The largest share of the investment, Rwf 18.66 billion, will fund the construction of five specialized schools—one in each province and one in the City of Kigali. The schools will primarily serve children with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities.

An additional Rwf 3.75 billion will be used to build and equip 20 centres that provide support services for children with disabilities, while Rwf 2.4 billion has been allocated to strengthen inclusive education for learners with disabilities and those requiring special educational support.

The investment was announced by Irenée Muyizere, Head of the Department of Special Needs and Inclusive Education at the Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB), during the presentation of findings from a study on early childhood education for children with disabilities in Rwanda.

The study, released on July 15, 2026, was conducted by the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) in partnership with CLADHO, the umbrella organization of Rwandan human rights groups.

According to the findings, about 4.4% of Rwandans aged five and above live with a disability. However, of the country's 4.16 million learners, only about 39,000 (0.9%) are registered as having a disability.

Enrollment of children with disabilities in pre-primary education remains below 1%, limiting their access to early learning, which plays a critical role in cognitive, social and behavioural development.

The study also found that many families struggle to meet transport and healthcare costs, while children in rural areas face additional barriers, including inaccessible infrastructure and limited early intervention services.

Muyizere said the government aims to increase the number of children with disabilities enrolled in primary schools from 31,751 in the 2023/24 academic year to 80,323 by 2028/29.

"These schools will be located near mainstream schools and will also provide health services for learners," he said, adding that government subsidies will help cover school fees.

He explained that children with severe autism will attend specialized schools, while those with milder forms of autism or other disabilities will be supported in mainstream schools through specialized resource classrooms, teacher training and assistive technologies such as sign language and Braille.

"We have already trained more than 4,000 teachers to identify and assess children with disabilities early so that they can receive timely support and appropriate learning plans," Muyizere said.

The share of pre-primary schools implementing inclusive education has increased from 5.7% in 2017 to 66% in the 2024/25 academic year.

Over the same period, the number of children with disabilities enrolled in Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres more than doubled, rising from 1,362 to 3,125.