British Council Nigeria has called on the government and every other stakeholders to enable an inclusive education system that will involve and prioritize children with disabilities as well as gender consideration, stressing that developing a high-quality, inclusive and equitable school system is essential for every country.
It also called on the Nigerian government to implement all the existing inclusive education policies, and ensure it has enough teachers to provide education for all young people, and as well ensure that the teachers are suitably qualified and have the knowledge, skills and motivation to teach well.
The Country Director, Lucy Pearson, made the call in Abuja during the opening ceremony of its annual inclusive education conference being held on the theme; “Fostering inclusion and equity in education in Nigeria.
Pearson noted that the educational wellbeing of children irrespective of gender or any form of disability can only be achieved through shared knowledge and collective effort.
According to her, “The essence of the inclusion summit is to ensure the rights of every child to learn. Nigeria has indeed made considerable progress in this area with the inclusive education policy however implementation and mainstreaming remains a challenge.
“British council supports the Nigerian government by providing best practices because all children should have equal access to quality education.”
In his address, the Minister of education Dr. Yusuf Sununu while speaking on government efforts at mainstreaming disability and inclusivity in the education said that for quite a number of children in Nigeria, access to quality education isa challenge hence, the launching of an education roadmap to address various challenges across board.
Represented by his Special Assistant, Political, Atiku Abubakar, he said “Fostering inclusion and equity in education means ensuring that all children have access to quality education regardless of their background or circumstances.
“It also means creating a learning environment where all students feel safe, respected and valued. It means providing students with the support they need to succeed regardless of their abilities.”
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, (NERDC), Professor Ismail Junaid, canvassed support for state governments toward implementation of statutory provisions for inclusivity and equity, , saying that schools curriculum is the foundation for teaching and learning.
He said “Achieving Inclusion and equity is hinged on the curriculum infrastructure and teacher capacity.”
According to him, the Nigerian National Inclusive Education Policy is robust in the provision of guidelines on these issues. He called for full implementation of the policy in states.
The three day conference is expected to promote collaboration and network among stakeholders in the send and education sector, develop recommendations for improving the quality of SEND in Nigeria and share effective practices for supporting students in educational settings.
