…to end exclusion of children with disabilities

By Joseph Erunke, Abuja

In a major push to dismantle barriers preventing children with disabilities from accessing quality education, the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, has unveiled a comprehensive national framework designed to transform inclusive learning across Nigeria’s basic education system.

The initiative, unveiled on Monday in Abuja, introduces National Special and Inclusive Basic Education Minimum Standards, Implementation Guidelines and a Functional Difficulty Early Identification Tool, marking what the Commission described as a significant shift towards ensuring that no Nigerian child is denied education because of disability or developmental challenges.

Speaking at the National Stakeholder Engagement on the utilisation of the new instruments, UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr. Aisha Garba, said the reforms were aimed at reversing decades of exclusion that have left thousands of children with disabilities outside the classroom or unable to realise their full academic potential.

Represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary (Technical), Razak Akinyemi, Garba lamented that despite improvements in school enrolment over the years, children with disabilities continue to face enormous obstacles to accessing, remaining in and benefiting from basic education.

She cited findings by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, and the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, which show that children with disabilities are significantly less likely to complete basic education due to poor early identification of learning difficulties, inaccessible school environments and inadequate teacher preparation.

To reverse the trend, Garba said UBEC has developed three strategic national instruments that would standardise inclusive education and strengthen support for learners with disabilities nationwide.

She explained that the National Special and Inclusive Basic Education Minimum Standards establish clear benchmarks covering school governance, accessible infrastructure, teacher competencies, curriculum adaptation, assistive technology, learner assessment, safeguarding and quality assurance.

According to her, the standards will ensure greater accountability, uniformity and equity in the delivery of inclusive education across all states.

Garba added that the newly introduced Implementation Guidelines clearly assign responsibilities to UBEC, State Universal Basic Education Boards, SUBEBs, Local Government Education Authorities, school administrators, teachers, School-Based Management Committees and communities to ensure effective implementation of inclusive education policies.

Perhaps the most significant innovation, she noted, is the Functional Difficulty Early Identification Tool, which will enable schools to detect developmental, sensory, cognitive, communication and behavioural challenges among children at an early stage.

She described the tool as a game-changer capable of moving Nigeria’s education system from reacting to learning difficulties after they occur to identifying and addressing them before they become barriers to education.

“The introduction of this tool represents a strategic shift from reactive intervention to preventive and evidence-based educational planning,” Garba said.

She noted that global evidence has consistently shown that early identification and intervention improve school readiness, literacy, classroom participation and long-term educational outcomes while reducing the cost of remedial education.

The UBEC boss, however, warned that the success of the initiative would depend largely on effective implementation rather than policy formulation alone.

She urged State Universal Basic Education Boards to integrate the new standards into their planning and budgeting processes, institutionalise disability screening in schools and Early Childhood Care Development and Education, ECCDE centres, strengthen referral systems with health and social service providers and establish reliable disability-disaggregated data systems.

According to her, full implementation of the new framework will improve teacher effectiveness, strengthen compliance with national standards, increase learner participation and provide credible data for equitable education financing and evidence-based planning.

She also said the initiative would help Nigeria fulfil its obligations under Sustainable Development Goal 4, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the National Policy on Inclusive Education.

Garba commended the Federal Ministry of Education for providing policy direction and acknowledged the technical support of UNICEF and the Clinton Health Access Initiative, CHAI, in developing and validating the national documents.

She challenged education administrators to ensure that the standards and tools move beyond policy documents into practical classroom implementation through teacher training, school supervision and effective state-level planning.

Also speaking, UNICEF Education Officer, Blessing Afuwai, described the initiative as a major milestone that would strengthen states’ capacity to identify children with disabilities early and provide them with the support needed to succeed in school.

She reaffirmed UNICEF’s commitment to supporting the Federal Government and UBEC in implementing inclusive education policies, stressing that early detection, accessible learning environments and well-trained teachers remain critical to guaranteeing quality education for vulnerable children.

Afuwai urged education authorities across the country to fully utilise the new standards and tools to ensure that every Nigerian child, irrespective of disability or functional difficulty, has equal access to quality learning opportunities.

Earlier, the Acting Director of UBEC’s Department of Special Programmes and Early Childhood, Dr. Chijioke Onwuzurike, described the workshop as a critical national intervention aimed at closing the persistent gap between inclusive education policies and their implementation.

He said the engagement was designed to equip Directors of Special Programmes and Special Education Desk Officers from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory with practical skills and standardised tools needed to translate policy into measurable improvements in learning outcomes for children with disabilities and other learners requiring specialised educational support.

According to him, while Nigeria has made significant progress in developing policies on inclusive education, effective implementation at state, local government and school levels remains the country’s biggest challenge, which the new national framework is expected to address.