Re-Thinking Inclusive Higher Education for Students With Disabilities
Several studies address the notion of inclusive higher education from the perspective of access questioning who participates, where, and how in the sense of equity, raising issues of enrolment of disadvantaged groups. This chapter approaches the concept of inclusion in the Ethiopian higher education system from an epistemic access perspective. The argument is that discussions on access to higher education for disadvantaged groups should go beyond mere physical access and should be conceptualized in a manner that reflects educational outcomes and post-enrollment experiences. This chapter aims at exploring the notion of inclusive higher education and epistemic access to students with disabilities in Ethiopian public universities. The study is based on in-depth interviews of 25 students with disabilities from five Ethiopian public universities. The chapter argues that the higher education system in Ethiopia should re-approach the notion of access and take a proactive measure to ensure epistemic access to students with disabilities.