Prioritising inclusive strategies for accessible education

SIR: Former South African apartheid leader, Nelson Mandela, once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”This assertion should not be lost on a forward-looking government desirous of bequeathing a lasting legacy in the education section.

Statistics abounds on the dismal performance of pupils and students in primary, post primary and tertiary ring of education ladders as exemplified by West African School Certificate Examinations and National Examinations Council, year on year.

Today, many states across the country are bemoaning their low ratings in these Examinations, while some are grappling with massive drop in enrolment.
In the midst of this, the Kwara State government, rather than join the bandwagon of bemoaning the seemingly helpless situation is taking up the gauntlet.  
An added fillip to this is the conscious effort by the state to engender inclusive and comprehensive education through a strategic plan to ensure no child is left out in the pursuit of education for all as a result of one disability, special needs.

The State governor, Mallam AbdulRasaq AbdulRahman, couldn’t have thought otherwise when declaring the overhaul in the education sector. This timely remodelling of the state education is evident in the just-concluded year 2024 JAMB and WAEC results, as the students from Kwara, both in public and private schools effulgently excelled. Just as an empty bag cannot stand, the Kwara state government had invested fortunes in the Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development under the holistic watch of MrsHajiaSa’adatuModdiboKawu, as the ministry never had it good unlike what is obtainable presently. 

The state governmenthas always given attention to public schools by rehabilitating a block of six classrooms with offices in some schools; renovated a block of five rooms toilet with the provision of motorised borehole at St. Michael LGEA school “A” in llorin; reconstructed the collapsed part of Queen Elizabeth secondary school fence; supplied hundreds of two-seater desks furniture at Queen Elizabeth school, llorin; rehabilitated Boys and Girls hostel A&B at school for Special Needs, llorin; procured several hexagonal tables, chairs for the pupils and teachers at Kwara State school for Special Needs; subsidized 2024 BECE examination for public Junior Secondary School across the state; reconstructed of a dilapidated block of 2 classrooms with an office at St. Michael school “B”, llorin; reconstructed the R.C. drainage, R.C. retaining walls, concrete floor, interlock pavement and construction of 2 units toilet at Eruda LGEA primary school couple with the impressive turnout of over 62,000 pupils that sat for the 2024 Common Entrance examination across the state.

Worthy of note is the recent inauguration of Committee on Special Education. With this laudable approach, no Kwara child will be denied access to education regardless of his or her physical disability, and this will go a long way at reducing the number of out-of-school children in the state and place Kwara on a pedestal of brighter future. According to Wikipedia, “Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual differences, disabilities, and special needs.

This involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials, and accessible settings. These interventions are designed to help individuals with special needs achieve a higher level of personal self-sufficiency and success in school and in their community, which may not be available if the student were only given access to a typical classroom education.” In getting rid of future criminals and the likes, the prioritisation of education should be embraced just as Governor AbdulRasaqAbdulRahman is demonstrating in Kwara, and this should be copied and domesticated in other states.
• Dapo Ipoola, a public affairs analyst wrote in from llorin