Association Advocates Inclusive Education For Persons With Disabilities

The Joint National Association of Persons Living with Disability has advocated for inclusive education that would enable people living with various forms of disabilities to study in conventional schools in Gombe State.

Chairman of the association in Gombe State, Adamu Ishaku made the advocacy during an activity to mark the 2023 International Day of People Living with Disabilities in the state.

He noted that the current situation where people with disabilities are isolated in schools promotes discrimination and stigmatisation against them adding that after learning sign language and braille by the deaf and the blind at the primary level, there is no need to continue separating them in conventional schools in secondary and tertiary institutions.

“The new approach worldwide is inclusive education. We don’t want a situation whereby persons with disabilities are isolated in a particular environment to be taught. 

“We want them to receive education in their own environment, which is what the United Nations Convention, Article 24 and SDG Goal 4 specifically mentioned about inclusive education and that is what we are looking for,” he stated.

The chairman therefore called on the government and school proprietors to always make their structures accessible by the disabled persons during the construction of their schools with a view to eliminating the segregation against their members.

This is even as he appealed to banks too to make their places accessible by them in order to promote financial inclusion of people with disabilities.