STAKEHOLDERS DEVELOP ACTION PLAN FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN ANAMBRA STATE
REPORTER: ALFRED AJAYI
Efforts are on to give Anambra State an action plan that will help to make education inclusive, especially for persons with disabilities.
To this end, a one-day event to develop the action plan has been held in Awka, the state capital, with participants drawn from the ministries of Education, Budget and Economic Planning as well as the disability community stakeholders from education sector.
The event, which is funded by the United State Agency for International Development (USAID), is implemented under the Nigeria Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) by a Non Governmental Organization, Palladium and the National Secretariat of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, (JONAPWD).
In an opening remarks, JONAPWD Chairman in the state, Comrade Ugochukwu Okeke, described the event as a worthy course designed to remove inhibitions to acquisition of formal education for persons with disabilities.
“We have come together to support an important course, which is inclusive education for persons with disabilities in the states.
“I am thrilled to see many stakeholders in this room. I’m seeing participants from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Disability Rights Commission, Ministry of Budget, House of Assembly, the media and many members of disability community.
“Inclusive education is a major tool for empowering PWDs. There are so many things that make education inclusive.
“These include access to infrastructure, budgeting, support for special education as well as relevant policies.
“Together we can make a real difference in the lives of these people who have been marginalized,” he said.
The Director, Centre for Disability and Special Needs Research, Prof. Williams Obiozor, who represented the Vice Chancellor, said the institution had realized long ago the importance of inclusive education, hence the establishment of the research centre in 2019.
“Anambra State is a shining light in matters of disability in the southeast.
“Many more needs to be done and no child must be left in terms of acquisition of education.
“The number of PWDs in our university has increased from 11 to over 70. We now have a disability policy for the university which partly is meant to encourage inclusion,” Prof. Obiozor remarked.
The Programme Officer, Mr. Samuel Ololo, appealed to the society to view disability matters from a human right perspective.
“Also, Government actors in all sectors, especially the Ministries of Education, Economic planning and Budget, Finance, Women Affairs and Social Development amongst others should take matters of Inclusive Education seriously.
“I believe that this will help to introduce persons with disabilities to make their invaluable contribution to the growth of the society,” Mr. Ololo said.
In a presentation on highlight on inclusive education in Nigeria, a staff of the national secretariat of JONAPWD, Usman Umoro, explained the differences between segregative, integrative and inclusive systems of education.
“In a segregative system, children with disabilities don’t attend the same schools with other students. But, integrative system permits all students to attend same school but have different classes for those with disabilities.
“But inclusive education system encourages both children with disabilities and those without any disability to share the same class, playing fields and others,” Mr. Umoro remarked.
He identified “funding, knowledge gap about the rights, laws and policies, imposition of parental decisions on PWDs as well as discriminatory education system” as factors militating against inclusive education.
“After all, article 4.3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities frowns at taking decisions for PWDs without their consent and contributions,” Mr. Usoro noted.
The occasion featured a technical session during which participants made inputs into the action plan.
EDITED BY CHUKWUBUIKE MADU
