Fee-free education and the availability of teaching and learning materials for students with disabilities in public secondary schools in Morogoro municipality

Abstract

Provision of fee-free education has facilitated children from poor socio-economic background to access secondary education. However, less has been known on whether the provision of fee-free education has influenced the availability of teaching and learning materials for students with disabilities in public secondary schools in Tanzania. This study, therefore, intended to examine the influence of fee-free education to the availability of teaching and learning materials for students with disabilities in public secondary schools in Morogoro municipality. The study used cross-sectional research design, whereby, questionnaires and interviews were employed to collect data. The study sample involved one (1) Educational Officer, five (5) heads of schools, and 24 students with disabilities, who were obtained through purposive sampling technique. Other study sample included 73 teachers and 98 students without disabilities, obtained by stratified sampling technique, making a total study sample of 201 respondents. Data was analysed through descriptive, factor, linear regression and correlational analyses. The study revealed that fee-free education had significant influence to the availability of teaching and learning materials for students with disabilities in public secondary schools. The study recommended to the government, the major funder of fee-free education in public secondary schools, to supply adequately all necessary teaching and learning facilities in public secondary schools to facilitate smooth learning for students with disabilities.