Voice of Disability Initiative (VDI), a nonprofit organisation, has urged the Nigerian Government to provide certified sign language teachers and should be included in the educational curriculum for people with hearing disabilities.
Barrister Catherine Edeh, Executive Director VDI, lamented special schools’ deplorable condition for persons with disabilities during a one-day focused group discussion on inclusive education in Abuja.
“The Nigerian government of not being kind to people with disabilities by situating special schools in remote areas, making it difficult for children with disabilities to attend daily.” said Edeh.
She urged the government to implement the 2015 inclusive education policy, which partly prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities.
‘We are here as a focused group to discuss the future of inclusive education in Nigeria and making our schools accessible to children and learners with disabilities without discrimination.
“There is a need to revisit our curriculum and syllabus. Let sign language be a compulsory course in our institution; that way, we will have a higher percentage of people with sign language experience, mostly teachers.
“Government should sensitise parents and children with disabilities on the need not to give up. And the need for the society to accept persons with disabilities,'” she said.
