Reps back establishment of federal college of education special in Gombe

Members of the House of Representatives on Wednesday expressed support for a bill seeking to establish the Federal College of Education Special in Dukku, Gombe State.

The bill sponsored by Hon. Abdullahi El-Rasheed, a member representing Dukku/Nafada Federal Constituency, scaled through the Second Reading on the floor of the House.

In his lead debate, the proponent of the bill, Hon. El-Rasheed, who cited a 2008 report issued federal government, lamented that 7 percent of children had disabilities and a larger percentage of them had no access to any type of formal or non-formal education.

According to him, the proposed bill “seeks to establish an educational institution that will primarily focus on teaching and training students with disabilities and other special needs with the required manpower and equip them with skills to teach and transfer knowledge to children living with disabilities in our societies, taking cognisance the peculiar nature of each child’s disability and tailoring teaching methods to suit them for all-inclusive educational growth. 

“As a nation, one of our major barriers to the provision of inclusive education particularly at primary and secondary school levels is the lack of teachers trained in inclusive and special needs education which in turn adversely affects and disenfranchises children and youths with disabilities from having access and equal opportunities to qualitative education like others. The bill aims to address this pertinent issue. 

“The bill also aligns with the objectives of the ‘National Policy on Special Needs Education in Nigeria’ which was launched and unveiled by the Federal Ministry of Education in 2015.

“The policy identified the importance and pivotal role of having qualified teachers with the requisite knowledge and skills to teach students with disability, as a major driver to inclusive education. 

“It will interest you to know that the only school in Nigeria that offers courses in Special Needs Education is the Federal College of Education (Special) Oyo State, situated in the South West geo-political zone which is currently overstretched. 

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The establishment of the Federal College of Education (Special) Dukku will play a complimentary role to the existing College in Oyo State and will serve not only the people of Dukku; Gombe State or the North East but the entire nation due to the strategic location of Dukku Local Government Area and its proximity to a number of States. 

“It’s also important to state that the exact percentage or number of children living with disabilities requiring access to education at both primary and secondary school levels across the country is yet to be ascertained but according to a 2008 report of the Federal Government, it’s estimated that 7% of children had disabilities and larger percentage of them have no access to any type of formal or non-formal education. Unofficially, the figure is believed to be higher. This is indeed alarming. 

“The world today is driven by knowledge-based economy and I strongly believe that the establishment of Federal College of Education (Special) Dukku will lay a formidable ground and solid foundation for the training of students in special education aimed at bridging the shortfall of qualified and skilled teachers to teach; train and educate the disabled among our societies. 

“Above all, the Federal College of Education (Special) Dukku when established, will significantly provide an avenue for increased availability of qualified teachers equipped with required competence in teaching methodologies across the country and tremendously reduce the shortfall of required manpower in our schools as currently experienced,” he noted.

To this end, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Educational Institutions for further legislative action.