Oluchi Chibuzor
The ministerial session of the 67th National Council on Education (NCE) has ratified the reviewed National Policy on Inclusive Education as a working document in Nigeria.
The session followed the approval of some major policy decisions that would guide the implementation of the policies in the country’s education sector for the next year.
The decisions were disclosed in a communiqué issued at the end of the just concluded 67th council meeting of the NCE, in Lagos.
The ministerial session with the theme ‘Addressing the Challenges of Policy Implementation: A Panacea for the Achievement of Education 2030 Agenda’ of the NCE is the highest policy-making body in the education sector under the chairmanship of the minister of education.
Speaking to journalists before the closing of the ministerial session, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, David Adejo, said the basic thing about education is that everybody should have it, and it is free.
He also said the reviewed policy on inclusive education seeks to bring everybody in the education sector into a basket to see how they would be able to get access to quality education.
“But because we are in a place where some persons out of the way they were born cannot attend school or go through the same processes of learning like the others, we have to make sure that those people that are differently abled can have access,” said Adejo.
He added, “We are in a democracy; the NCE is the highest policy-making body in the federation. All the commissioners of the states are members chaired by the minister. It’s for the states now to decide how to implement the new policy. Do I need a specific policy? And while that might be necessary for some states, where the level of disability differs.”
Welcoming the ratification, Grace Bila, a consultant on inclusive education at Sightsaver International, said implementing the policy would be the next stage following the approval.
“Our aim is to ensure that all learners learn together and have quality and equitable education,” she said.
Bila also said the strategy to ensure implementation across states will kick-start early next year and would involve all the stakeholders, including the NEC.
She stressed that the reverse national policy on inclusive education policy was first signed five years ago.
“The reversed policy is coming with an implementation strategy guide. It is a holistic education; everybody in the system will feel recognised,” Bila said.
Commenting, the Project Coordinator (inclusive education policy review) of TAF Africa, Uche Enyioha, said inclusive education is a critical part of the well-being and welfare of persons with disabilities, and that is why our interest was ensuring the policy got the necessary approval.
“We are very delighted that we’ve gotten the approval. This process started sometime late last year,” said Enyioha.
Enyioha further said that the major gap the policy will fill in the education sector is the private sector’s appreciation of education needs regarding inclusive education.
“One of the things that we try to achieve with this policy is to introduce private sector-led education intervention where the idea of inclusive education is driven by the private sector,” Enyioha stated.
The council deliberated on 60 memoranda submitted by the various state ministries of education and emphasised the importance of focusing on foundational education while reiterating its commitment to deal with the embarrassing situation of out-of-school children and the Almajiris in the country.
