Less than 2% of blind children are in school – NCC

 Adeola Ogunlade

 

THE Director General of the Nigeria Copyright Commission, Mr John Asein has said that out of 500, 00 virtually impaired children in Nigeria, less than 2% of them are in school.

He said this in an interview with The Nation at the Nigeria Association of Blind (NAB) fundraising dinner on “Equitable Education For Blind And Visually Impaired Persons In Nigeria” held recently at the YCC Hall, St. Dominic Catholic Church, Yaba, Lagos State.

He said that abysmal numbers of virtually impaired students in school in Nigeria is as a result of the non-accessibility of readable materials for the blind.

Asein said “if you send a child to school and the child comes back home without a book or most times does not have a book he or she can read, how do you feel?

He lamented that there is a disincentive for blind children to be in school and is because they are not learning the way they should in school.

He stressed that if schools have books in accessible format for the blind; parents will be encouraged to bring their blind children to school

“For parents to believe that education for the blind is worth it in Nigeria, accessible readable materials for the blind must be provided”, he said.

He lauded the federal government inclusive education policy, but noted that the blind students should not be discriminated in any way because of their disability.

He posited further that government support book publishing particularly at the basic level, and if government is putting resources in that area, they should compel the publishers and suppliers of the books to do it in a format that is accessible to the blind.

Asein added “if Universal Basic Education Commission is supporting book and Tertiary Education Trust Fund is providing  support for the books, there should  be built in component for the blinds so that those books  comes out in a simple format accessible for the blind.

In his word, The Chairman Education Committee, NAB, David Okon said that NAB has produced a strategic action plan to improve the lives of blind and visually impaired people in the various geopolitical areas of Nigeria.

He said “we want to equip our members in the Niger Delta with independent daily living skills; provide computer accessibility training and empowerment for blind and partially sighted persons in North-Central/South-South geo-political Zones of Nigeria; to facilitate Braille literacy Training for members in north-west geopolitical zone”.

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