Over 3m children with disabilities out of school in Nigeria – UNICEF

   Over three million children with disabilities in Nigeria are out of school, according to UNICEF estimate.

Making the disclosure yesterday to journalists in Abuja during TY.Danjuma Foundation’s annual Call for Concept Notes Planning meeting, the National Programme Manager, Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, Mr Deji Ademefun said its because the school environment is not inclusive and accessible to children with disabilities.

    According to him, from the over 10.5 million of children that are out of school in Nigeria, three million is a large number that should call for concern because these are children who deserve quality basic education.

He said if we are to go by the dictates of the UBEC Act, education at the primary level should be compulsory and free for children and children with disabilities due to the fact that they deserve the quality basic education that every other children also have.

“We have talked about special schools; however, these special schools are grossly insufficient for the teeming number of children with disabilities that are out of school. In this regard, we are calling for regular schools to be inclusive for children with disabilities. We are not saying build new structure. What we are simply saying is that, make the conventional, regular schools accessible and inclusive.”

Ademefun noted that access is not just about building ramps, but about making the school environment, train the current teachers to meet the needs of children with disabilities that are deaf, blind and others.

“This involves a collaborative effort between government, private sector and the principal stakeholders like our NGO. We have developed a model for inclusive and accessible education environment and we are calling all Nigerians to adopt this model.”

He said his work in the national chapter of his organization is to synergise and protect the rights of over 25 million persons with disabilities in Nigeria.