situation in Morocco in the following areas: stakeholder engagement, legislation and policy frameworks, disability prevalence rates, general education of children with disabilities, education of children who are blind/have low vision, and education of children who are deaf/hard of hearing.