The International Disability Alliance, IDA has called on government at all levels to ensure legal provisions and budget allocation for the adoption and implementation of inclusive education for children and persons with disabilities, PWDs.
The train, the trainer Officer, IDA, Mr Alradi Abdallah made the call in Abuja at a three-day workshop on inclusive education for representatives of Persons with Disabilities Organisations in the West African Region.
Mr Alradi Abdallah explained that the workshop was aimed at developing the capacity of a network of disability organisations to effectively engage key stakeholders, intensify advocacy and advance policies and awareness about inclusive education.
“We need to ensure that there are policies to implement inclusive education. We need also to allocate budget resources and train specialists and teachers in order to deliver inclusive education. We need to have a security mechanism to ensure that there is no violation of the rights of Persons with Disabilities regarding inclusive education” he said.
The National President, Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, Ms. Mawunyo Yakor-Dagbah said education was paramount to the effective integration of persons with disabilities in the society and the current system of education needed to be reviewed to accommodate inclusiveness.
“The system we have had which is special schools or segregated schools will continue not to do us any good but an inclusive education system will help to learn of disability and non-disability to able to study together. And I think that is where the change that we have been seeking actually begins.” She said
Her Nigerian Counterpart and the FCT state Chairman, Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, JONAPWDs, Mr Ujah Sulaiman who spoke through a translator, further said that inclusive education was key to equality, the avoidance of discrimination and collective responsibility through changed attitude towards PWDs.
Reporting by Azizatu Sani; Editing by Abdullahi Lamino
