by Chris Agbo
The former Permanent Secretary of Federal Capital Territory and the promoter of Doveland International School, Engr. (Dr) Johnny Chukwu on 19th September, 2019 at Global Hope Integrated Empowerment Foundation) GHIEF program in Abuja which he chaired called for more attention and care for children with disabilities in school setting. In his remark, he expressed concern about the challenges the schools and school boards faced in ensuring that they achieve inclusive education. Inclusive Education having been captured in the United Nation Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (UNCRPD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), all those working in the school setting in Nigeria should not rest until inclusive education is achieved so that Nigeria will keep tab with education development pattern world over.
He went further to suggest that since the theme of this year’s UN international day for the persons with disabilities is ‘the future is accessible, we should start looking at inclusion at its entirety because beyond the school, there are more challenges facing persons with disabilities which deeply affect their means of livelihood. We should start to make provisions that will enhance access for persons with disabilities to help guarantee a better future for them after school.
There should inclusion in other sphere of life, disability friendly facilities like ramps, lifts, elevators etc in all public buildings such as banks, offices, schools, hospitals, churches, mosques, markets, shopping malls, hotels, recreational centre etc. Our transportation system should be made accessible, our commercial buses and trains should be equipped with disability friendly facilities.
Employment quota captured in the new disability law should be taken seriously, wherever vacancies exist, let the 5 percent be reserved for persons with disabilities and the private sector should be advised and encouraged to do the same.
It is a known fact that if persons with disabilities occupy important positions in the government, advancement of their cause will yield faster result. Political parties should involve disability issues in their manifestoes, make their offices accessible and create disability desk officers to engage persons with disabilities more, reserve some percentage for PWDs in their party’s elective positions and do same in the nomination of candidates for the general elections. This, without doubt will surely encourage political participation among persons with disabilities and subsequently bring them to the position where they can influence policies that will improve their living.
He called on the all policy makers to take disability related issues seriously because poverty dwells more among persons with disabilities and if poverty must be curbed, processes that will open up our space for total mainstreaming of persons with disabilities into scheme of things should be encouraged. That’s one way we can trigger development faster in Nigeria.
Global Hope Integration Empowerment Foundation (GHIEF) is a non-government organization that focuses on the improvement of the lives of children with intellectual disabilities and their families by ensuring that the society make positions to integrate them properly in all aspect of the living. On 19th September, 2019, GHIEF organized a one-day training workshop to equip teachers in the Federal Capital Territory with the skills of managing children with special needs in their schools. The participants were drawn from schools across FCT and FCT secondary board were actively involved in the training and resource persons were special educator who are experts in the field with many years of experience. The workshop was characterized with a presentations and question and answer.
