Stakeholders advocate inclusive, individualised education for special needs children

Following the need to end stigmatisation against children with special needs, stakeholders in the education sector have campaigned for inclusive and individualised education.

These views were articulated at a one-day intensive training for teachers of special needs children, organised by the Inclusive Education and Individualised Education Plan Centre (IEIEPC) in collaboration with the Oyo State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology which held at Wesley College of Science, Elekuro, Ibadan.

They noted that with inclusive education, special needs children would be able to socialise with their peers in the same school setting, with materials and equipment suited for their learning and not bundled up in special schools or homes.

The Director, IEIEPC, Mr. Oyeyinka Oluwawumi, in his keynote address said it was expedient to have an individualised method for instructing different categories of learners structured to meet their learning needs in an inclusive environment.

Oluwawumi questioned the rationale for assessing and evaluating the progress of special needs children with the same template as their peers without special needs.

He said the centre “provides continuous training for teachers, parents, social workers and other stakeholders in issues of inclusiveness and special educations; design and implement individualised education plan for children/individuals living with disability in unique ways to improve the quality of life and also help children with special needs maximise their learning potential.”

“All over the world, students and youths are regarded as trustees of prosperity. If our hopes and aspirations must be achieved as a country, considerable attention must be given to our children with special needs both by the government and other stakeholders. Education of the pupils with special needs is a huge task and it is the responsibility of teachers to ensure that pupils access the curriculum successfully thus inspiring them to learn,” said the Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Barr. Rahman Abiodun Abdu-Raheem.

The Executive Assistant to the governor on disability matters, Barr. Ayodele Adekanbi charged parents of special needs children to treat and love them as equal with their able children. He also urged the government to play its part in the inclusive education goal by providing necessary equipment and materials and for public environments to be constructed in such a way as to be accessible by special needs persons.

In her lecture titled ‘Teacher-parent collaboration in the management of children/persons with special needs’, President, International Association of Special Education, Nigeria Chapter, Professor Tolu Eni-Olorunda, said for the goal of inclusive education to be achieved, teachers and parents of special needs children must see themselves as partners in progress and commit to work together for the good of special needs children.

“Parent-teacher collaboration in the management of children with special needs is not debatable if we must record appreciable achievement in the education and development of these children. Awareness campaign for parents and the society should be carried out from time-to-time and the society at large should accept children with special needs as this will help parents to boldly present these children void of stigma,” Prof. Eni-Olorunda said.

For Prof. John Oyundoyin of the department of special education, University of Ibadan, the aim of every special needs education should be geared towards making the individual lead an independent life to his/her full potential.

Prof. Oyundoyin stated this while presenting his paper titled ‘Best practices for inclusive and special education’.

Other lectures delivered during the training include ‘Classroom management strategies for children with special needs’ by Prof. O.A Fakolade, represented by Mr. Abdullahi Asiru; ‘Effective teaching strategies for inclusive and special education teachers’ by Dr. Isaiah Ojo Olugbenga and ‘ICT relevance for teachers of special needs children’ by Dr. Israel Olasunkanmi.

Delighted participants at the event, including Mrs. Mary Popoola of HAL Basic School, Agodi, Ibadan and Mr. Abayomi Agboola of Okere Secondary Grammar School, Saki, said the training has better equipped them with knowledge on how to instruct special needs children under their care.

“It has been so difficult for these children to access education because most of the schools are not available in their area; even if they have the primary one they may not have the secondary one in their vicinity and that has made most of them to drop in their primary education and not further but with this inclusive one they will be able to access education to university level within their vicinity,” said Mrs. Popoola.

“I have been able to gain the right perception about inclusive education because inclusive education is a new method in the field of special education and we have not been given the right orientation and sensitization about it but coming to this workshop I have been able to know so many new things and the best practices in applying and practicing inclusive education,” said Agboola.

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