The goal of inclusive education is to promote education for all irrespective of gender, tribe, background, cultural identity, religion, and Disability notwithstanding towards an inclusive future where love, understanding, empathy for others, and tolerance are promoted for all learners, thereby building a positive attitude, self-esteem, respect for diversity and cognitive, affective and psychomotor development of all learners.
The gap between the policy of inclusive education and practice remains far wide due to poor implementation by the policymakers and government, lack of awareness creation of the benefits and importance of the policy, poor funding, inconsistent governance, and political will to shift the policy into practice.
The presenters at the conference were able to present papers on overview, sypnosis (abstract), introduction, the definition of some related terminologies, the challenge in putting inclusive education in practice, solutions and recommendations presented based on global best perspectives, data collection from some selected schools, opinions from the audience at the conference where our national president make a strong recommendation that shaped the appropriate action plan they should carry out towards achieving inclusive education for all. Observations from our Deaf elder and former National treasurer, Mr. Muyiwa Afolayan Timothy, from the Federal Ministry of Education, and our National Women Leader, Monsurat Fasasi, as a teacher of Kuje School for the Deaf, are also recognized.
In essence, Special education settings remain relevant for Disability learners, especially deaf, blind, slow learners, and those with intellectual disability whose unique learning approach could benefit in the special educational setting
However, evolving educational technology and new trends in educational research have made it necessitate to promote inclusive education as the best alternative while special education settings remain relevant for primary foundational development
In inclusive schools, a slow learner, blind learner, and or deaf learner has unique learning needs and special teaching pedagogies and is placed in their independent classroom in the same compound as normal. learners where they receive instructions and are accessible to conventional classes at times.
Emphasis should be placed on individualized education programs, blind labs, sign language labs for the deaf, technological devices, and other resources that enhance learning and augment the challenge for learners with special needs.
To make inclusive education effective, the government, the policymakers, the teachers, parents, community leaders, and other stakeholders should come together to support inclusive education. By then, it will be achievable for a better outcome.
Towards this short end, the annual inclusive conference organized by the British Council and the presence of an NNAD representative reflects our collective commitment to promote quality and diverse education practice that will be commensurate with the deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind while emphasis is focused on sign language as our lingua franca, primary mean of communication without subjected it to barriers of any kinds that will reinforce our core values towards our contribution learning new insights from the conference and sharing our experience to the stakeholders at the conference for the future of deaf learners at all levels.
NNAD’s active participation in this event underscores its crucial role in advocating for improved education for Nigeria’s deaf community. Events like this serve as a significant step toward enhancing the country’s educational system for individuals with disabilities.
To learn more about the British Council policy dialogue on ‘Bridging the Gap Between Policy and Practice,’ visit bit.ly/bciecng2024
Gallery:
