Nigeria’s 7 Million Disabled Children Deserve Better Access to Education

Jadesola Adedeji

Just last December, the United Nations marked the International Day of Persons with disabilities reinforcing global commitment to disability inclusion in all aspects of social, economic, cultural and political life of people with disabilities.

Of the roughly 7 million children in Nigeria who have a disability, 95.5% are out of school due to multiple systemic barriers, e.g. inaccessible schools, stigma, cultural biases are major factors and as such, only a very small fraction of these children are enrolled and attending school. Nigeria has the highest the number of out of school children in the world, 10.5 million, — a disproportionate number have disabilities. These children are likely to never attend school compared to peers without disabilities.

These staggering numbers are mostly invisible. In too many African homes, the hidden figures–children and adults people with disabilities–are shrouded in mystery as family secrets,hidden away in the silence of shame and unspoken of. Growing up, I always thought my father was the only son of his mother but I discovered as an adult, that I had an uncle!

I understand my uncle was quite accomplished- as a Nigerianstudent in1950s America, he enrolled at Lincoln University, aHBCU in Pennsylvania, with notable African Alum greats such as Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Kwame Nkrumah, the first Prime Minister of Ghana . He returned to Nigeria and became somewhat of an activist in the local politics. And then, since his psychological disability appeared in adulthood, what happened next is hard to piece together but I know he then spent the next 5 decades in an institution of sorts–a hidden figure not spoken about.

I wonder how many people with disabilities from that era were kept hidden and disappeared into the abyss of obscurity. This discriminatory exclusion of people with disabilities (PWDs) is still prevalent in the African society to this day. PWDs include people with any physical, intellectual, developmental, sensory or psychological disabilities.

I suppose my uncle had short-lived success as a person with disability, who had access to formal education, compared to the millions of children with disability who are excluded from education across Nigeria, missing out on a full life, as well as being able to contribute to society instead of being a burden.

To be sure, SEN Educational facilities, both government and private, like the Pacelli school for the Blind and Partially Sighted, Wesley School for the hearing impaired and other facilities catering for multiple disabilities do exist in Nigeria. However, these are sparse, urban centered and inadequately provide for the millions of disabled children across the nation. In my opinion, they serve more as care centers as opposed to centers of learning where children are equipped with skills that foster knowledge, independence and hope for the future. I contend that these facilities inadvertently enhance discrimination and segregation of children with disability further adding to an overall sense of “unwholeness” as a human

In Lagos where I live, a city of 21million with over 1 million children of school age, only 17 of 1,001 public primary schools reportedly provide SEN services — a glaring access gap with many families still experiencing discrimination and increased pressure to hide their children living with disabilities. The pursuit of quality education translates into added financial constraints as parents from low resource communities do not possess the financial means to access private SEN schools with better facilities. Overall, children with disabilities are often deprived of quality education and lack skills to enter the labour market and more often than not, face a future of dependency on others, lack of independence and lifelong poverty and hardship.

Furthermore, laws and policies to protect the rights children with disabilities do exist yet are not uniformly enforced. The Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018 mandates the right to education without discrimination and provision of free education till secondary school. In addition, Nigeria has a National Policy on Inclusive Education and a National Policy on Special Needs Education which aim to promote inclusive education, access and equity for learners with special needs. The problem is not the lack of laws and policies but a lack of enactment and implementation meant to protect and provide support for children with disabilities.

Our government must act beyond the laws and policies and ensure implementation at scale, SEN training teacher training, infrastructure deficit, and availability of assistive assessment and learning tools across all tiers of education to give these children a chance to realize their potential and human rights.The political will, interest, and commitment to inclusive education as a whole must be become a reality. Otherwise we continue deny the rights of people with disability as well as the opportunity to increase the actual human resource capacity in  Nigeria.

As a society, we must also commit to changes in our owndiscriminatory mindset and cultural biases through awareness, acceptance, advocacy and giving a voice to the voiceless and shinning a light to those dark, hidden spaces even in our own families.

I learnt my uncle lived long into his late 80s.

I don’t even know his name.

He still remains hidden… even in death.

* Adedeji is the Co-Founder of STEM METS, transforming education in Africa through experiential STEM learning for children to drive innovation, creativity and social mobility. She is a Public Voices Fellow Tackling Poverty, a partnership of Acumen and The OpEd Project.