INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IN NIGERIA:
BENEFITS, CHALLENGES AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Paul M. Ajuwon,
Missouri State University
This article analyzes the philosophical, sociological, and legal imperatives of
including students with disabilities in ordinary schools. Some important global events
that support inclusive education are discussed. The author reflects on Nigeria’s
newly revised National Policy on Education with its emphasis on inclusive education
(2008), and the Universal Basic Education policy (1999). The article concludes with
recommendations to improve the status quo.
Introduction
In recent years, the debate about inclusive education has moved from high-income countries like the
United States and Canada to a low-income country like Nigeria, where an official policy of educating
children and youth with disabilities alongside their peers without disabilities in ordinary schools has
been adopted (National Policy on Education, 2008). There is a growing recognition that including
students with disabilities in general education can provide them with the opportunity to learn in natural,
stimulating settings, which may also lead to increased acceptance and appreciation of differences.
Thus, the debate continues among educators, local, state and federal policy makers, parents, and even
people with disabilities in Nigeria regarding the efficacy of inclusion and the inevitable restructuring of
general education that will need to occur to make learning meaningful in an inclusive environment. The
perception has been that the debate has resulted in pressure greater than ever before for most students
with disabilities to access the general curriculum and attain the same standards as typical students. It is
against this background that the author has decided to elucidate on the dimensions and implications of
the practice of inclusive education.
Defining the parameters of inclusive education
As currently implemented in the industrialized world, inclusion or inclusive education can be
interpreted as the philosophy and practice for educating students with disabilities in general education
settings (Bryant, Smith, & Bryant, 2008; Lipsky & Gartner, 1997; Rogers, 1993; Salend, 2001). The
practice anchors on the notion that every child should be an equally valued member of the school
culture. In other words, children with disabilities benefit from learning in a regular classroom, while
their peers without disabilities gain from being exposed to children with diverse characteristics, talents
and temperaments.
Supporters of inclusion use the term to refer to the commitment to educate each child, to the maximum
extent appropriate, in the school and classroom he/she would otherwise attend. It involves bringing the
ancillary services to the child, and requires only that the child will benefit from being in the class
(rather than having to keep up with the other students). This is a salient aspect of inclusion, and
requires a commitment to move essential resources to the child with a disability rather than placing the
child in an isolated setting where services are located (Smith, 2007). For the child with a disability to
benefit optimally from inclusion, it is imperative for general education teachers to be able to teach a
wider array of children, including those with varying disabilities, and to collaborate and plan
effectively with special educators.
There are obvious benefits to the inclusive education paradigm, i.e. children are more likely to learn
social skills in an environment that approximates to normal conditions of growth and development.
Children during their formative years develop language more effectively if they are with children who
speak normally and appropriately (Mitchell & Brown, 1991). Often, it is gratifying that where school
and community environments can be made physically and programmatically accessible, children and
youth with physical disabilities can function more effectively than would otherwise be the case. It is
also apparent that such modifications to the environment often enable others who do not have
disabilities to access their environment even more readily (Ferguson, 1996). In recent years, the
principle of universal design (Center for Universal Design, 1997; Waksler, 1996), has evolved to
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describe physical, curricular and pedagogical changes that must be put in place to benefit people of all
learning styles without adaptation or retrofitting. Failing to accommodate the environmental and
accessibility needs of persons with disabilities in the society will inevitably inhibit their participation in
educational, social, recreational and economic activities (Harkness & Groom, Jr., 1976; Steinfeld,
Duncan, & Cardell, 1977). Therefore, architects, product designers, engineers and environmental
design researchers should use their best judgment in early programming and design decisions.
However, for inclusion to achieve its objectives, education practices must be child-centered (UNESCO,
1994). This means that teachers must find out where each of their students are academically, socially,
and culturally to determine how best to facilitate learning (Gildner, 2001). A logical consequence of
this realization is that these teachers will need to acquire skills in curriculum-based assessment, team
teaching, mastery learning, assessing learning styles, cooperative learning strategies, facilitating peer
tutoring, or social skills training. Given that children have varied learning styles or multiple
intelligences (Gardner, 1991), both general and special education teachers must plan and coordinate
classroom instruction to capitalize on each child’s needs, interests and aptitudes.
International scope of the debate
Ideas and strategies about the best way to educate children, especially those with disabilities in
developing countries, are generally influenced by external rather than internal circumstances. This is
largely due to the historical ties between the developed and developing countries, the open door policy
that characterizes the educational system of developing countries, and the impact international
development agencies continue to exert on recipients of funds and services. It is this type of
relationship that has shaped Nigeria’s policy on education over the years, and is clearly reflected in the
newly-revised National Policy on Education with its focus on inclusive education of children and youth
with special needs in ordinary schools (National Policy on Education, 2008). The National Education
Policy document, among other things, calls for access of special needs children, with their varying
abilities to education in conducive and less restrictive environments, as well as the education of such
children to enable them to achieve self-fulfillment. Thus, the inclusive education paradigm in Nigeria
(like that of other countries) has evolved out of the realization that all children have the right to receive
the kind of education that does not discriminate on the grounds of disability, ethnicity, religion,
language, gender, or capabilities.
Low-income countries like Nigeria are now becoming cognizant of the gross inequalities in educational
opportunities for their special needs populations. This is understandable given that less than 10% of
these children currently have access to any type of formal or non-formal education. Yet, Nigeria as well
as other countries of Africa, Latin America and Asia have, in principle, adopted several international
protocols that seek to promote equal access to appropriate quality education as enunciated in the
Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the World Declaration on Education for All (1990), the
Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disability (1993), the UNESCO
Salamanca Statement for Framework for Action (1994), and the World Education Forum in Dakar
(2000)
Of particular importance is the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action (1994) which, inter
alia, asserts that:
Regular schools with inclusive orientation are the most effective means of combating
discrimination, creating welcoming communities, building an inclusive society and achieving
education for all (Salamanca Statement, Art. 2).
A closer examination of the above statement reveals the urgency for a fundamental policy shift to
facilitate successful implementation of an inclusive education program that will adequately meet the
learning needs of all children, youth and adults, especially those who are vulnerable to marginalization
and exclusion. According to this framework, schools should accommodate all children regardless of
their physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic or other circumstances. Indeed, the policy is a
clear recognition of the need to work towards schools for all. In a sense then, the ideals enunciated in
the Salamanca Agreement can be seen as being in consonance with the goals of Nigeria’s Universal
Primary Education (UPE) scheme of 1976, and the Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme of 1999.
Nigeria’s National Policy on Education
Since the launching of the first National Policy on Education (1977), there has been a plethora of
activities aimed at improving special education services for children, including: the establishment of