Inclusive education started to receive increased attention following its affirmation from the 1994 World Conference on Special Needs Education held at Salamanca in Spain. The inclusion of learners in mainstream school fulfils the Declaration of the Universal Human Rights which encompasses the rights of children and the World Declaration of Education for All. Therefore, equal access and participation to all are strategic to the provision of the basic right to education through inclusive education. Inclusive education is central to the achievement of Malawi’s 2063 vision of “an inclusively wealthy and self-reliant nation”. However, studies indicated that learners with disabilities are persistently affected by multiple challenges leading to exclusion or school drop out. Previous studies focused on primary and secondary school sectors hence, this study aims at investigating challenges of inclusive education in institutions of higher education in Malawi.
Following a pragmatic philosophical approach, this mixed study used an exploratory research design. A survey questionnaire and in-depth interviews were used in complementary to collect quantitative and qualitative data from 125 participants in the categories of learners, lecturers, and administrators from ten institutions.
Analysis of quantitative and qualitative data was done using the SPSS computer application and content scrutiny correspondingly. The study established low enrolment of learners with disabilities in institutions of higher learning. Findings also indicated disparities in views on the effectiveness of inclusive education and accommodation of the types and degrees of disabilities. The study also revealed that challenges contribute to low effectiveness of inclusive education namely lack of relevant technical expertise, resources, disability friendly infrastructure and policy. Implications include systematic discrimination leading to intellectual inequalities and increased social gaps; need for capacity building; and lack of awareness on inclusive education issues among stakeholders. The study demonstrated that intellectual inequalities contradict human rights; proposed a modification of medical disability model for positive inclusion and documented
the gaps to inform policy. Further study to assess performance and evaluate current strategies.