by Loveth Asogwa Obiora,
The Albino Foundation TAF organized a one- day dialogue series on change in professional career path for young men and women with disabilities on Thursday 25th March 2021 in Abuja.
The event which was supported by SightSavers is designed to guide young men and women with disabilities towards choosing a career path that would favourable to them.
Mr. Damian Ivom, the National Program Officer, TAF while welcoming the participants explained the objectives of the workshop; he stated that the workshop is to ascertain why persons with disabilities (PWDs) do not study professional courses. Speaking further, he asked whether, is the fault of the school authorities or persons with disabilities themselves. They want to understand why PWDs always find themselves reading courses such as special education, sociology, political science, English and soon instead of reading professional courses like engineering, medicine, pharmacy, law, accounting etc. It is just a very few of them that have successfully completed their degrees on professional courses.
This is a forum that has brought together PWDs, University dons, relevant MDAS to understand the factors responsible for PWDs inability to study professional courses.
The facilitator, Prof. Mutiullah Olasupo, who doubles as a person with disability and University don said that PWDs need to have a systematic strategic stand point for admission process into universities to study professional courses, he advised PWDs to always stand their ground when they make decision about their career path, they should not allow the views of others to discourage them in their career pat. He gave example on how he was discouraged from reading law when he was told that as a lawyer, one should be so strict and wicked and also liars so for that fact he was convinced not to read law that he have so desired to study then.
Other participants who are PWDs also shared their experiences on how the school authorities were able to prevent them from going into professional courses of their choice and they were made to read courses like special education, mass communication, English and some others alike.
It was established from the story shared that the problems is partly PWDs and also school authority why is that some PWDs were not strong willed to stand their ground to study professional courses of their choice and on the part of the school the authorities don’t belief in the capabilities of PWDs when it comes to studying professional courses and again they lack facilities and teaching techniques that would enhance learning for all categories of PWDs
Jake Epelle Founder/CEO, TAF reacting to comments from the participants promised to intervene in any case concerning denying PWDs admission on basis of his/her disability. He urged PWDs to bring it to the notice of TAF and he assured to fight on behalf of the person as long as there is facts and evidences, he also advised persons with disabilities to do away with charity mentality saying that he can only stand for someone if the person have met the requisite qualification.
He concluded by calling on all disability advocates to come together and leave individual differences and work for the common goal of disability community. He said that if we come together we are bigger than individual and that is how we can assist many of our community members who have one challenge or the other especially in the issue of denial of admission into universities.
The participants were grouped into three to come up with the ways forward towards enhancement of opportunities for PWDs to gain admission and study professional courses. The resolutions raised from the group discussions would be articulated by the leaders of the group as a communiqué which would be shared among critical stakeholders to aid their engagement towards encouragement of PWDs to study professional courses in Nigerian universities.
The participants where drawn from graduates with disabilities, university dons, relevant MDA’s educationist and the media.
SOME PICTURES OF THE EVENT
