… 95 percent of children with special needs out of school
From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
Stakeholders from Benue state have called on the Federal Government to make urgent investments in inclusive education of children with special needs.
The appeal was made during a three-day intensive training for teachers of children with disabilities, organized by the YieldUp Development Initiative in Makurdi and supported by the U.S. Embassy through its Window on America programme.
Speaking during the training, the Executive Director of YieldUp, Dr. Praise Akobo disclosed that new findings reveal that over 95 percent of Nigerian children with special needs are out of school.
According to him, 95.5 percent of special needs children in Nigeria are excluded from formal education, largely due to the shortage of trained teachers.
“Our research showed that the overwhelming majority of these children are excluded from the classroom due to a lack of adequately trained teachers. This is a critical gap we must urgently bridge if we are serious about inclusive education,” Akobo said.
The training which held at the Moses Orshio Adasu University formerly Benue State University (BSU), was to equip educators with modern strategies for supporting learners with disabilities and was funded by IREX and the U.S. Department of State under the Mandela Washington Fellowship’s Reciprocal Exchange programme.
Also speaking, the Director of Window on America, Dr. Doosuur Ashaver, emphasized the importance of empowering teachers with globally accepted teaching practices to build an equitable learning environment.
“By equipping educators with the right skills, knowledge and compassion, we are laying a strong foundation for a more equitable and supportive learning environment,” Ashaver said.
Also, Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Mission Nigeria, Lee McManis, stressed the role of global partnerships in addressing educational challenges and encouraged participants to engage with the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) for further opportunities.
The Benue State government, represented by the Special Assistant on People with Special Needs and Equal Opportunity, Bem Anshe, applauded the initiative and expressed hope that such interventions would improve learning outcomes for children with disabilities.
Participants who were drawn from key institutions including the Benue State Rehabilitation Board’s School for Special Needs, the School of the Gifted and Talented in Makurdi, and the Benue State University Teaching Hospital’s Therapeutic Centre harped on the need for government to take swift and deliberate action to invest in inclusive education.
