Stakeholders in the disability sector have urged the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to urgently implement its ‘Inclusive Education Policy’ to ensure meaningful participation of children with intellectual disabilities in schools.
They made the call on Thursday in Abuja. Abdulazeez Musa, the country director at CBM Global Disability Inclusion, said inclusive education was not an act of charity but a matter of human rights, dignity and justice.
Musa said the goal should be to build an education system where every child, regardless of disability, could learn, participate, thrive and contribute meaningfully to society.
He called on the government to provide adequate funding, teacher capacity development, accessible learning materials and inclusive infrastructure to translate the policy into meaningful impact.
Musa also urged organisations of persons with disabilities and self-advocates to remain actively involved in the process, stressing that policies affecting persons with disabilities should be designed and implemented with them rather than for them.
He called on families and communities to challenge stigma, while urging educators to embrace inclusive teaching practices and the media to move beyond narratives of pity and charity in reporting disability issues.
Ijeoma Fynecountry, a legal resource person for Down Syndrome Foundation, said Nigeria’s commitment to inclusive education was anchored in both domestic and international legal instruments.
Ms Fynecountry cited the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child as instruments recognising education as a fundamental right.
She also cited Article 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the 1999 Constitution, the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act of 2004 and the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act of 2018.
She said the National Policy on Education and the National Policy on Inclusive Education also provided support to learners with disabilities through appropriate learning materials, teacher training, and other assistance. However, Fynecountry said the existence of laws and policies had not automatically translated into meaningful inclusion in classrooms.