THE FORGOTTEN: Leveraging AI to Promote Inclusivity and Equity for the Differently Abled

/ By Cleo Gwenar /

South Africa faces a significant education crisis, with dropout rates that undermine the country’s potential for social and economic growth. South Africa has a rising school dropout rate, with some estimates suggesting that around 60% of grade ones

In the context of Sub-Saharan Africa, it is alarrming to note the following number of children have dropped out of school

• over 20% for children aged 6–11

• over 33.3% for children aged 12–14

• almost 60% for children aged 15–17

The dropout rate for higher education in South Africa is sitting at approximately 52%, and only one in three students graduates within four years. Shockingly, with all these educational factors contributing to economic stagnation, South Africa still lacks a strategic plan towards an education system aimed at discovering why we have such a high failure and dropout rate.

While remedial education could be a solution for some of these challenges, in an economy where approximately 55.5% of the population is living in poverty, access to remedial education is a luxury. At government schools where remedial education is available, the quality is higher in metropolitan areas and lower in schools situated in rural areas. Remedial education is aimed at students who have an average (or even a higher-than-average) intellectual ability but are struggling to perform well in a traditional school environment.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here, and in Africa there are a lot of opportunities and possible threats around its use. Because Africa is a developing continent, with some areas more advanced than others, it is important to understand the technological landscape socially, economically, and politically. With these considerations, AI can be effectively leveraged to positively benefit the communities it is being implemented in.

For example, in the education sector there are different types of schooling: mainstream, remedial, and special school systems. It is important to note that there is a gap in the support for remedial and special schools in terms of ensuring that children at these schools continue to receive the support they need to be successful throughout their student careers. AI technologies can be used more effectively in this sector by ensuring the children are taught using AI technologies that accommodate their physical or mental needs. This would assist a child with ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, or other types of neurodivergence by providing personalized educational material that accommodates the way students consume and interpret the content.

This can aid the learner from an early age after being diagnosed to understand how they would navigate their schooling years and help them prepare for the future more intentionally with AI as their aid as they continue their academic lives. This would aid the learners greatly and ensure that they are more comfortable learning even though they face disabilities that would have previously inhibited them from traditional learning. AI can be an enabler for improved learning experiences for the differently abled and accommodate their learning styles and abilities as well as prescribe learning models suited for each learner. This is but just one example of how AI can be utilized more, and there are many more use cases for AI in other government and private sectors.

WOMENINAI (WAI) is a non-profit dotank working towards inclusive AI that benefits global society. The organization is a community-driven initiative bringing empowerment, knowledge, and active collaboration via education, research, events, and more. Women and minorities are encouraged to become, among other things, change makers through ethical applications and responsible use of artificial intelligence.

WAI was founded in 2016 in Paris, France, by Dr. Hanan Salam, Caroline Liar and Moojan Asghari. It started out as a Facebook group that has grown into a powerful global community with more than 8,000 members and growing in 140 countries. WAI in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) focuses on driving innovation, partnerships, and education to address challenges facing communities.

The mission of WAI is to create a community that will work towards shaping inclusive AI for our common future. These initiatives are done through volunteering, donations, and our wonderful global partners.

These initiatives vary according to demand, and this is where WAI would be ideal in working with the educational sector, or any other sector, to find synergies and meaningful ways to get involved in seeking solutions on how AI can be incorporated in the differently abled community from early years right until post-tertiary stages.

However, this will require the government, industry experts through sponsors, members from different industries, and subject matter experts to move in the same direction in seeking solutions to ensure that the future becomes brighter for those with different abilities for the betterment of our society.