The National President, Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, Ms Ekaite Umoh, has disclosed that children with disabilities have the highest number of the out-of-the-school children in Nigeria.
Umoh, who qouted statistics, disclosed that only two percent of the people with disabilities had formal education.
She spoke in Abuja on Thursday at the 2021 Children’s Day celebration organised for children with disabilities by an Abuja- based magazine, Inclusion.
Umoh, who lameneted that people with disabilities have highest number of illiterates in the country, advocated an inclusive education for them , arguing that nothing fordids them from learning and playing with the able children.
She said: “If we go through the statistics of the out of school children in Nigeria, you will observe that children with disabilities have the highest number of the out-of-the-school children.
“Statistics also show that only two percent of the people with disabilities were able to get formal education. So, we have the highest number of illiterates in my community. So, why are we so uneducated? Why are we not going to school?
“It started from the beginning. Perhaps, our parents thought it would have been a wrong investment. Perhaps, we were hidden away because of the social stigma. And when you look at the statistics all over the world, we are the worst hit. We have a lot of illiterates in my community.
“We need to change the narratives by giving the children with disabilities formal or any form of education. This will reduce the ugly statistics. We need to give them quality education. Yes, we have special schools for them, but those schools are underfunded.
“What I am advocating is an inclusive education where children with disabilities and the ones without disabilities can learn and play together, and learn new skills together”.
Earlier, the Publisher/ Chief Executive Officer of Inclusion Magazine, Alhaji Hussaini Abdulrahman, had called for the change of perceptions and myths about the people living with disabilities.
Abdulrahman also solicited the support of all Nigerians to fight discrimination against them.
