Availability of Special Needs Resources and Academic Progress of Students with Physical Disabilities in Higher Learning Institutions in Dar es alaam, Tanzania.

This research delves into the critical analysis of the availability of special needs resources and the academic progress of students with physical disabilities (SWPD) in Higher Learning Institutions (HLI) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The researcher was inspired by the notably low admission and graduation rates of SWPD in higher education compared to other lower levels of education. The significance of this research lies in its potential to address resources availability to support SWPD. The study’s specific objectives were to: (1). Establish a correlation between the availability of human resources and the academic progress of SWPD. (2) Examine the relationship between the availability of physical resources and the academic progress of SWPD. (3) Assess financial resource challenges hindering the academic progress of SWPD, and (4) analyze social problems faced by SWPD in their educational pursuits. This study adopted a mixed-methods approach and correlational research design. Engaged 130 respondents such as; 22 students with physical disabilities (Unit of analysis), 30 Management officials, 31 teaching staff, and 47 non-disabled students across four selected Higher Learning Institutions in Dar es Salaam, who were picked purposively. Data collection was conducted through questionnaires, interviews, and observations. Quantitative data were analyzed in terms of frequency, percentage, mean, mode, and correlation coefficient, and narrative analysis was used in qualitative data analysis. This study revealed that 75% of Higher Learning Institutions lacked special education units hence special needs staff were inadequate. Also, physical resources were available at only 52% which was inadequate. Pearson’s correlation indexes showed a moderate positive correlation (0.4 < r < 0.7) between the perceived level of availability of resources and the indicators (efforts on enrolment, dropout, and graduation) of academic progress of SWPD while further academic achievement had a weak correlation with resources. There was an increasing rate of 14.3% in enrollment and the majority of SWPD had CGPA of 3.5 to 4.4. Financially, the government emerged as the primary supporter of SWPD at 86.4% and then family at 13.6%. However, those students faced substantial financial barriers such as higher medical expenses, HESLB’s loan inadequacies, and delays of such loans. Socially, SWPD encountered challenges including the absence of disability organizations, under-recognition, and difficulty in friendship formation. Also, the study revealed a noted decrease in discrimination and harassment cases toward SWPD. Generally, the researcher concluded that there was a moderate influence of the available resources on SWPD’s academic progress in the sampled institutions. The researcher recommended that; special education units need to be established in HLIs and there is a need to improve their infrastructures. However, this study presents a notable gap, as it focused solely on students who were physically challenged thus leaving other disability forms such as hearing, vision, and learning impairments, in the shadows. Hence, it necessitates for further academic research to be done.