The document discusses the importance of inclusion in education. It notes that while many governments have enacted laws promoting inclusive schools, more basic supports are needed. It argues that greater inclusion is necessary to avoid social problems from alienation, encourage hope, and reduce future costs. Specifically, it recommends paying more attention to life in classrooms, building educator capacity, using tests to help not hurt, strengthening families and communities, reducing competition, and treating students as human beings. Failure to promote inclusion could lead to problems like educational failure, inability of graduates to contribute, and increased disease. The social costs of not ensuring inclusion outweigh the costs of promoting it.

1. The Road to Be Taken
By
Prof. Titanji Peter Fon
University of Buea, CAMEROON

2. Ensuring that schools are more inclusive is a worthy
goal and many governments have enacted relevant
legal provisions. What constitutes a problem is the
fact that there are many basic things that are not
receiving attention though critical to the provision
of equality of educational opportunity.

3. We must pay greater attention to inclusion
because of the following reasons:
 The possibility of greater negative
consequences (social, economic, political etc.)
resulting from perceptions of alienation and
discouragement. Excluded persons can cause
social problems with the potential to affect
every one of us.
 Avoiding an increase in the number of
persons who feel excluded and without hope.
Many can become filled with rage.

4.  The Need to Make a Distinction between
Education and Schooling
 The Need to Pay More Attention to Life in
Classrooms
 Capacity Building Schemes for Educators
 Using Tests/Examinations in Ways that Help
Rather than Hurt
 Strengthening Families and Communities

5.  Stop the Fragmentation of Services
 Putting Money where it Matters
 Treating Students as Human Beings
 Reducing Competition and Encouraging a
Stronger Sense of Community
 Rethinking How Time is Used in Schools
 Using Many Frameworks for Conversations and
Actions to Make Schools More Inclusive

6. If we do not strive towards greater inclusion, we will
bear the cost sooner or later and in various forms,
among them: the lack of readiness of significant
numbers of children to benefit from schooling, in
the form of increased failure in tests and
examinations, graduates from schools who cannot
contribute optimally to the productive sector,
greater incidence of disruptive behaviour, greater
incidence of preventable diseases such as HIV/AIDs,
among others. The social costs of dealing with
these consequences may outweigh costs associated
with ensuring greater inclusion.

7. THANKS, MERCI,
THANK YOU VERY MUCH