The purpose of this study was to estimate the incremental expenditure of integrating children with disabilities in mainstream schools, supporting their special educational needs and strengthening the education system to make it more inclusive. The following research questions guided the study design, data collection, and analysis:

• What is the incremental cost of including and supporting the needs of children with disabilities, particularly those who are blind or have low vision in three mainstream schools?
• How are these expenditures distributed across the different inputs and activities performed by the project?
• What are the key expenditure drivers of the inclusion education pilot programme?

In 2010, Senegal ratified the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but despite a number of initiatives by the government, children with disabilities are not yet fully accessing basic services, including health and education. Moreover, a significant number of children receiving education attend Koranic schools that are not aligned with the public school curriculum, and have little or no provision for pupils with disability (World Bank country overview, 2016).

Until recently, Senegal had only one special school accommodating children who are blind, one for children who are deaf, and an inclusion education project run by Handicap International in Casamance region, with limited spaces available.

In 2011, the Ministry of Education and Sightsavers initiated a pilot IE project in Dakar, focusing on children with visual impairments. The pilot was conducted in three elementary schools in suburban districts Guediawaye, Rufisque, and Thiaroye. Although the project focused primarily on children with visual impairment, the schools enrolled a few children with other disabilities and some children with visual impairment had additional disabilities. The time horizon of the pilot spanned financial years 2011 to 2016, and the cost perspective was that of the education system.

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Inclusive education expenditure in Senegal