Beyond The School Gate: The Struggle For Meaningful Inclusive Education In Nigeria
By Jerry Adesewo
As stakeholders demand a meeting with the Minister of Education, parents, educators, and disability advocates insist that admitting children with disabilities into schools is only the beginning of the journey.
For a parent raising a child with a disability, getting that child into school can be a major achievement. It may involve repeated visits to school authorities, difficult conversations, and the determination to challenge attitudes that suggest the child does not belong in a regular classroom.
But what happens after admission?
Does the child have accessible learning materials? Can the teacher communicate effectively with the child? Is the classroom physically accessible? Can the child participate fully in lessons and school activities?
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These questions lie at the heart of Nigeria’s inclusive education debate. They are also behind the growing call by stakeholders for urgent action on the implementation of the National Policy on Inclusive Education, Revised 2023.
At a stakeholder engagement convened by the Right Action Coalition, comprising Inclusive Friends Association, CBM Global, SUOMI Finland, Joint Association of Persons With Disabilities (JONAPWD), and the National Commission for Persons With Disabilities, to examine the policy’s implementation, participants expressed concern about the gap between government commitments and the realities in schools. They called for a meeting with the Honourable Minister of Education to present identified challenges and discuss practical measures for improving inclusive education across the country.
Their central message was clear: a child’s education should not be measured by admission alone but by the opportunity to learn, participate, progress, and succeed.
Beyond enrollment: What inclusion really means
Inclusive education is often discussed through statistics: how many children with disabilities are enrolled, how many schools have adopted inclusive practices, and how many states have introduced relevant programmes.
While these figures matter, they do not tell the complete story.
A blind pupil may be admitted into a mainstream school without Braille textbooks. A deaf learner may attend lessons without adequate communication support. A child with a physical disability may find it difficult to access classrooms, toilets, or other school facilities.
In each case, admission has been achieved, but meaningful inclusion remains elusive.
Participants at the Stakeholders meeting argued that the real test of inclusive education is whether schools can provide the conditions necessary for every learner to participate and benefit. Parents should not have to continue struggling after admission to secure basic learning support for their children.
Schools, equally, cannot deliver inclusion through goodwill alone. They need trained teachers, accessible infrastructure, appropriate learning materials, assistive devices, and institutional support.
Progress made, challenges remain
Nigeria has taken steps towards advancing inclusive education. The National Policy on Inclusive Education was first developed in 2017 and revised in 2023 to provide a framework for addressing barriers and promoting access for learners with diverse needs.
During the engagement, Dr. Adebukola Shehu Adebayo, an inclusive expert with professional experience supporting inclusive education initiatives in close to 25 states, reflected, in his keynote address, on the evolution of the process, particularly in Lagos State.
He recalled that the state’s early initiatives began with approximately three primary schools before expanding opportunities for children with disabilities across public primary and secondary schools. By 2021, the number had reportedly grown to about 50 schools.
He acknowledged the progress but stressed that expanding access must be matched by improvements in learning quality, support services, and educational outcomes.
Drawing on his personal experience as a blind student at King’s College, Lagos, he recalled how Braille machines, Braille paper and other materials supported learning. Teachers also provided additional assistance, particularly in subjects such as mathematics and science.
His experience raises an important question: are schools today adequately equipped to provide such support as a standard institutional responsibility rather than relying on individual teachers’ goodwill?
The answer, Dr. Adebayo made clear, is no.
He did not merely raise the question; he provided a sobering answer, drawing from his personal experience to inform participants that the support services and learning resources that once assisted students with disabilities are no longer readily available to learners today.
Speaking both as someone who experienced the system as a student and as a parent, he disclosed that he has had to personally provide for his son’s educational support needs, paying for them out of his own pocket.
The realities facing parents and schools
For parents, inclusive education is about whether their children are accepted, understood, and supported. It is about having confidence that their children can attend school, access learning materials, communicate with teachers, and participate without discrimination.
Where these conditions are absent, the consequences can extend beyond academic performance to a child’s confidence, social development, and sense of belonging.
Teachers and school administrators also face challenges. Many may be willing to accommodate learners with disabilities but lack the training, resources, or specialised support required to do so effectively.
This is why stakeholders insist that responsibility cannot be left to parents or individual teachers. Government must provide the resources, professional development, and institutional structures necessary to make inclusion work.
They also called for parents, learners, and school representatives to be actively involved in monitoring implementation. Their experiences can reveal barriers that enrolment figures and official reports may overlook.
Who is funding inclusion?
Funding was another major issue raised at the engagement. Stakeholders questioned how the national policy is reflected in federal and state education budgets and whether approved allocations are released and spent on the intended interventions.
They want greater transparency regarding investments in accessible school infrastructure, teacher training, Braille materials, sign language support, assistive technology, and other essential services.
They argue that government must demonstrate not only what it has promised or approved but also what it has funded, delivered, and achieved.
Without this evidence, it becomes difficult to determine whether implementation is progressing or whether resources are reaching the children who need them.
A national scorecard for accountability
Among the key recommendations was the establishment of a national implementation scorecard with common indicators for assessing inclusive education across the country.
The proposed scorecard would measure school accessibility, teacher preparedness, availability of learning materials, assistive devices, reasonable accommodations, and support services.
Stakeholders also called for comprehensive assessments of existing inclusive schools to identify good practices and persistent gaps.
The Federal Ministry of Education was urged to institutionalise annual reporting on implementation in federal unity schools and work with state authorities to establish similar arrangements.
Each state, they argued, should develop and publish an implementation plan aligned with the national policy, specifying activities, responsible institutions, funding requirements, timelines, and measurable indicators.
They further emphasised the need for reliable disability-disaggregated data. Beyond enrollment, authorities should track attendance, retention, participation, academic performance, progression, and completion. Such data would help determine whether learners are benefiting from the education system and identify where additional support is required.
Inclusion is a right, not charity
The human rights dimension of the discussion was reinforced by Michael Ojediran, Business Development Coordinator of CBM Global Disability Inclusion, who delivered a message on behalf of the organisation’s Country Director, AbdulAzeez Musa.
Ojediran reaffirmed that disability inclusion is a matter of human rights, equity, and social justice, not charity.
He emphasised that persons with disabilities are rights holders whose voices and lived experiences should inform decisions affecting them. He also highlighted the importance of collaboration among government, organisations of persons with disabilities, civil society groups, families, schools, communities, and development partners.
He urged the media to challenge harmful stereotypes and amplify the voices of persons with disabilities, while encouraging families and communities to confront stigma and discrimination.
The Minister must hear the concerns
The demand for a meeting with the Honourable Minister of Education reflects stakeholders’ desire to move beyond recommendations towards concrete government commitments.
They want to present identified implementation gaps, discuss government priorities, and agree on practical measures supported by funding, defined responsibilities, timelines, and monitoring mechanisms.
They also want the National Policy on Inclusive Education, Revised 2023, alongside the National Standard Operating Procedure and school-based implementation manual, to become practical tools for schools, teachers, and education administrators.
Ultimately, the questions are about accountability: who is responsible for implementation, what resources are available, how will progress be measured, and what happens when institutions fail to deliver?
The child behind the policy
Inclusive education is not ultimately about policy documents, conferences, or statistics. It is about a child who wants to learn, a parent who wants that child to have a fair chance, and a teacher who needs the tools to make that possible.
Nigeria has established a framework for advancing inclusion. The urgent task now is to translate that commitment into accessible classrooms, adequately prepared teachers, appropriate learning resources, and measurable educational outcomes.
For a child with a disability, admission should be the beginning of an educational journey, not the beginning of another struggle for acceptance.
The true measure of inclusive education is not how many children are allowed through the school gate, but whether every child, once inside, has a genuine opportunity to learn, belong, progress and succeed.