Three hundred-level student of Mass Communication at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Usman Ahmad says his ambition is to become a renowned broadcaster. His resolve is unshakeable despite being blind. But he is frustrated by the fact that the inclusive education system in place at ABU is not friendly to students with special needs.
In his words, the system is more of segregation than an inclusive education system. Ahmad and other students with special needs ought to be provided with learning tools that will aid knowledge acquisition and adaptation.
“It’s by the grace of Allah that I am here and not giving up. If the current inclusive education system is anything to go by, I will rate it below average,” he said.
Like Ahmad, there are thousands of students with special needs in several tertiary institutions across the country who are facing difficulties in their bid to be educated. This has prompted the question: How helpful is the current inclusive education system to students living with disabilities?
An unemployed graduate of sociology and anthropology from the University of Nigeria Nsukka who simply identified himself as Azodo Chukwuebuka dismissed the current inclusive education system as not useful to the physically challenged and should be discontinued.
“I think the blind among them suffer the most. There is no textbook specifically written for them. During lectures no special space for them, no recording tape, etc. They are being left at the mercies of their brains and the support of families and friends (if there is any). The current inclusive education system has failed them, and there is urgent need for its change,” Chukwuebuka said.
CREDIT: Leadership